Distance: 15-16 kilometres. Route: Reykir Heiðardalur Reykjaheiði Böggvisstaðadalur Dalvík.
Maximum elevation: 850 metres. Hiking time: 7-8 hours.
In earlier times, Reykjaheiði heath was one of the most travelled mountain trail between Svarfaðardalur valley and Ólafsfjörður, mostly because this is the easiest route for people riding on horseback, and in addition this was part of the route taken by the overland postal service between Akureyri and Siglufjörður. The Reykjaheiði heath was marked with cairns that were put up at the turn of the 20th century and these cairns have been maintained so that they are good markers for the heath. When you walk the heath you start at Reykir, which was abandoned in 1945. The Youth Association of Ólafsfjörður built a swimming pool there (made of turf), which was in use until 1945 when a swimming pool was constructed at Ólafsfjarðarhorn village (people called the growing population centre at the seaside Hornið). The hike begins south of the river which is called Lambá river, from the summer houses which are situated there. The first stretch is not steep but it is a good idea to follow the river. You then get to a track that derives from earlier times when people had expectations of building a road to Dalvík. Soon you come across the cairns and after you have passed the first hill you can easily find your way if you follow the cairns and the riding trail which has been created on the gravel plain up to the Heiðarskarð pass. At Heiðarskarð pass (approx. elevation 850 m) there is a visitors' guestbook which the Ólafsfjörður tourist council supervises. There is some snow in the uppermost part of the route. On the Dalvík side of the pass there is a steep slope which for the most part has snow in it. The route down the heath is easily passable and you should follow the cairns. When you reach the rim of the heath you will soon see the earlier mentioned track. This was where men controlling a bulldozer halted when the conditions for making a road to Ólafsfjörður were examined. When you get down from the heath there is a ford on the Brimnesá river, but it is often better to use stepping-stones above the ford, the route now follows easily passable land and in many places you can see the track. A small distance below the middle of the valley, there is a small house and there you will find a visitors' guestbook. In earlier times, there were huts on both sides of the river. To the left on the Upsadalur valley side is Grímuhnjúkur mountain and Grímudalur valley, where the route over the Grímubrekkur slope lies over the Bröndólfsbrekkur slopes. From Kofi you now follow the bulldozer track straight on to Dalvík. You can also turn right shortly after you have passed over the mountain fence and follow the old postal-service road that lies south and down the hillside to Böggvistaðir farm. A short distance above is the ski lodge Brekkusel, and Böggvisstaðir was where the overland post stopped.