Norway, with its open laws regarding camping and hiking, has a reputation of being a paradise for hikers. There are no national park fees, you can pitch your tent almost wherever you want and you can park your car for free in many places.
This is sadly looking like it is about to change. Tourism has boomed in Norway, as it has in many other countries, the last decade or two. This has resulted in a lot of stress on small communities with few inhabitants and small budgets. They often struggle with overflowing public toilets and trash cans, crowded free parking lots and big RVs blocking the road.
This is new to people in Norway and every summer there are new and stricter regulations being pushed through to try to combat this problem. It is therefore important that the tourists that travel here know how to behave so everybody can enjoy Norway to the fullest.
Trash seems to be a problem everywhere we travel. I’m sure you can agree. Norway is no exception. We, therefore, encourage people to read about the Leave-no-trace principle. To take this a step further we have started to pick up trash we find laying around in beautiful places. This activity is highly addictive and we only encourage you to try it too.
We have created a list of 5 “house rules” for everybody who wants to be a responsible tourist traveling in Norway:
- Leave no trace. Pick up trash that you find.
- If the trash container is full, bring your trash with you.
- Do not park in “rasteplasser” for more than one night. If there is a sign forbidding it, please respect it!
- There is plenty of public toilets along the roads in Norway. If you, however, need to relieve yourself in nature, then don’t leave toilet paper above ground. Either bring a shovel and dig it down along with your other business or bring it back with you. If unclear, read #1 again.
- Be creative in your hiking. 90% of tourists do the “top 10 best hikes”. There are many more equally beautiful, if not more beautiful hikes out there. You can read about them here. It’s also more fun to not have to stand in line for a picture.