Western Fjords Cycling — Dale & Hyllestad Loop

Starting and finishing in Dale in Sunnfjord, this loop takes you deep into the Western Fjords hinterland — a route that earns every view. The terrain is quintessential Vestland: almost nothing flat, constant climbing and descending, and a raw proximity to fjord and mountain that the main tourist roads rarely offer.

Heading south from Dale, the road climbs immediately into forested mountain terrain before cresting and dropping toward Hyllestad and the outer fjord arms. When I rode this in July 2019, the descent on a clear summer day revealed Lifjorden below and Lihesten dominating the skyline — for me, the single finest view on the entire route. That mountain has been a navigation point for seafarers for centuries, and you understand why the moment you see it.

Along Lifjorden the riding becomes more intimate: small farms clinging to steep hillsides, waterfalls dropping directly onto the road, and the kind of quiet that only comes from riding roads that see more sheep than cars. Near Hyllestad, the route passes close to Kvernsteinsparken — a remarkable cultural site where millstones were quarried for over a thousand years and exported across Northern Europe.

In Hyllestad I stopped at the Spar for lunch — nothing fancy, but exactly what you need at the halfway point. On Vestland roads, eating outside a rural shop in the sunshine is part of the experience.

The return leg follows the fjordside roads back toward Dalsfjorden — long, deep, and still, with turquoise water stretching inland between steep mountain walls. The final kilometres roll north toward Dale with the fjord alongside. Back in Dale, Smakeriet bakery is the perfect way to finish — excellent pastries and exactly the kind of stop a long day in the saddle deserves.