Iceland travel data

Iceland F-road status today, and when each road opens

Road notes by Nimrod Ron · Iceland Lead & Content Curator· Updated 8 Jul 2026

Right now 3 of 12 major Iceland F-roads with live data are open or partly open (road authority feed as of 18 Oct 2026, 14:46). F-roads are the highland tracks that require a 4x4 by law. Most open between early June and early July and close between mid-September and mid-October, and the dates move with the snow every year. For a plain-English answer about one road, ask the F-road status checker.

Status today

Live status of 14 major F-roads, feed as of 18 Oct 2026, 14:46
Road	Status now	Typical opening	Typical closing	Difficulty	4x4	River crossings
F35 Kjalvegur (Kjölur route)	Partly open	early to mid-June	late September to mid-October	easy	Required	No
F550 Kaldidalur	Partly open	mid-June	late September to October	easy	Required	No
F26 Sprengisandsleið (Sprengisandur)	Closed	late June to early July	mid-September to early October	difficult	Required	Yes
F208 Fjallabaksleið Nyrðri	Closed	early to mid-June (north end later)	late September to mid-October	difficult	Required	Yes
F210 Fjallabaksleið Syðri	Closed	late June to July	September	extreme	Required	Yes
F206 Lakavegur (Laki craters)	Closed	mid-June	late September	difficult	Required	Yes
F249 Þórsmörk road (Þórsmerkurvegur)	Open	June (highly weather-dependent)	September to October	extreme	Required	Yes
F88 Öskjuleið (to Askja, via Herðubreiðarlindir)	Closed	late June to early July	September	extreme	Required	Yes
F910 Austurleið / Askja approach (east)	Closed	July	September	extreme	Required	Yes
F570 Jökulhálsleið (Snæfellsjökull)	Closed	mid-June to July	September to October	moderate	Required	No
F347 Kerlingarfjöll road	Closed	mid to late June	late September	moderate	Required	Yes
F225 Landmannaleið	Closed	mid-June	late September	difficult	Required	Yes
F66 Kollafjarðarheiði	No data	June	late September to October	moderate	Required	Yes
939 Öxi (Öxi Pass / Öxarheiði)	No data	summer (usually closed in winter)	autumn / first heavy snow	moderate	No	No

Live status of 14 major F-roads, feed as of 18 Oct 2026, 14:46. Live status from umferdin.is, refreshed every 30 minutes. "Partly open" means some segments of the route are closed. Typical windows are multi-year observations, not forecasts.

Opening and closing dates by year

Daily recording of each road's status started in October 2026, so the first full season of opening and closing dates will appear here in summer 2027. Until then, the typical windows in the table above are the best guide, and the status checker gives the live answer.

Road by road

F35 Kjalvegur (Kjölur route) · Central Highlands: One of the easiest highland routes — main rivers are bridged, so it is often the first major F-road to open. Still gravel, washboard and remote; a 4x4 is required and many rental contracts forbid 2WD cars on any F-road regardless.
F550 Kaldidalur · West / near Þingvellir: Shorter, scenic link between Þingvellir/Húsafell and the west. No major fords; generally one of the gentler F-roads, but still rough gravel and weather-exposed.
F26 Sprengisandsleið (Sprengisandur) · Central Highlands (north–south crossing): Long, desolate north–south crossing of the interior with unbridged rivers and very long stretches with no services. Opens later than Kjölur. Carry fuel, food and a plan; travel with a second vehicle if possible.
F208 Fjallabaksleið Nyrðri · Southern Highlands: The main route to Landmannalaugar. The southern approach (from Hella via F225/north) opens earlier; the northern section beyond Landmannalaugar has serious river crossings. Check which end you mean — they open on different dates.
F210 Fjallabaksleið Syðri · Southern Highlands: One of the toughest legal F-roads — multiple large, fast river crossings (incl. Hólmsá / Bláfjallakvísl). For experienced highland drivers in capable, high-clearance 4x4s only, ideally in convoy.
F206 Lakavegur (Laki craters) · South (near Kirkjubæjarklaustur): Access to the Laki craters. Has river fords that can rise quickly after rain; the road is sometimes closed mid-season when rivers are high. 4x4 required.
F249 Þórsmörk road (Þórsmerkurvegur) · South (off Route 1 near Seljalandsfoss): Infamous for the Krossá and other deep, fast, glacial river crossings that change channel daily. Most rental companies explicitly PROHIBIT their vehicles here and void insurance. Most visitors take the highland bus instead of self-driving.
F88 Öskjuleið (to Askja, via Herðubreiðarlindir) · Northeast Highlands: Remote route toward Askja with significant river crossings (incl. Lindaá / Grafarlönd). Opens late. F910 is an alternate approach. Deep interior — self-sufficiency is essential.
F910 Austurleið / Askja approach (east) · Northeast / East Highlands: Long interior route linking the Askja/Kverkfjöll area. Major glacial rivers; among the last roads to open. Convoy travel strongly advised.
F570 Jökulhálsleið (Snæfellsjökull) · Snæfellsnes Peninsula: Climbs around Snæfellsjökull with big views. No major fords but steep, narrow and often snow-blocked late into spring; opening varies a lot year to year.
F347 Kerlingarfjöll road · Central Highlands (off F35): Spur off Kjölur (F35) into the Kerlingarfjöll geothermal area. A couple of small fords; manageable for confident highland drivers when F35 is open.
F225 Landmannaleið · Southern Highlands: Western approach toward Landmannalaugar, often used with F208. Has fords; opens around the same time as the southern F208 section.
F66 Kollafjarðarheiði · Westfjords: A high, steep mountain crossing in the Westfjords — one of the most mountainous routes in the country. The real obstacle is the elevation and gradient, not the water: any river crossings are generally minor streams that do not usually pose a serious threat in typical conditions. A small 4x4 SUV is perfectly fine in clear, standard weather, but rain or high wind quickly turns the track slick, muddy and demanding, so it calls for careful driving.
939 Öxi (Öxi Pass / Öxarheiði) · East Iceland (Berufjörður ↔ Egilsstaðir shortcut): Not an official F-road — Route 939 is a standard gravel road, so there are no river crossings to worry about. It is a steep, winding mountain climb packed with sharp turns and potholes, and the high elevation leaves you very exposed to sudden, harsh weather shifts (though it rewards you with incredible scenery). In summer a standard 2WD can technically manage the pass, but a small 4x4 SUV is highly recommended for better control on the steep terrain and unpredictable weather.

Questions about Iceland F-roads

Where does the F-road status on this page come from?

From umferdin.is, the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration’s public road-condition feed, read the same way the F-road status checker reads it. The page refreshes the live status every 30 minutes; the feed itself is updated by the road authority several times a day in season. Always re-check on the morning you drive.

When do Iceland’s F-roads usually open?

The easier routes such as F35 Kjölur and F550 Kaldidalur typically open in early to mid-June; the southern approach to Landmannalaugar around mid-June; routes with large river crossings such as F26 Sprengisandur and F910 to Askja in late June or early July. A heavy winter pushes every date back by two to three weeks. Closures run from mid-September to mid-October.

How are the opening and closing dates by year calculated?

A job records each listed road’s status from the live feed once a day. The first day a road is recorded open or partly open in a year is its opening date, and the last such day is its closing date. Because the record starts from the day the job first ran, earlier years are not shown; the table grows one season at a time.

Deeper reading on iceland-trip.com

Our sister site covers every place in depth: access, parking, seasons, what to expect. Written by the same team.