Mølen is Norway's largest rolling-stone beach: a long ridge of rounded boulders pushed here by the retreating ice sheet around 11,000 years ago. It marks the end of the Ra moraine in Vestfold, the same geological formation that runs across much of southern Scandinavia. The stones, in every colour and type, were carried here by meltwater rivers from as far away as southwest Norway; geologists have catalogued over 100 different rock types on the beach.
The site became part of the Gea Norvegica UNESCO Global Geopark, the first of its kind in the Nordic region, in 2008. Bronze Age burial cairns sit on the ridge alongside the glacial stones, adding a human layer to the geological timeline. It is a striking, windswept landscape and a short detour from the E18.
The site became part of the Gea Norvegica UNESCO Global Geopark, the first of its kind in the Nordic region, in 2008. Bronze Age burial cairns sit on the ridge alongside the glacial stones, adding a human layer to the geological timeline. It is a striking, windswept landscape and a short detour from the E18.