Is it your first time driving in Iceland and you want to avoid road closures? Iceland F-roads are mountain roads that are closed all year round except for summer. In this post, we’ll talk all about what F-roads are and why you should avoid them during the off-season.
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I’m pretty sure we’ve ALL been here before… Our cars stuck in the snow without any way to get out. Now imagine you’re in a rental car in a FOREIGN country! Even scarier, right?
Is it your first time visiting Iceland? To ensure you have a safe and stress-free driving experience, you’re better off avoiding the F-roads altogether. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Whether it’s your first time driving in Iceland or you’re just not sure what F roads are, we’ll cover all of that and more in this post. Here is all of the information you need to know so you can avoid getting stuck on Iceland’s F roads.
What Are F-Roads?
F-roads are unpaved gravel roads that generally run through the mountains or highlands of Iceland. These are mainly located in the center of the island and run in all sorts of directions. F-roads are only open during the summer and close seasonally because of the snowy and icy weather.
This is what makes the F-roads tricky roads to understand. However, if it’s your first time in Iceland it’s probably best to avoid these roads altogether. Your itinerary will most likely keep you on The Ring Road which, I promise, has plenty of attractions to keep you busy.
It’s importF-roads are unpaved gravel roads that generally run through the mountains or highlands of Iceland. These are mainly located in the center of the island and run in all sorts of directions. F-roads are only open during the summer and close seasonally because of the snowy and icy weather. ant to note that F-roads are also only accessible by 4×4 vehicles. Most people don’t rent a 4×4 vehicle in Iceland as it’s not necessary and uncommon for tourists.
Map Of F-Roads In Iceland
Above is a map to use as a quick visual of the F-roads in Iceland. This map is not to scale nor super accurate – just a fun little map I made to give you an idea of their locations.
As you can see, if you stay on the paved main road aka The Ring Road, you won’t have to worry about the F-roads at all. The roads are mainly located in the central mountainous region of the island.
Time Of Year F-Roads Are Open
The F-roads are open during the summer when the weather in Iceland is at its peak. The tricky part is that the opening times vary by road, area, and weather conditions.
The same goes for closing times. It depends on when and where you are but if you’re thinking about venturing down an F-road, I would double-check about closures if it’s nearing the end of summer.
You can check the estimated opening times of these roads here, on The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (IRCA)’s website.
Type of Vehicles Allowed On The F-Roads
No matter what time of year it is, 4×4 or four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicles are required in order to drive down these roads. It’s actually illegal to drive down them with a normal 2WD vehicle.
Beware that most rental companies won’t insure the vehicle if any damage was caused by driving down unpaved roads. Sometimes these roads are not always properly labeled nor do they have signs warning you.
Thanks to the bloggers of Anywhere We Roam, I learned that are actually 3 other mountain roads that are not labeled as F-roads. However, they still require a 4WD vehicle. These roads are Kaldidalur Valley (road 550), Kjölur (Road 35), and Jökulhálsleið (road 570).
This makes a ton of sense now! I had a bad experience driving down an F-road in Iceland with our rented 2WD campervan. However, we didn’t even know we were going down an F-road as it wasn’t marked as such.
I now believe it was Road 35 which is why it wasn’t marked as an F-road. Please learn from my mistake!
My Experience With The F-Roads
When I first visited Iceland in October of 2021, I had never heard of F-roads. I may have read something about some roads requiring 4×4 vehicles but I didn’t pay much attention to it.
The weather wasn’t terrible yet for visiting in October. Of course, it rained on and off and there were some days we got snow but nothing crazy.
We must’ve been on our fourth or fifth day driving around The Ring Road when we decided to take a shortcut. …Or so we thought. Google Maps showed it was a quicker route so we figured why not? This was obviously a big mistake.
We turned off of The Ring Road to what I now suspect was Road 35. There were no signs or warnings of any kind. This is why I wanted to make a post about these roads because it’s not always so obvious.
We must’ve driven down it for about an hour before it started getting pretty icy and mountainous. It was late and we didn’t want to turn around so we kept going until it got much worse.
Luckily my husband knew we should turn around even if it added another two hours to our journey. We almost got stuck a few times but fortunately, we made it back to the main road just fine.
Besides being scared in the middle of the night, in the middle of a random road with no lights around, we were tired and inconveniently had to drive a lot more that night.
I want to make sure this, or much worse, doesn’t happen to anyone while visiting Iceland. I hope you learned a bit about what F-roads are so you can be aware of them if the GPS tries to redirect you. Iceland is such a beautiful country with so much to offer which is why I advise you to just stay on Route 1 (the ring road) for your first visit!
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are F Roads In Iceland?
F-roads are unpaved gravel roads that generally run through the mountains or highlands of Iceland. These are mainly located in the center of the island and run in all sorts of directions. F-roads are only open during the summer and a 4×4 vehicle is required to access these roads.
Do you need a 4×4 for F roads in Iceland?
Yes, a 4×4 vehicle is required to access the F-roads in Iceland. It’s actually illegal to drive through with a 2WD vehicle. Also, note that most car rental companies do not insure damages caused by unpaved roads or river crossings.
Some unmarked roads still require a 4×4 vehicle to access them. Be careful of accidentally turning down these roads: Kaldidalur Valley (road 550), Kjölur (road 35), and Jökulhálsleið (road 570).
When Do F Roads Open In Iceland?
F-roads are only open during the summer. They open sometime in June or worst case, July depending on weather conditions. Because of snow and ice, the roads remain closed throughout the rest of the year.
Do I Need To Drive Down F-Roads In Iceland?
No, not at all. Most of the attractions that tourists go to visit are conveniently located off The Ring Road. Seasoned tourists may gravitate towards these roads to experience something new and to see the highlands of Iceland.
For more Iceland information, you may also like:
- Easy, Epic, & Best Iceland Ring Road 5 Day Itinerary
- Iceland Rainbow Road – The Cute & Unique Town of Seyðisfjörður (2023)
- The Best Time to Visit Iceland By Season (2023)
