Dettifoss Weather and the Best Time to Visit
Weather does not just make a visit to Dettifoss more or less comfortable, and it is the first thing to settle before you book Dettifoss day tours. It decides whether the road is there at all, whether the path is walkable, and how many hours of light you have to do it in. This page is built around those three consequences rather than around the temperature.
What the weather does to a visit here
Three things, in order of how much they matter.
The road. Route 862, the paved west-bank road every guided departure uses, is not in winter service between January and the beginning of April. Route 864 on the east bank closes with the first autumn snow and does not reopen until the mud dries, usually around the end of May. For roughly five months of the year, one rim is unreachable and the other is conditional.
The ice. The last stretch of path is smooth basalt kept permanently wet by spray. From October to May it freezes, and it is the single most common complaint travellers make about a Dettifoss visit — not the cold, the footing.
The light. At 65.8°N the difference between June and December is twenty hours a day. In June there is no meaningful sunset; in December you have about three hours to work with, and a two-hour drive at each end of it.
Dettifoss month by month
Temperatures are the published normals for Akureyri, the town every guided departure leaves from. The falls sit inland and higher, so run them a few degrees colder and considerably windier. Daylight is calculated for the falls’ own latitude.
January
Route 862 leaves winter service this month and Route 864 has been shut since autumn. Akureyri averages a low of −3.4°C and a high of 2.6°C, with five hours of sunshine in the whole month. Daylight at the falls runs to four and a half hours. A visit is possible and does happen; it depends entirely on what the road authority says that morning.
Akureyri −3.4°C to 2.6°C · 4 h 32 m of daylight at the falls
February
The same temperatures as January but nearly twice the daylight, which is what makes February the more workable of the two. Sunshine climbs from 5 hours to 35. The path to the viewpoint is at its iciest and travellers have reported needing spikes. Go with an operator who carries them, or not at all.
Akureyri −3.4°C to 2.6°C · 8 h 13 m of daylight at the falls
March
Daylight passes eleven hours and the road authority starts to catch up with Route 862, though winter service does not resume until April. Akureyri sees 75 hours of sunshine. Guided departures do reach the falls in March. Expect ice underfoot and the fullest, blackest water of the year.
Akureyri −2.5°C to 3.5°C · 11 h 33 m of daylight at the falls
April
Winter service returns to Route 862 at the beginning of the month, which is the single most useful thing April does for you. Fifteen hours of daylight and 125 hours of sunshine. Route 864 is still shut. Precipitation drops sharply, to 25 mm for the month.
Akureyri −0.2°C to 6.3°C · 15 h 13 m of daylight at the falls
May
The month the east road usually reopens, though the date moves each year and depends on the mud drying rather than the snow melting. Nineteen hours of daylight and 170 hours of sunshine. Snowmelt puts the river near its highest. Fewer visitors than June and almost everything open.
Akureyri 3.4°C to 10.2°C · 18 h 58 m of daylight at the falls
June
Twenty-three hours and twenty-three minutes of daylight at the falls’ own latitude, and the driest month of the year at 20 mm. Both roads open, flow high with the melt, and the moss at its greenest. The midges arrive at Lake Mývatn, which every day tour stops at — they do not bite, but bring a head net.
Akureyri 6.7°C to 13.6°C · 23 h 23 m of daylight at the falls
July
The warmest month, averaging a high of 15.1°C, and the busiest. Twenty-one hours of daylight still. The west viewpoint has a queue at midday when the Diamond Circle coaches converge, so an early or late departure buys you more than the extra hour suggests. Midges peak.
Akureyri 8.7°C to 15.1°C · 20 h 59 m of daylight at the falls
August
Barely cooler than July, with seventeen hours of daylight and 135 hours of sunshine. Cruise season is at its height, which fills the morning departures from the pier. Rain picks up to 40 mm. The best all-round month if you want warmth, open roads and a full choice of tours.
Akureyri 8.1°C to 14.8°C · 16 h 58 m of daylight at the falls
September
The month to pick if you can. Thirteen hours of daylight, the moss turning, the coach traffic thinning, and both roads still open. Rain climbs back to 50 mm and the first aurora nights arrive. Route 864 can close at any point from here on, with no notice.
Akureyri 5.5°C to 11.8°C · 13 h 16 m of daylight at the falls
October
Route 864 closes with the first real snow, usually this month. Daylight drops below ten hours and rainfall peaks at 75 mm. The path starts to ice. Day tours still run from Akureyri and the falls in low autumn light are worth the colder day.
Akureyri 1.2°C to 6.5°C · 9 h 47 m of daylight at the falls
November
Six hours of daylight and fifteen hours of sunshine in the entire month. The east road is shut, the west one is still in service but conditions change fast. Aurora chances are good on clear nights, though no departure listed here combines the falls with them. Free cancellation earns its keep this month.
Akureyri −2.0°C to 3.6°C · 6 h 06 m of daylight at the falls
December
Three hours and eight minutes of daylight at the falls, and no recorded sunshine at all in Akureyri for the month. Any visit is a narrow window around midday. Route 862 is still nominally in service until the new year. This is the hardest month to plan and the emptiest one to stand there in.
Akureyri −3.5°C to 2.5°C · 3 h 08 m of daylight at the falls
The seasons, and which one you want
| Season | What you get | What it costs you | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| June–July | Near-endless daylight, high flow, every road open, full choice of tours | Crowds at midday, midges at Mývatn | First-time visitors and anyone on a tight schedule |
| August–September | Warmth into August, autumn colour in September, thinning traffic | More rain; Route 864 can shut without notice from September | The best all-round compromise |
| October–November | Low light on the falls, almost nobody there, aurora nights | Ice underfoot, short days, the east road gone | Photographers who do not mind cold |
| December–March | The canyon at its emptiest, black water and snow | Route 862 out of winter service; three to eleven hours of light | Confident travellers on a guided departure |
Best time of day
Late morning to early afternoon puts the sun behind you on the west rim, which is what produces the rainbow in the spray. It is also when every Diamond Circle coach arrives, so the viewpoint is at its fullest. If you are driving yourself and want the falls without the crowd, arrive before nine or after five in summer — the light lasts and the car park does not.
Guided departures do not give you that choice, which is a fair trade for not having to drive four hours. The one exception is the private Diamond Circle departure, where you set the running order.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best month to visit Dettifoss?
September, if you can choose freely. You still get thirteen hours of daylight and both roads are usually open, the moss has turned, and the coach traffic has thinned out. June and July are the safest choice if you want everything open and warm.
Can you visit Dettifoss in winter?
Yes, with conditions. Route 862 is not in winter service between January and early April, which means it is not routinely ploughed rather than that it is shut, and travellers reach the falls in February and March most years. Check the road authority the morning you travel, and expect ice on the path.
How much daylight is there at Dettifoss in December?
About three hours and eight minutes in mid-December, at the falls' latitude of 65.8°N. Akureyri records no sunshine hours at all for the month. Any December visit is a narrow window either side of midday.
Does the waterfall freeze?
The river does not stop. Dettifoss carries an average of 193 cubic metres a second of glacial meltwater and keeps running through the winter, though ice builds along the canyon walls and the spray coats everything near the viewpoint.
Are there midges at Dettifoss?
Not at the falls, which are too exposed and too wet. They are at Lake Mývatn, forty minutes away, which every day tour stops at — the lake is named for them. They do not bite, and a head net makes June and July considerably more pleasant.
For what the road is doing on your date, roads and access. For the trips that make the call for you, Dettifoss Tours.
Tours that run whatever the month is doing
Lake Myvatn, Dettifoss and Goddafoss Waterfalls Day Tour from Akureyri
Max 17Pickup40 minutes at the falls
From $306 per person