The whole rim
You can walk right round the crater and see it inside and out.
Theotherguydidit — CC BY 3.0 · Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jakub Hałun — CC BY-SA 4.0
A volcanic crater on the Ring Road in western Iceland, rising about a hundred and seventy metres above the surrounding lava field, with a wooden stairway climbing to its rim. It is among the easiest craters to climb in Iceland and among the most rewarding for the effort: the ascent is about twenty minutes on a built stairway, the rim can be walked all the way round, and the view takes in the crater from inside, the lava field spreading out, and two smaller craters beside it. The crater is of the scoria type: it formed in a fissure eruption around three thousand years ago, in which lava fragments piled up around the vent and built a cone. The lava field it produced is called Grábrókarhraun and covers the valley around it. That distinction matters because the two names are close: the crater is one thing and its lava field another, and they are separate entities in the records. Practical points: the climb is free and the car park is directly on the road. The stairway is built and safe but climbs steadily. The wind on the rim is strong — stay on the path and do not leave the steps, because the vegetation on the slope is fragile.
You can walk right round the crater and see it inside and out.
Lava fragments piled around the vent and built the cone.
Grábrók is the crater, Grábrókarhraun its lava field — two entities.
Norðurárdalur valley, on the Ring Road
Yes, and it is among the better family stops on the Ring Road: the stairway is built with a handrail, the climb is short and the reward immediate. Mind the wind on the rim with small children and stay on the marked path — the inner crater wall is very steep.
West Iceland on your way north: the Deildartunguhver spring, the Hraunfossar and Barnafoss waterfalls and the Reykholt valley, all within half an hour of the crater. Many people drive this stretch of the Ring Road without stopping, and it deserves half a day.
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