Rondane
Rondane National Park (1962), Norway'S First National Park: Ten Peaks Over 2,000 M, Dry Lichen Plateaus And Wild Reindeer · Otta, Innlandet
Rondane in Innlandet became Norway's first national park in 1962, and it is still one of the easiest places to understand the Norwegian high mountains. Ten peaks rise above 2,000 m, the highest being Rondslottet at about 2,178 m, but they stand on a broad, dry plateau of pale lichen, boulders and lakes, so the walking is open and the views are long. The park is also one of the last homes in Europe of the wild mountain reindeer, and the herds, not the peaks, are its reason for being protected. Most visitors start from Spranget near Mysuseter above Otta, walk or cycle to the Rondvassbu hut on the lake Rondvatnet and climb Storronden or the harder route to Rondslottet. The painter Harald Sohlberg made the range famous with his winter paintings, and a viewpoint on road 27 marks his spot. The honest caveat: it is bare and windswept rather than lush, the season for the high peaks is short, and weather above 2,000 m can turn wintry even in July.
Rondane mountains; main trailheads at Spranget/Mysuseter (from Otta) and Rondvassbu hut, Otta, Innlandet, Norway
A national park, open all year with no gates or entry fee. The main summer season runs roughly late June to mid September, when the DNT hut at Rondvassbu is staffed and snow has left most paths; it also opens for a spring season around Easter (confirm dates). Reach Otta on the Dovre railway from Oslo or Trondheim, then a summer bus or car to Mysuseter and the toll road to Spranget. Road 27 on the eastern side is open all year. Book staffed huts in July and August; wild camping is free.