Urban Hike: River, Lake & Woods: 6 hours

From downtown, we'll take a city bus to a trail head to Oslo's northern wooded wilderness, inhabited by Moose. From here we'll walk around Lake Maridal, a protected area and the source of Oslo's drinking water. Hiking around the lake, we'll alternate between forest and pastoral farmland and make a stop at the ruins of the St. Margaret's church, which was built in the 1200's and abandoned during the black plague in the 1300's. Lake Maridal flows into the Akerselv River, which we'll follow about 8 kilometers, seeing old factory buildings that were powered by the river, waterfalls and a fish ladder for salmon. The river ends in downtown Oslo where the tour will end at a point of your choice. The walk is about 15 kilometers long with the majority being flat or downhill. There will be time for photos and a stop at a café along the river. We could also buy food in advance and have a picnic at a scenic spot. Due to snow, we can't do this tour from about the end of November to the the middle of April.

I'll meet you in downtown Oslo (anywhere you like) and we'll catch a frequent city bus to the trailhead. First, we'll walk through a wooded wilderness area with intermittent views of Lake Maridal. Then we'll cross farmland to the ruins of the St. Margaret's church at the far end of the lake. From there we walk along the other side of Lake Maridal going up some hills with scenic vantage points of the lake. After walking most of the way around the Lake, we'll head down the Akerselv River, with it's many old red brick factory buildings that have been converted to many modern-day uses. There will be time to stop at a café or the Mathallen Food Hall. The estimated walking time is around 4 1/2 hours (not including stops or the bus to the trailhead), but we will take the time we need for this walk and there will be no extra charge if we go over 6 hours.