Hópsnesviti
Hópsnesviti is a lighthouse in Reykjavik Area, Iceland — about 56 km from Reykjavik and reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Shoot it year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list, then use the GPS coordinates, parking notes, and nearby waypoints below to fold this stop into a longer photography route.
Overview
A lighthouse south east of Keflavik
As a photography stop, Hópsnesviti is a lighthouse in Reykjavik Area, roughly 56 km from Reykjavik, reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Plan the shoot year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list. The downloadable Lighthouse map pins exact GPS coordinates, parking, and nearby waypoints so you can fold it into a wider route instead of hunting for the pull-off on arrival.
Hópsnesviti sits inside the Iceland lighthouse map, alongside the other spots worth routing a day around.
Notes on this location
Compiled from published sources rather than a visit. Sources are listed below.
A spit at Grindavík, 2 km by 1 km, formed 2,800 years ago when lava ran into the sea. Shipwrecks from the 20th century lie along it with information signs, and the lighthouse dates from 1928.
- The spit
- 2 km long, 1 km wide, formed 2,800 years ago when lava flowed into the sea
- The lighthouse
- Built 1928
- The wrecks
- A number of ships ran aground here and nearby through the 20th century; information signs mark some of them
- Why it emptied
- Fishing moved to the present Grindavík harbour in 1939, after residents dug a channel through the reef to reach the Hópið lagoon
- Now
- A recreational area with a hiking and biking trail
- Not in the source
- The cited page gives no count of the wrecks, no route length, and says nothing about current access or conditions in the Grindavík area — check before travelling
Rusting hulls on a lava spit with signs explaining each one is a subject that supplies its own narrative, which is rare in this catalog — most locations are landscape, this one is documentary. Lava that reached the sea 2,800 years ago is also what the wrecks are lying on, so the ground and the ships are the same story at different speeds.
SourcesHópsnes — Visit Reykjanes
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (63.835, -22.458). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- June: sun up 03:06–23:54 (20.8 h). Evening golden hour 22:03–23:54, light coming from the NNW.
- Winter
- December: only 4.4 h of daylight (11:13–15:36), but the sun never climbs above 2.9° — the entire day is golden hour. Sunrise bears SSE, sunset SSW.
- Aurora
- Aurora-grade darkness Sep–Mar, peaking at 12.9 h a night in December. Not possible Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug — the sky never gets dark enough.
Bar height is daylight hours. Months marked • have enough astronomical darkness for aurora; the rest do not.
Questions & answers
Hópsnesviti is a lighthouse in Reykjavik Area, Iceland, approximately 56 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Lighthouse map.
The recommended season for Hópsnesviti is All. For light, plan around blue hour and the first hour after sunrise; Iceland's long shoulder-season twilight extends usable conditions on either side.
Drive/Hike access. Bring weather-appropriate footwear and check conditions before setting out. The downloadable GPS map puts the waypoint on your phone; your own app routes you to it from wherever you are.
Yes — Hópsnesviti can be visited year-round, though winter conditions may require a 4x4 or storm-tolerant plans.