Rauðasandur
Rauðasandur (Rauðisandur) is an unusually long, roughly 10-kilometre stretch of sand on the southern coast of the Westfjords, facing Breiðafjörður bay and backed by steep mountains. Rather than Iceland's typical black volcanic sand, its color shifts through gold, ochre and reddish tones depending on light and weather, derived largely from pulverized scallop shells, and the area supports a resident seal population.
Region
Westfjords
Coordinates
65.4661° N, 24.0300° W
Plan the stop
- Allow
- 1 hr 30 min
Accessibility
- Wheelchair · Limited
- The beach itself is flat, but the only access is a steep, narrow gravel mountain road (Route 614) with sharp switchbacks and no guardrails, which is a barrier for wheelchair vans and limited-mobility visitors even before reaching the sand.
- Limited mobility · Limited
- The beach is broad and flat, but the descent road, distance across sand, wind, and lack of facilities make visits demanding.
- Sensory · Full
- Usually quiet and spacious, though wind, glare, and road anxiety on the approach can matter.
- Cognitive · Partial
- The open beach is simple, but the remote access road and tides call for planning.
Why it matters
The deserted farm of Sjöundá at the beach's eastern end was the site of a notorious 1802 double murder committed by Bjarni Bjarnason and Steinunn Sveinsdóttir, who were sentenced to death by King Christian VII and executed in 1805; the case inspired Gunnar Gunnarsson's 1929 novel Svartfugl. The beach's remoteness, reached only by a steep gravel mountain road, has kept it comparatively undeveloped.