Islands / Nesodden / Søndre Skjælholmen
The larger of the two Skjælholmene in the Bunnefjord, 500 by 100 metres, owned by the City of Oslo. It holds 138 plant species and a rich seabird population, and there is a small quay with mooring bolts on the north side.
Søndre Skjælholmen is the larger of the two Skjælholmene, a low islet in the middle of the Bunnefjord, around 500 metres long and 100 metres wide, rising to about 10 metres above the sea. From the water it looks barren and treeless. The islet lies well inside the eastern arm of the fjord, between the east side of Nesodden and the Oppegård shore.
Søndre Skjælholmen nature reserve: motorised traffic on land prohibited all year, on the water prohibited 15 April to 15 July. The boundaries and the rules are in Naturbase, and they are worth checking before you land anywhere outside the marked areas.
Own boat or kayak.
No scheduled boat comes here. You will have to find the nearest public quay yourself, and the rest is your own boat or a kayak. Check the wind and wave forecast before you set out; the open stretches in the outer fjord turn unpleasant in a fresh breeze.
The islets were previously called Skjærholmene; the name was changed by a decision of the Norwegian Mapping Authority (Kartverket) in 1992. Søndre is owned by the City of Oslo and has no history of building or industry. It is protected for what grows and nests here. The islet became a nature reserve under the Oslofjord conservation plan in 2008, established to preserve dry-ground and shore vegetation, seabirds and the geology of the islet itself.
Despite the barren impression, Søndre holds 138 recorded plant species and a rich seabird population. It is used for quiet outdoor recreation outside the nesting season, with conservation as the overriding concern.
You get here by your own boat or kayak; there is no ferry. A small quay and mooring bolts sit on the north side. **Motorised traffic on land is prohibited all year, and motorised traffic on the water is prohibited from 15 April to 15 July** (the nesting season). Protection is law, so check the current regulation before you come alongside.
An islet that looks bare from the water carries 138 plant species: shore meadow and dry ground packed into 500 metres.
Of the two islets, Søndre is the one you can actually tie up at: it has a quay and mooring bolts on the north side, usable outside the nesting season.
Oslo Sea Experience passes Søndre Skjælholmen on its private fjord trips from Tjuvholmen.
The Norwegian version notes which facts were taken from each source: Søndre Skjælholmen på norsk.