5 Best Nature Spots Near Stavanger

September 2, 2026

Stavanger’s setting is genuinely more dramatic than the city itself, fjords, coastline, and islands within easy reach. These 5 spots cover the range without requiring a hiking guide.

1. The Lysefjord

Roughly 42km long and over 400m deep in places, the Lysefjord was carved by glacial ice and flooded as it retreated. Sightseeing cruises run its full length from Stavanger harbour (verify current operator and schedule), a good option if you want the scenery without the Preikestolen climb, or as a complement to it.

2. Preikestolen’s plateau

Even if you’ve read about the hike elsewhere, the plateau itself, a flat granite surface roughly 25 by 25m sitting 604m straight above the Lysefjord, is worth appreciating as a natural formation in its own right, shaped by frost-wedging along a deep crack during the last glacial period. Geologists monitor the crack but consider the rock structurally stable.

3. The Jæren coast

South of the city, the Jæren coast is Norway’s largest flat lowland area, an unusually straight, sandy roughly 60km shoreline running from Brusand to Tungenes, a striking contrast to the fjord-and-island coast most of the country is known for. Sola’s beaches, about 5km from the centre, are the easiest stretch to reach for an afternoon.

4. Utstein Abbey and Klosterøy

Utstein Abbey, Norway’s best-preserved medieval monastery, sits on the island of Klosterøy, reachable in about 30 minutes via the undersea Byfjord tunnel. Beyond the abbey buildings themselves, the island setting, low, green, and quiet, is a genuine change of pace from the fjord cliffs further into Ryfylke.

5. Kjerag and the Ryfylke fjord-and-mountain region

Northeast of the city, the Ryfylke region is the gateway to both Preikestolen and Kjerag, a landscape of fjords and mountains reachable by the Ryfast subsea tunnel. Kjerag itself, a 1,110m mountain at the Lysefjord’s eastern end, rewards the effort with some of the region’s biggest views, for hikers willing to take on a genuinely harder trail than Preikestolen.

Getting there

The Lysefjord and Preikestolen are reachable in around 40 minutes by car via the Ryfast tunnel; Jæren and Sola are a similarly short drive south. Utstein Abbey needs about 30 minutes via the Byfjord tunnel, and Kjerag needs roughly 2 hours plus a seasonal ferry leg for the full Lysebotn loop. Pack for rain regardless of season, Stavanger is one of Norway’s wetter regions even though it’s mild for its latitude.

For trail-focused hiking beyond these highlights, see our hiking areas guide , and for a longer day out that pairs nature with real history, see our day trips guide .