The Langenes coastal trail is a 4.2-kilometre walk from Langenes Church to Steinvatnet near Klo, on the island of Langøya in Øksnes municipality. The trail was completed and marked in spring 2016 as part of a regional coastal trail project initiated by the Vesterålen Outdoor Recreation Council. Most people can manage it, though some sections are narrow and uneven.
Along the way you pass nine points of interest. Langenes Church is the only surviving building from the fishing village's heyday in the 1500s, a cruciform timber church. The village itself was the centre of trade in the Langenes Quarter until the mid-1600s. The last building other than the church was torn down in 1961.
At Kjækholmen you see where itinerant fishermen stayed during the seasonal fisheries. A memorial stone raised in 1944 lists the names of 51 fishermen who perished at sea over the previous hundred years. Further along is Staggarn, the old Stad estate, where the authorities of Nidaros Cathedral stationed their armed tax collector for Vesterålen. There are also dwelling features and gravesites from the Stone Age and Iron Age along the trail.
The trail connects to the Dronningruta, the Queen's Route between Stø and Nyksund, which was voted Norway's most beautiful hiking circuit in 2012. If you are tempted to do the full ring, be aware that it takes about 15 hours and crosses mountain terrain. The Langenes section is the easy part.
Keep an eye out for sea eagles along the coast. They are common here.
Along the way you pass nine points of interest. Langenes Church is the only surviving building from the fishing village's heyday in the 1500s, a cruciform timber church. The village itself was the centre of trade in the Langenes Quarter until the mid-1600s. The last building other than the church was torn down in 1961.
At Kjækholmen you see where itinerant fishermen stayed during the seasonal fisheries. A memorial stone raised in 1944 lists the names of 51 fishermen who perished at sea over the previous hundred years. Further along is Staggarn, the old Stad estate, where the authorities of Nidaros Cathedral stationed their armed tax collector for Vesterålen. There are also dwelling features and gravesites from the Stone Age and Iron Age along the trail.
The trail connects to the Dronningruta, the Queen's Route between Stø and Nyksund, which was voted Norway's most beautiful hiking circuit in 2012. If you are tempted to do the full ring, be aware that it takes about 15 hours and crosses mountain terrain. The Langenes section is the easy part.
Keep an eye out for sea eagles along the coast. They are common here.