Preikestolen Fjellstue’s Lodging Alternatives
Preikestolen Fjellstue is a complex of overnight accommodations located in the mountains near the base of the Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) trail. Guests may choose between staying in a modern mountain lodge, a dormitory-style hostel, or a historic farmhouse. Preikestolen Mountain Lodge is known throughout Europe as being architecturally unique and environmentally friendly. The complex’s unusual character and harmonious interaction with nature is known to give visitors memorable wilderness experiences.
Read More About Preikestolen Fjellstue’s History
Preikestolen Mountain Lodge
Preikestolen Mountain Lodge, which is open year-round, is the complex’s main and most modern structure. Built in 2008, the building has 27 simple yet comfortable guest rooms. Preikestolen Fjellstue’s reception area, restaurant, and activity center are also located in this building. Lodge guests enjoy the traditional Norwegian breakfast buffets, candlelit dinners, and relaxing by the fire in the lodge’s cozy lounge. During the summer months, the lodge’s souvenir shop and snack bar/kiosk are also open.
See Location on Google Maps
TWIN ROOM – BUDGET
The lodge’s budget twin rooms have two single beds and accommodate 1-2 people. All rooms include free WiFi and have a private bathrooms with showers.
Includes Breakfast!
TWIN ROOM – LAKE VIEW
These superior twin rooms, which overlook Refsvatnet lake and the area’s surrounding mountains, have two single beds and can comfortably accommodate 1-2 people. All rooms include free WiFi and have a private bathrooms with showers.
Includes Breakfast!
FAMILY ROOM – STANDARD
Standard family rooms have two single beds on the main floor and two single mattresses in the loft. The rooms can accommodate 3-4 people, include free WiFi, and have a private bathrooms with showers.
Includes Breakfast!
FAMILY ROOM – LAKE VIEW
The premium family room has one double and one single bed on the main floor and two single mattresses in the loft. The room, which overlooks Refsvatnet lake and the area’s surrounding mountains, can accommodate up to five people, includes free WiFi, and has a private bathroom with shower.
Includes Breakfast!
Preikestolhytta (the hostel)
Preikestolhytta, which opened in 1949, was built by The Stavanger Tourist Association to accommodate the growing number of visitors that wanted to experience Preikestolen. The traditional wooden cabin has 16 dormitory rooms, each having either 2 or 4 single beds/bunk beds. While all rooms have private sinks, toilets and showers are located in the corridors, and are shared-use. The hostel has a cozy lounge where guests can relax and enjoy views of Refsvatnet lake. Accommodation includes bed linens/towels and Preikestolen Mountain Lodge’s traditional Norwegian breakfast buffet.
See Location on Google Maps
SMALL 2-BED ROOM
The hostel’s small 2-bed rooms, which are furnished with bunkbeds and a sink, include bed linens and towels. Shared-use bathrooms with showers are located in the cabin’s corridors.
Includes Breakfast at
Preikestolen Mountain Lodge!
LARGE 2-BED ROOM
The hostel’s large 2-bed rooms, which give guests more space to spread out and relax, overlook Refsvatnet lake and the area’s surrounding mountains. All rooms have two single beds and include bed linens and towels. Shared-use bathrooms with showers are located in the cabin’s corridors.
Includes Breakfast at
Preikestolen Mountain Lodge!
4-BED ROOM
The hostel’s 4-bed rooms, which are furnished bunkbeds and a sink, include bed linens and towels. Shared-use bathrooms with showers are located in the cabin’s corridors.
Includes Breakfast at
Preikestolen Mountain Lodge!
Vatnegården (the farmhouse)
Vatnegården, a farmhouse that dates back to the late 1700s, was the only accommodation available near Preikestolen until 1949, when Preikestolhytta was built next door. Originally part of a private farm, 3 rooms in the building were renovated by The Stavanger Tourist Association in 1920. The farmhouse now has 2 family suites, a common-use kitchenette, sinks and toilets, and an outside, lake-view seating area. Showers are available in a building just adjacent to the farmhouse.
See Location on Google Maps
FAMILY ROOM WITH COMMON AREA & ACCESS TO GUEST KITCHEN
Vatnegården’s family rooms/suites, which can accommodate between 4-9 people, are furnished with a combination of single/bunk-style beds and a dining table with chairs. Shared-use bathrooms are located in the cabin’s corridors, and guest’s have access to the building’s guest-kitchen and outdoor seating area. Accommodation includes bed linens and towels.
Includes Breakfast at Preikestolen Mountain Lodge!
The History of Preikestolen Fjellstue / Mountain Lodge
The Discovery of Preikestolen
According to historians, the first known person to visit Preikestolen was Thomas Peter Randulff, a bank manager from Stavanger. One day, as he cruised through the Lysefjord, Randulff noticed a rock formation that was jutting out from the granite cliffside high above the fjord’s northern shoreline. Randulff, already an active member of the Norwegian Hiking Association, was very curious to see what it was like to stand atop the massive cliffside. Soon after he first set his eyes on it, Randdulff decided he wanted to try to become the first person to hike to the location.
In 1896, there were no roads in the area around Preikestolen, so Randdulff started his trek at sea-level, on the shores of the Lysefjord. After hiking for some time up steep mountain walls, he encountered a farm called Vatnegården, which was located at what is now the modern-day trailhead. Because some of the farm’s inhabitants and neighbors were interested in joining Randdulff on his search, the location became a basecamp for their trek.
The Need for Overnight Accommodation
Once Randdulff and his hiking companions had found their way to the plateau, word quickly got around and people from all over the region wanted to experience standing atop the massive cliffside. The first tourists who visited what is now called Preikestolen did so in the early 1900s. At the time, prior to roads being built to the area, it was not easily accessible, and therefore a long and difficult journey for those who visited. Tourists had to follow the same route Randdulff used on his original trek, which involved taking a boat into the Lysefjord, and hiking up the 600-meter-high mountainside to Vatnegården. The climb easily took most of the day to complete. Visitors were therefore in need of a resting place before hiking onward to the Preikestolen plateau.
In the early 1920s, a marked trail to Preikestolen was established and two farms (Vatnegården and Torsnes) began offering overnight accommodation to visitors. Around that time, there were about 100 guests annually between the two farms. In 1946, Stavanger Tourist Association took ownership of Vatnegården. By 1949, as a result of the increased demand for overnight accommodation, the tourist association opened a new cabin with sixteen dormitory-style rooms, which they named Preikestolhytta, meaning Preikestolen Cabin. The new building substantially increased the capacity for overnight guests in the area. Four decades later, in 1961, a road was finally constructed between Jørpeland and Vatnegården, and made it possible for people to reach Preikestolen in just one day. After that, the number of visitors steadily increased with each passing year. During the 1990s, 50,000 people visited Preikestolen annually. By the early 2000s, it became apparent that the number of tourists who wanted overnight accommodation near Preikestolen had outgrown the space available.
Today’s Preikestolen Fjellstue
In 2008, The Stavanger Tourist Association built a new lodge just a stone’s throw away from the other buildings, The building, which was named Preikestolen Fjellstue, or Preikestolen Mountain Lodge, is known throughout Europe as being architecturally unique and environmentally friendly. It has twenty-seven modern rooms, a restaurant, an outdoor activity center, and a cozy lounge where visitors can relax by the fire after a long day in the mountains. Preikestolen Fjellstue, which is now owned by the Destination Management Company (DMC) Norwegian Experience, also serves as the de-facto basecamp for all outdoor activities in the area. Hiking, canoeing, SUP boarding, zip-lining, and kayaking are just some of the activities that visitors may choose between. This expansion has helped to make the Preikestolen plateau a year-round tourist attraction as well as the most visited natural attraction in Norway.
