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- Sassenfjorden glacier fronts — jagged glacier tongues drop right into the fjord, shedding small icebergs and creating mirror-like reflections on calm days. It’s dramatic photography territory and best experienced from a boat or kayak (guided trips are the usual, especially because of sea ice and wildlife safety).
- Sassendalen (Sassen Valley) — a wide tundra valley that turns surprisingly green in summer and is the go-to for spotting Svalbard reindeer, Arctic fox tracks, and abundant wildflowers. Low-angle hikes here are gentle but feel wildly remote — great for an easy day out away from the coast.
- Bünsow Land plateaus and ridges — wind-sculpted high ground with sweeping panoramas of fjords and glaciers, perfect for ridge walks and sunrise/sunset photos. Trails are unmarked, so bring a map,
- Sassenfjorden glacier fronts — jagged glacier tongues drop right into the fjord, shedding small icebergs and creating mirror-like reflections on calm days. It’s dramatic photography territory and best experienced from a boat or kayak (guided trips are the usual, especially because of sea ice and wildlife safety).
- Sassendalen (Sassen Valley) — a wide tundra valley that turns surprisingly green in summer and is the go-to for spotting Svalbard reindeer, Arctic fox tracks, and abundant wildflowers. Low-angle hikes here are gentle but feel wildly remote — great for an easy day out away from the coast.
- Bünsow Land plateaus and ridges — wind-sculpted high ground with sweeping panoramas of fjords and glaciers, perfect for ridge walks and sunrise/sunset photos. Trails are unmarked, so bring a map, GPS, and polar-bear awareness; the views reward the effort.
- Seabird cliffs and colonies — certain coastal bluffs host dense breeding sites of kittiwakes and Brünnich’s guillemots, turning cliff faces into noisy, winged cities in summer. If you like birdlife and dramatic vertical scenery, these colonies are a standout.
- Marine mammals and haul-out sites — the sheltered coves and fjord edges attract seals, walruses, and—if you’re very lucky or unlucky depending on your nerves—occasionally polar bears along the ice edge. Wildlife watching is spectacular but deserves distance and a guide when you’re close.
- Glacially carved landscapes — moraines, cirques, polished bedrock and scattered erratics make the whole park a lesson in ice-age sculpting; hikers and photographers love the stark, graphic shapes. These features are everywhere and make even short walks feel geologically epic.
- Trapper huts and cultural traces — lonely wooden cabins, cairns and hunting markers from 19th-20th century trapping give a human layer to the landscape and make good low-key stops on a longer route. They’re fragile and protected, so look but don’t disturb.
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past decade, I’ve backpacked through 80+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.