Route 1 climbs Öxnadalsheiði to reach Akureyri, then crosses Námaskarð and the high desert of Möðrudalsöræfi on the way east. Öxnadalsheiði shuts first in a storm. Möðrudalsöræfi shuts hardest. And the road to Dettifoss splits into a paved side and a gravel one, which catches people out. Here is what this stretch actually asks of you.
Roads and 24-hour weather for this region only. Wind is what closes Icelandic roads — read the gust figure, not the average.
Sources: Vegagerðin via umferdin.is and Veðurstofa Íslands via vedur.is. Nationwide picture on our live conditions dashboard. Road line 1777, emergency 112.
Route 1 enters the north over Vatnsskarð and drops into Skagafjörður. From Varmahlíð it climbs Öxnadalsheiði, a moorland pass of roughly 540 m with a long, exposed approach on both sides, then follows Öxnadalur down to Eyjafjörður and Akureyri. That pass is the gate to the region and the piece most likely to be shut.
East of Akureyri, Route 1 runs through Vaðlaheiðargöng, a tunnel of about 7.5 km into Fnjóskadalur. It carries a toll, settled online rather than at a barrier; ask the rental desk how they handle it. The old alignment over Víkurskarð still exists, free and far higher. In still weather it is a pleasant twenty minutes; in a northerly, the reason the tunnel was built.
From Fnjóskadalur the road runs east past Goðafoss, which sits directly on Route 1, and on to Mývatn. Beyond Reykjahlíð it climbs Námaskarð, a short steep pass with the Hverir mud pots at its foot and a dependable crosswind at the top. After that come Mývatnsöræfi and Möðrudalsöræfi: high desert above 600 m, the Ring Road's highest ground, with no trees, no shelter and no settlement for a long stretch. Möðrudalur, Iceland's highest farm, sits a few kilometres off it, and the descent into Jökuldalur leads to Egilsstaðir.
Off Route 1: Route 85 north to Húsavík and round Tjörnes to Ásbyrgi, Route 87 linking Mývatn to Húsavík, Routes 862 and 864 down the banks of Jökulsá á Fjöllum to Dettifoss, and Route 82 to Dalvík and Ólafsfjörður, with the tunnels beyond to Siglufjörður. Sightseeing order is in the Akureyri and Mývatn route guide.
Very little here closes because of falling snow. It closes because wind moves snow that fell days ago. Skafrenningur, drifting snow, takes visibility to nothing in under a minute on a dry, clear day and refills a cutting faster than a plough empties it. Second is ice: the Öxnadalur descent and the shaded corners in Fnjóskadalur glaze early and stay glazed. Third is wind, which on Möðrudalsöræfi and at Námaskarð gusts hard enough to shove a van across the centre line.
| Section | Character | Closes for | If it shuts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Öxnadalsheiði, Route 1 | Moorland pass, about 540 m | Drift, ice, gale | No quick detour; wait it out |
| Víkurskarð, old Route 1 | Unlit pass, about 330 m | Drift and wind | Take Vaðlaheiðargöng instead |
| Námaskarð, east of Mývatn | Short steep pass, crosswind | Gusts and glaze | Sit tight at Reykjahlíð |
| Mývatnsöræfi and Möðrudalsöræfi | High desert, above 600 m | Blizzard, whiteout, wind | Wait at Mývatn or Egilsstaðir |
| Route 864, east bank of Dettifoss | Gravel throughout | Not maintained in winter | Use 862, the west bank |
| Lágheiði, Route 82 | Low but unserviced | Closed most of winter | Round via the tunnels |
Summer has its own list. Sheep with lambs stand in the carriageway from June into September. Blind summits are signed blindhæð and mean it. Side roads have single-lane bridges, and on roads like 864 there is no tarmac at all. A car door sprung open in a gust is a common claim and often excluded from cover: hold it with both hands and park nose into the wind.
Summer figures, driving at the limit and stopping for nothing. On packed winter roads add half again; in drift, double it or stay put.
The common error is treating Akureyri, Mývatn, Dettifoss and Húsavík as one day. That is 300 km with three detours inside it. Split it: a night in Akureyri, a night at Mývatn.
Two roads run to Dettifoss, one down each bank, and they are not interchangeable. Route 862 on the west bank is paved from Route 1 to the car park and stays open far longer into the season; north of the falls, towards Ásbyrgi, it turns to gravel and is not kept open in winter. Route 864 on the east bank is gravel end to end and shut through the winter.
There is no crossing between the banks near the waterfall, so the wrong side means driving all the way back out. Mapping apps sometimes prefer 864 because it can look shorter from the east; read the sign at the junction, not the screen.
The west side has the built path, the railed viewpoint, toilets, and Selfoss a short walk upstream. The east side gives the closer, wilder view into the spray. In a two-wheel-drive car, in poor light, or with a plane to catch, take 862.
Closures here are absolute. A gate across Route 1 is not advisory, and driving round it is how rescue teams end up out in the same storm. Check the status map before breakfast, not after loading: impassable, difficult and closed are three different states, and Iceland road conditions today explains how to read them. Reverse the day rather than cancel it: if Möðrudalsöræfi is shut eastbound, take the Mývatn loop or Húsavík and go east tomorrow. Ring the next hotel early; everyone else rings at four. On the highland stretches, watch for escorted convoys led through by the road authority. The road line is 1777; emergencies are 112.
Akureyri waits best. It has everything: unattended pumps, tyre shops, a hospital, supermarkets and the region's spare beds, laid out in where to stay in Akureyri. Fuel also exists at Varmahlíð, Blönduós, Dalvík, Siglufjörður, Húsavík, Laugar and Reykjahlíð; Möðrudalur has a seasonal stop off Route 1, a bonus rather than a plan. Mývatn itself is small, split between Reykjahlíð and Skútustaðir, and sells out in July, so read where to stay at Mývatn before gambling on arriving.
The gap that catches people is Mývatn to Egilsstaðir: roughly 165 km of high, empty road with no reliable pump, no shop and patchy signal. Fill at Reykjahlíð in either direction, even when the gauge says you are fine.
June to August is the easy window. Everything paved is open, the interior tracks release from mid-June into early July, and the light lets you drive at ten at night. The costs are queues at Goðafoss and Dettifoss, midges over Mývatn in still weather, and sheep everywhere. Askja and Sprengisandur are F-roads: 4x4 only, permission from the rental company, no insurance on river crossings.
September and October are the best compromise: clear passes most days, long low light, and the first drift days arriving without warning. Winter tyres go on from roughly November through April, and by then Öxnadalsheiði, Möðrudalsöræfi and Námaskarð are all live risks. Storms come through every few days, shut the passes for hours or a day, and reopen. The winter plan that works is Akureyri as a base with flexible days out rather than a fixed lap; read the Ring Road in winter first.
April and May thaw the main road first and the gravel last: Route 1 is generally reliable, 864 usually still shut, the highland tracks firmly closed, and frost heave leaves the tarmac lumpy. May is a fine month to drive north.
It is ploughed and treated as a priority route, but not open continuously. Expect Öxnadalsheiði, Námaskarð and Möðrudalsöræfi to shut for hours during storms and reopen once the wind drops. Build spare days into a winter itinerary.
Not for the paved roads. A front-wheel-drive car on proper winter tyres handles Route 1, Route 87 and Route 862 as far as Dettifoss. A 4x4 is required for F-roads such as Askja and Sprengisandur, and helps on gravel like 864.
Route 862 on the west bank for paved road, a railed path and a longer season. Route 864 on the east bank for the closer, wilder view, accepting gravel and a summer-only opening. There is no crossing at the falls, so choose at the junction.
Usually, wait. The long way round the Tröllaskagi coast through the tunnels adds hours and tends to shut in the same northerly weather. Take a room in Akureyri or Varmahlíð and look again in the morning; closures are measured in hours, not days.