Top 10 Alpine Huts in Norway
The Norwegian Trekking Association (Den Norske Turistforening, DNT) manages over 500 mountain huts across Norway — a mix of staffed lodges, unmanned self-service cabins stocked with basic provisions, and unstaffed no-service shelters. The DNT hut network is built on the friluftsliv tradition of democratic access to the mountains, and prices for members are among the most reasonable of any alpine club system in Europe. The ten huts below anchor the finest routes in Jotunheimen and the surrounding highlands. All are visible on the map.
1. Spiterstulen, 1100 m — Northern Jotunheimen
The valley base for Galdhøpiggen (2469 m) — the highest point in Norway and Scandinavia — and Glittertind (2464 m), Norway's second highest. Spiterstulen is a privately operated mountain lodge (not DNT-affiliated) at road access level, making it the most accessible high-mountain base in Jotunheimen. Capacity over 100, with full board accommodation, guided glacier walks on the Svellnosbreen, and summer snow routes to both summits. The guided route to Galdhøpiggen from Spiterstulen crosses the Svellnosbreen glacier; guided trips are strongly recommended for the crevassed sections.
2. Glitterheim, 1384 m — Northern Jotunheimen
DNT staffed hut on the approach to Glittertind (2464 m) from the eastern Jotunheimen, reached from Sota Seter on the northern park road. Capacity around 120. The approach to Glittertind from Glitterheim avoids the glacier crossing required from Spiterstulen — a more straightforward route in summer when the snowcap is reduced. The hut is staffed from late June to mid-September. Mountain weather in Jotunheimen changes fast; a clear morning can become a whiteout by early afternoon.
3. Memurubu, 1008 m — Lake Gjende, Jotunheimen
On the northern shore of the iconic Lake Gjende — the green, glacially fed lake at the heart of Jotunheimen — Memurubu is accessible by boat from Gjendesheim or by a full day's walk over the Besseggen ridge. The Besseggen ridge is the most walked route in Norway, with up to 40,000 walkers annually navigating the knife-edge between Gjende (984 m) and Bessvatnet (1373 m). Memurubu is the end point of Besseggen and serves both ridge walkers and parties continuing west into the Jotunheimen interior. DNT-staffed, capacity around 100.
4. Gjendebu, 990 m — Western Lake Gjende, Jotunheimen
At the western end of Lake Gjende, accessible by boat from Gjendesheim or after a full day traversing the length of Gjende's shore. Gjendebu is the western anchor of the Gjende lake route and the starting point for routes into the remote western Jotunheimen — Kvitskard, Leirvassbu, and ultimately Sognefjellshytta. DNT-staffed, capacity around 70. This is deeper wilderness than the Besseggen area; parties should carry navigation tools and be self-sufficient for weather delays.
5. Krossbu, 1295 m — Sognefjell, Jotunheimen
On the Sognefjell mountain road (Route 55) at 1295 m — one of the highest public roads in Norway — Krossbu is a staging point for ski touring and summer glacier routes on the Smørstabbreen and Fannaråken. Not a DNT hut but a private mountain lodge with a long alpine tradition. Road access makes it a reliable provisioning stop on Jotunheimen traverses. The Fannaråken summit (2068 m) offers views across the entire Jotunheimen massif.
6. Sognefjellshytta, 1413 m — Sognefjell
Adjacent to Krossbu on the Sognefjell road, Sognefjellshytta is the classic Norwegian fjell lodge in full form — warm, wood-panelled, with an emphasis on traditional Norwegian cooking (fårikål, kjøttkaker, homemade bread) and a culture of communal table-sharing. This is not a wilderness experience — road access means day visitors — but the surrounding plateau and the Fannaråken ridge are genuine high mountain terrain.
7. Rondvassbu, 1160 m — Rondane National Park
The central hut of Rondane — Norway's first national park and the setting for Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt — Rondvassbu sits on the shore of the Rondvatnet lake between the two main peaks, Rondslottet (2178 m) and Storsmeden (2016 m). DNT-staffed, capacity around 130. The Rondane plateau is more arid and exposed than Jotunheimen — reindeer herds move across the plateau in summer and autumn. Routes across the Rondane main ridge require careful weather awareness above the treeline.
8. Trolltunga Camp Area Huts — Hardangervidda approaches
The Trolltunga trail from Skjeggedal to the Trolltunga rock formation (1180 m) passes through a set of DNT self-service huts on the Hardangervidda plateau. These are unstaffed self-service cabins stocked with canned goods, firewood, and basic utensils — payment made via the DNT honesty system (cash or online). The Trolltunga route itself is longer and more demanding than social media typically represents — a 22–27 km round trip with 800 m elevation gain, typically done as a very long day hike or as an overnight from the plateau huts.
9. Tyin Filefjell, 1076 m — Filefjell
On the plateau between Jotunheimen and Valdres, the Tyin Filefjell lodge sits at the Tyinvatnet lake at 1076 m. Road access from Route 53. Historically an important route between eastern and western Norway; the King's Road crosses here. Private lodge, not DNT, but integrated into route planning for Jotunheimen west-to-east traverses and winter ski tours.
10. Skogadalsbøen, 1035 m — Utladalen, Northern Jotunheimen
Deep in the Utladalen valley gorge — one of the deepest and most dramatic valleys in Norway — Skogadalsbøen is a DNT staffed hut accessible only on foot, with no road access. Reached from Øvre Årdal in 7–8 hours via the Vettisfossen waterfall (the highest free-falling waterfall in Norway at 275 m) or via longer routes from the Jotunheimen interior. Capacity around 80. The remoteness gives this hut a distinctive atmosphere.
Self-service versus staffed in the DNT system
DNT huts fall into three categories: staffed (betjent), self-service (ubetjent med nøkkel), and no-service (ubetjent uten nøkkel). Self-service huts require a DNT member key (available on membership), are stocked with basic provisions, and operate on an honesty system for payment. They extend the network deep into terrain where staffing year-round would be uneconomical. A DNT membership card and the DNT cabin key unlock a walking network that covers almost the entire Norwegian highland.
Jotunheimen in context
Jotunheimen (the Home of the Giants) is the highest mountain range in Scandinavia and the heartland of the Norwegian alpine tradition. The range contains Norway's two highest peaks — Galdhøpiggen (2469 m) and Glittertind (2464 m) — along with the extraordinarily dramatic Hurrungane massif in the west, including Store Skagastølstind (2405 m), the most technically demanding summit in Norway.
The landscape character of Jotunheimen is distinctive: rounded glaciated summits with some sharp ridges, wide U-shaped valleys, and the chain of glacier-green lakes (Gjende, Bygdin, Tyin) that give the range its navigational spine. The DNT hut network is dense enough that experienced walkers can cross Jotunheimen from the eastern valley road at Otta to the western fjordland without a tent — sleeping in staffed and self-service huts throughout. This crossing (approximately 7 days west-to-east or east-to-west) is the backbone Jotunheimen route.
Norwegian distances and weather
Norwegian trail times are calculated on a different rhythm from Alpine routes — the terrain is lower but often boggy, the weather is maritime and changeable, and the distances between huts are longer than in the densely networked Swiss or Austrian Alps. A stage time of 7–9 hours between Jotunheimen huts is normal, and the wind at ridge level in Norwegian conditions is genuinely serious. A hut-to-hut trip in Jotunheimen requires the same weather-awareness as an alpine route, just focused on windchill, rain, and fog rather than thunderstorms and rockfall.
The Norwegian Meteorological Institute's yr.no is the reference forecast service for all Norwegian outdoor planning — free, excellent, and updated every hour for specific locations. Download the yr.no app before leaving home and use it daily.
Where will you go first?
Norwegian DNT huts — Spiterstulen, Glitterheim, Memurubu, Rondvassbu, and the Jotunheimen network — are plotted on the Open the map.