Kerid Crater in Winter

Kerið stays open in winter, in daylight: its own site gives no clock hours, only that it is open when the sun is up. In November and December that makes a short window. On 1 November 2026 the Icelandic Met Office’s sun table for Reykjavik had sunrise at 09:10 and sunset at 17:10, and the days shorten from there to late December. The rim path and the wooden stairs can be icy. A tour that reaches the crater in the middle of the day suits winter best; Nicetravel’s Golden Circle and Kerið Crater Small Group Tour, a group of 19 at most and back in Reykjavik around 17:00, is from $122 a person (checked November 2026).

The calendar above is Nicetravel’s small group, with 829 reviews (checked November 2026).

Is Kerið open in winter?

Yes. No closure at the crater was reported by Icelandic news, the road administration or Kerið’s own site in the twelve months to November 2026; the fee is the same 700 ISK all year, paid at the entrance, and parking is free. What changes is the light and the ground. With about eight hours of daylight on 1 November and fewer in December, a visit fits between late morning and mid-afternoon, and the red of the slopes and the colour of the lake show best in that window.

Ice on the path and the stairs

The rim path is gravel, about 0.8 km round, and the stairs down to the lake are wood; both can carry ice and packed snow. In those conditions the rim by the car park gives the classic view without the descent, and the stairs are best left alone. Shoes with grip, or slip-on crampons, make the rim walk easier. The Kerið hike maps the path and the stairs.

Which tours reach Kerið in the light

On the tours that put Kerið last, the crater comes at the end of the afternoon, after Gullfoss; on the ones that put it early, it comes about an hour after leaving Reykjavik. In December either end of the day can fall outside daylight, so compare the departure time on the calendar with the day’s sunrise and sunset. BusTravel Iceland’s *Reykjavik: Golden Circle Full-Day Tour with Kerid Crater* stops there only on departures before 12:00. Nicetravel’s small group returns to Reykjavik around 17:00, which keeps the whole day close to the daylight.

Check dates for the small group

The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration posts road conditions and closures on umferdin.is and on its traffic line, 1777; tours run in the conditions of the day, and the operators decide on weather cancellations. For the rest of the Golden Circle in the dark months, reykjaviksouthcoasttour.com covers daylight, roads and what each stop is like in winter.

Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.