Mesna Cultural Trail

A trip along the Mesna-river is the ideal way to experience downtown Lillehammer and its beautiful surrounding scenery. We recommend starting the trip between the Birkebeineren Hotel and Lillehammer Hotel. Picturesque cultural trail in Mesna. The Olympic Park in Lillehammer is also an excellent starting point for trips.

The Olympic Park in Lillehammer is a fantastic starting point for rambling trips, and a walk along the Mesna river will provide you with a close-up view of magnificent Norwegian nature.

The Mesna river in Lillehammer

Straight through Lillehammer runs the Mesna River. Not much to speak of, as the river bed in town center has little water. Hyd-el production has taken most of the water into a tunnel and through turbines underneath town. However, if you continue up past the old power plant just east of Mesna Senter you will soon come to a nice area of forests, small cliffs, pools and waterfalls. Walking the trails here can be a nice and rewarding experience. Good picnic spots, too, and swimming is possible in the deeper pools. Watch for broken glass when bathing! Upriver you pass a strange house (northern bank) that used to be the home of the seer Marcello Haugen, and further, up at the plateau, you will arrive to the Mesna River canal where the hyd-el plant sucks in its water.

Håkons Hall-Mesna river-Svarga

The Olympic Park is an excellent starting point for walks. Follow the scenic route along Mesnaelva river, past Svarga, the home of Marcello Haugen, across Collets bru (Collet's bridge) and past Helvetesfossen falls towards Kroken. On your return, you can walk along Birkebeiner road and see the Kanthaugen Freestyle Arena and the lower part of Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena at close range. If you want to get to the top of the ski jumping hill without walking, take the chair lift from the outrun at the bottom of the hill.

The Olympic Park - Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena - Lake Abbortjern - Mesnasaga.
Excellent day trip in easy terrain. The best view of Lillehammer is from Kanthaugen at the top of the ski jump. From here, the trip to Lake Abbortjen and Mesnasaga passes through easy forest country, offering opportunities on the way to take a dip at both Lake Abbortjern and Mesnasaga.