Bruarfoss Waterfall & Midfoss – Iceland

Bruarfoss waterfall is located in South Iceland, along the Golden Circle. It’s a less known waterfall as Gullfoss and Skógafoss, but it is also very impressive. To get to this waterfall, you need to hike about 7 kilometers. The hike is fairly easy and the reward is definitely worth the effort! 

The Bruarfoss waterfall is a waterfall off the beaten track in Iceland. The location is quite remote, but it’s a great stop if you love hiking. The area around the waterfall won’t be full of people like at the more famous ones. When we were at the waterfall there were less than 10 other people there.

Map of Hiking Trail to Bruarfoss

If you want to enjoy the beauty of the Bruarfoss waterfall, you’ll have to conquer a 7-km hike. The hike itself takes about 2 hours. We tried to follow the hiking instructions we found on the internet, but unfortunately, that trail isn’t 100% correct. To make it even easier on you guys, we’ve created a map of the actual hike we did! You can find it below! The trail isn’t hard to follow as there are many signposts along the way.

To keep it simple and readable, the map only shows the way to Bruarfoss. To go back to the parking lot, follow the same trail.

Hiking to Bruarfoss Waterfall

The hike to Bruarfoss Waterfall starts at a parking lot next to the river. You can find the parking on Google Maps. The parking spot is free of charge. 

From the parking lot, you’ll immediately see the beginning of the trail. There is a warning sign saying “no cars allowed beyond this point” and a small informational sign on the trail that will lead you to Bruarfoss. On this informational sign, they warn you that this trail might not be accessible in winter times and that this trail goes through private property.

After this, you’ll follow the post signs for Bruarfoss and will continue to walk next to the river. After a while, you’ll reach a fence where you have to take a right. You’ll then end up on the road. Directly before you reach the road you have to climb over barbed wire. The barbed wire is not so high though due to the large number of people that preceded you.

From the road, hike north on the road. Keep following the road until there is a sign saying Bruarfoss or Midfoss (we’re not too sure anymore which of the 2 names was on the sign). Then follow this sign back to the river.

Midfoss Waterfall

After you reach the river again, you’ll also see signs to Midfoss. Midfoss is just a bit south of where you reach the river after following the road. Make sure you take this 10-minute detour as you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful waterfall. The water cascades down over the rocks in this waterfall creating a beautiful spectacle of water and colors. You can get close to the water, so great for taking photos!

We assume many tourists skip this waterfall because we were there all by ourselves. We only crossed another couple when we were heading back to the main trail towards Bruarfoss. But in our opinion, this is a missed opportunity!

When you have retraced your steps from Midfoss to the junction, you follow the signs again to Bruarfoss. From there, the trail is next to the river again until shortly before you reach Bruarfoss. There the trail goes slightly inland, crossing a bridge. Follow that trail further.

After a few minutes, you’ll cross a second bridge to the other side of the river. From this bridge, you’ll be able to see the waterfall Bruarfoss. It’s impossible to miss as there will be a sign saying Bruarfoss at the bridge.

Bruarfoss Waterfall Photo Tip

📸 Tip: if you really want to take a great picture, try to go over the bridge and search for a dirt road, just next to the bridge, leading you under the bridge. This is the best place to take pictures of the Bruarfoss! At least if you also want to be in it! 😉

Alternative Way to Get to Bruarfoss

On the internet, many people claimed that there were much quicker routes to discover Bruarfoss waterfall. Unfortunately, all the streets these people direct you to take or park your car in were fenced off private roads. We think it used to be an access road to the waterfall, but we’re assuming the people who own the property and the road got sick of the numerous tourists parking their car as close as they could.

I’ve read somewhere that another possibility that’s still accessible, is to park your car on Miðhúsaskógur road. From there you can then hike to the waterfall (about 4 km out and back). We didn’t test this route, so we can not verify if this is true or not. If you do decide to try it, let us know so we can update our blog post.

The trail we just explained to you, is your best shot in our opinion. It’s a hiking trail that’s open and it’s a beautiful hike along the river. It’s also a perfect way to check out Midfoss waterfall. If it wasn’t for this hike, we wouldn’t have seen this pretty and secluded waterfall!

If you love waterfalls, don’t forget to check our article on the Top Waterfalls in Iceland!

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