Kerið

From the car park Kerið looks like nothing. Then you walk up a gentle slope and the ground just stops, and you're staring down into a red bowl with a green-blue lake at the bottom. It's the kind of colour that makes people check their sunglasses.

Kerið (sometimes spelled Kerid) is a volcanic crater in the Grímsnes area of South Iceland, right on the road between Selfoss and the rest of the Golden Circle. It's about 55 metres deep, 170 metres wide and 270 metres across, and according to the site's owners it's around 6,500 years old. The rock is iron-rich scoria, which is where the rust red comes from. The lake is groundwater, and the colour changes with the light and the season.

Tours that visit Kerið

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Kerið Admission

1 hour · From Klausturholar

4.1(2,723)

From 600 ISK

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Golden Circle and Waterfalls, with Friðheimar Farm and Kerið in small group

9 hours · From Reykjavík

5(1,161)

From 18.990 ISK

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Golden Circle in Spanish with Kerid Crater & Local Farm Visit in Small Group

9 hours · From Reykjavík

4.9(874)

From 15.500 ISK

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Golden Circle & Kerið from Reykjavík in minibus

7 hours and 30 minutes · From Reykjavík

4.9(619)

From 16.800 ISK

Private Golden Circle Classic Tour with Kerið Crater and Friðheimar Tomato Farm

9 hours · From Reykjavík

4.9(115)

From 190.000 ISK

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Private Golden Circle & Kerið Crater in Minivan

8 hours · From Reykjavík

4.9(619)

From 168.000 ISK

What to see at Kerið

There are two walks, and you should do both. The rim path runs all the way around the crater and takes about 15 to 20 minutes at a stroll. It's the best way to see the full shape and the contrast between the red slopes and the moss on the far side. Then take the steps down to the water's edge. From the bottom, the walls feel much taller than they look from above, and it's quiet down there in a way the rim never is.

Kerið used to be described as an explosion crater. The current thinking is that it formed when a volcanic cone emptied its magma chamber and collapsed in on itself. Either way, it's small, and you won't need long.

In winter, the steps and rim path can be slippery with ice and snow, and the rim is exposed to wind. Keep away from the edges. Sometimes the lake freezes over. Tempting as it looks, stay off it.

Pro tip: go on an overcast day if you can. Bright sun makes glare on the water and washes out the red. Under flat grey light the colours are deeper, and your photos will look like the ones you came for.

Kerið entrance fee and parking

Kerið is on private land, and it's the only stop on the classic Golden Circle loop that charges admission. The fee is small, a few hundred krónur per adult, children under 12 are free, and it goes towards paths and upkeep. Parking is free. Opening hours are, officially, whenever it's light outside.

How to get to Kerið from Reykjavík

Kerið sits on Route 35, about 15 minutes north of Selfoss and around an hour's drive from Reykjavík. Plenty of people visit on the way back from Gullfoss and Geysir, as it breaks up the drive home nicely. Allow 20 to 40 minutes, depending on whether you do both walks.

Is Kerið worth it? If you're expecting another Gullfoss, no. It's a quiet, 20-minute stop. But it's the only place on the Golden Circle where you see a volcano from the inside, and the colours are unlike anything else on the loop. As a break on the drive, with the fee as low as it is, we'd stop every time. Nearby, you have Friðheimar, the tomato greenhouse restaurant in Reykholt, and the Secret Lagoon in Flúðir, both around 30 minutes up the road.

Many Golden Circle tours add Kerið as an extra stop, usually alongside Friðheimar, a lagoon or a small-group itinerary. Tours that include Kerið are below.