Let me first of all say that I’m not sure whether Laxá í Kjós refers to a river or a locale, or possibly both.  If you search for this, it appears to be a very popular river for salmon fishing.  I wasn’t intending to even find this smaller waterfall.  I just happened to stumble upon when avoiding the Hvalfjörður Tunnel.  I was in search of other larger waterfalls including Sjavarfoss and Glymur, which are both further along Road 47.

If you are driving along Road 47, which parallels Hvalfjörður, it is rather difficult to miss this waterfall.  (There may be a larger waterfall upstream.)  Even though there was no official pull-off point, the road wasn’t particularly traveled, and it was very easy to stop along the side of the road.  I didn’t explore much, but took enough time to absorb the beautiful landscape surrounding me.  Even though there are a significant number of more intense waterfalls on the island, this smaller one really allows you to focus on the features surrounding the waterfall and river.

Directions:

1. From the Ring Road (Road 1) coming from Reykjavík, take a right onto Road 47.  (It might actually be a roundabout at that point.)  Your other option, if you’re not looking for waterfalls,  is to continue along the Ring Road, bypassing Road 47.  Road 47 leads to the two other waterfalls listed above, and you can’t really view them without taking this “detour”.
2. After a ways, the road will become unpaved (but possible to drive).   Just before Road 47 meets Road 48 (which will be to your right), you will cross over Laxá í Kjós.  It’s not really a bridge you’re crossing in the conventional sense, as the road stays level as it crosses over the river.  It’s pretty impossible to miss the falls unless you’re staring it some other direction.

Accessibility: 10/10
Height: 15′
Length of Hike: not applicable (roadside)

The falls on Laxá í Kjós (June 2012)

Where in the World is Laxá í Kjós?