February 25, 2025.

While driving through the Golden Circle, I could see a rounded ridge rising in the distance. As we got closer I started wondering if that was Kerið, and when we arrived the broad parking area was already busy with cars and tour buses.

The entrance was only a short walk from the parking lot. Past the information board and a small rise, Kerið Crater suddenly opened below us.

Geology and walking-route information board at the entrance to Kerið Crater
The information board just inside the entrance from the parking area. Personal photo · 2025-02-25

Bigger than the photograph

My first reaction from the rim was simply that the crater was much larger than I had expected.

A camera can fit the lake and rim into one frame, but standing there was different. The hollowed-out landscape filled most of my field of view, and the depth was difficult to translate into a photograph.

Sunlight crossing Kerið Crater above the frozen lake in winter
Our first clear look down at the frozen crater lake from the rim. Personal photo · 2025-02-25

The official Kerið site describes the crater as roughly 55 metres deep, 170 metres wide and 270 metres long. Seeing those numbers afterward made the scale I remembered feel easier to understand.

In February the lake below was frozen white. It looked completely different from the bright blue summer images often associated with Kerið, but the contrast between ice and the dark red volcanic slopes gave the crater a winter character of its own.

Thinking about volcanic activity shaping a bowl of this size made the landscape feel even more powerful.

Walking the rim

We first followed the path around the upper rim.

The frozen lake stayed in view on one side, while the other opened toward low mountains, forest and broad South Iceland plains. A few steps could completely change the view from the inside of the crater to the landscape beyond it.

Forest and broad South Iceland landscape seen from the rim of Kerið Crater
Looking away from the crater toward the forest and open Golden Circle landscape. Personal photo · 2025-02-25

There were plenty of visitors, but once we started moving around the rim it felt less concentrated than the entrance. Traveler reviews often mention doing both the rim loop and the descent to the lake, and the two perspectives really did feel different.

Down to the lake

After circling the rim, we took the route down into the crater.

From above the lake had looked close. Once we started down the steps and path, it took longer than expected; in my memory it felt like descending roughly the height of a ten-storey apartment building.

Steps descending inside Kerið Crater toward the frozen lake in winter
The lake looked close from the rim, but the descent made the depth much easier to feel. Personal photo · 2025-02-25

Near the lake, the same crater looked completely different. The rim we had just walked around now rose high above us, and the slope and height of the walls became much more immediate.

Frozen lake and high volcanic crater walls seen from near the bottom of Kerið Crater
From below, the height of the crater walls finally felt real. Personal photo · 2025-02-25

From the top I had noticed the shape first. From below, I noticed that we were standing inside it.

Kerið was not a place that needed hours of sightseeing. But walking the rim and then dropping down to the lake made it feel as if we had seen the same crater at two completely different scales.

It was much more imposing in person than any of my photographs could capture.

Continue Exploring Seljalandsfoss, then Gljúfrabúi hidden inside the canyon

PRACTICAL INFO

  • Place: Kerið Crater
  • Locality: Grímsnes, South Iceland · Destination Hub: Golden Circle
  • Visited: 2025-02-25
  • Address: Kerið, 805 Selfoss, Iceland
  • Size: The official site describes the crater as about 55 m deep, 170 m wide and 270 m long.
  • Walking: Admission includes walking paths around the crater and access toward the lake.
  • Service fee: The official site currently lists 700 ISK per visitor.
  • Parking: Free parking is included according to the official site.
  • Facilities: Restroom facilities are available on-site according to the official site.
  • What to bring: The official site recommends weather-appropriate clothing and comfortable hiking shoes.
  • Winter: Snow and ice can make the path slippery, so follow current site conditions and any local restrictions.
  • Info checked: 2026-10-05