I think I mentioned that part of the reason I went to Iceland this summer was to finish off the geothermal spas? Well, this is the first of those last three: the Forest Lagoon. This is one of the three that has an Icelandic name as well as an English one – Skógarböð really means Forest Baths rather than Lagoon but the l-word means tourists will prick up their ears.
This one is in the north, on the opposite side of the fjord from Akureyri, Iceland’s second city. In fact, you can see the city through the trees, you can see planes trundling around its fjordside airport and you’ve got a great view of the causeway carrying the Ring Road out of Akureyri and into the open uplands of the north-east.
It’s called the Forest Lagoon because it’s surrounded by trees, a relatively unusual thing in Iceland. Not that I’m being cynical but it did occur to me how many trees must have been cut down to create the clearing in the side of the hill for the new lagoon – it’s a clearing of around 2400m² if I’ve done my sums correctly, about 20m x 120m. But it’s a lovely spot, if you can manage not to think about that. The birch trees screen off the fjord and city a little while giving you enough of a glimpse to not feel closed in. That’s the joy of these open-air places; to not feel closed in, to feel part of this big beautiful world.
The practicalities: it’s right on the Ring Road, free parking (of course!), electronic wristband, swim-up bar, sauna, rental towels, robes and swimwear. Don’t bother with the robe, you’ll only wear it for the ten steps between the shower and the pegs in the swim-out atrium. Yes, you don’t even have to brave the cold air to reach the hot water. There are actually two swim-up bars, one at each end of the lagoon where you use your bracelet as a credit card for buying drinks. In a nice bit of reduce-reuse-recycle, the electronic wristbands are the old ones from the Blue Lagoon, which recently upgraded from chewed-looking hard plastic in bright blue to more muted silicon. And here are the old ones!
And last, if you go to the bar in the main building, they sell waterproof phone cases. Actually, they sell vacuum-sealed single-use phone covers. I got mine sealed, not realising I wasn’t just buying an ordinary waterproof case and discovered that the seal renders my iPhone’s home button unpressable. The physical volume and power buttons work fine through it, the touchscreen works fine through it but the eldritch abomination that is the home button will do nothing. It’s a system called Wacway which I’ve also seen – but not looked closely at – at the Secret Lagoon and, I think, Vök Baths. Just a word of warning if you’re thinking of investing in one for your iPhone.
The changing rooms are that minimalistic grey concrete that luxury places love, there are private shower cubicles and the lights are turned way down in the showers. It’s almost quite a shock to step out of this dark cave-like place into a green waterworld, where the sun shines down through the trees and you can catch a glimpse of the fjord beyond, glittering. It’s not quite deep enough to swim in but it’s deep enough that you don’t have to crouch awkwardly to keep warm. The concrete edges are mostly slanted downwards but there are “tables” sticking up and underwater benches. People also use the big stepping stones as tables but they actually exist for the staff to get across the lagoon, either to get to the bar or to collect up the plastic cups that everyone just dumps around the edges. They’re reusable washable plastic cups, by the way, not single-use ones. And if you’re concerned about the environmental impact of all the hot water and electricity needed to wash said cups – this is Iceland. Hot water and electricity come out of the ground.
There’s a wooden building housing both a wet & dry sauna, there’s a cold pool for dipping after your hot sauna – or for when you decide the heat of the Forest Lagoon is a bit much. There’s a raised pool that’s a little warmer than the main lagoon, which has a waterfall trickling down into the lagoon. My inexplicable favourite touch is a cold water drinking tap. Lots of these geothermal places have free water fountains but this one is a spout that jets straight into the lagoon, which means the area immediately around it is a little cooler and you can put your whole head under it if you want instead of just drinking from it.
I said this in my overview post a couple of weeks ago: of the three brand new geothermal spas I tried out this summer, the Forest Lagoon was my favourite. It’s got more of a lagoon spirit than Geosea or Vök, which are both oversized hot tubs. The trees provide a certain amount of shelter from the evening sun – to be fair, a sweltering sun, even in July, isn’t a thing you have to worry about too often in Iceland but this trip certainly had a lot of hot weather. I liked that I could doggy-paddle around a bit and there were things to sit on and lean on, places to go beyond the main lagoon and a slope up to the hotter pool where I could lie half out of the water like a sunbathing seal, except in this case it was too cool off.
Since I’m planning an “ultimate best geothermal pools post”, I had half an analytical eye on the Forest Lagoon. For example, what’s its USP? Why would anyone choose this one over the other nine? I think I’ve come up with two things. One, the trees. None of the others are surrounded by sub-Arctic woodland. Two, quite simply – it’s the only one around. Its nearest neighbours are Geosea and Mývatn Nature Baths which are 46 and 52 miles away respectively. If you’re staying in Iceland’s northern capital, in Akureyri, of course you’re going to go to the lagoon in the city instead of doing a two/two and a half hour round trip to one of the others. And for what it’s worth, I’d choose the Forest Lagoon over Geosea any day.
Is it my favourite of the ten lagoons? No, not by a long way. But it’s very nice and I’ll definitely go back if I’m in the area. If you’re in the area, I’d recommend you give it a go. It’s very nice. It’s also a lot quieter and a lot cheaper than the Blue Lagoon. That’s true of all the other nine pools – nothing will ever beat the price and bustle of the Blue Lagoon – but the Forest Lagoon didn’t feel overcrowded and that’s a little unusual.
