Kerid Crater Iceland: The Red Crater on the Golden Circle

The Basic Facts

Kerid sits in Grimsnes in south Iceland, in the Western Volcanic Zone. It formed about 6,500 years ago, which makes it young compared with much of the surrounding lava field but old in human terms. The crater measures 170 m wide and 270 m across, and it drops about 55 m from rim to floor. At the bottom sits a lake roughly 14 m deep.

The red colour people photograph comes from iron minerals in the gravel of the slopes. There is no active volcanism here. Nothing at Kerid erupts, steams or glows, and no listing on this page promises anything that moves.

A Volcano That Is Long Finished

Kerid is what geologists call a scoria or cinder cone of the kind that forms when erupting lava meets groundwater. The result is a steep-walled bowl rather than a mountain. Over the millennia the floor has settled and water has gathered into the lake you see today.

If you want a crater with water and recent volcanic history in the same frame, Iceland has other candidates. The Viti crater at Askja in the highlands is a caldera lake, and it is covered in our Askja and Viti guide. Kerid is simply the easiest one to reach, which is exactly why it draws the crowds it does.

What You Will Not See

Set expectations honestly. You will not see lava, steam vents or any sign of heat at Kerid. The crater last fed from magma thousands of years ago and the walk is over cooled, settled ground. Photographs that show red and orange are showing iron-rich soil and sunlight, not fire.

Kerid also sits far from the current volcanic action. The Reykjanes volcanic area, where eruptions have occurred in recent years, lies about 30 km from Reykjavik on the other side of the capital region. If your goal is cooled lava you can walk on from an eruption that people remember, look at the Fagradalsfjall volcano tours instead. If your goal is a calm, short and scenic volcanic stop that fits into a day of driving, Kerid does that job well.

The Entrance Fee and the Site Rules

Kerid is privately held, and there is a ISK 700 service fee charged at the gate. This applies whether you arrive by car or with a tour, and one coach tour, the cheapest of the three day trips, has you pay that fee separately at the crater while another builds admissions into its price. There is no online-only booking requirement stated, but the admission ticket listing exists for people who want it sorted in advance.

The one thing the site does not publish is a timetable. The crater's own words are that it is open when the sun is shining. That sounds like an Icelandic joke, but it is the operating reality. There is no fixed opening or closing hour stated anywhere in the operator material, so do not plan a midnight visit and expect facilities.

By Car

Driving yourself is the simplest option. Grimsnes sits on the Golden Circle route between Thingvellir and the Geysir and Gullfoss area, and Kerid is signed from the road. The ticket listing names free parking on site, which is unusual in Iceland and worth something on its own given what car parks near the south coast can cost.

The site also lists free toilets and a food truck, so you can stop, pay the fee, walk, eat and leave in well under two hours. If you are doing the whole Golden Circle in one day, Kerid slots in as the last or first stop without reshaping your route.

By Tour from Reykjavik

Three day tours from Reykjavik include Kerid on this page, and they differ in ways that matter more than the price spread. The cheapest coach tour runs seven hours but drops Kerid from any departure at 12:00 or later, so you must take the morning bus to get the crater stop. The small-group minibus is eight hours with hotel pickup and a minimum age of five. The longest option runs ten hours and adds the Secret Lagoon, with admissions included in the ticket price and a minimum age of two.

There is no public bus route to Kerid stated in any of these listings, so a tour or a hire car are the two realistic choices.

How Long Does It Take

No listing publishes a fixed time inside the crater, and the admission ticket is explicitly self-guided with no time limit. In practice the paths are short. There is a maintained trail around the rim and another that steps down toward the lake, and the ticket listing describes both as maintained. Walking the rim and going down to the water is the visit most people do, and it comfortably fits inside an hour.

If you are on a coach tour, the stop length is set by the operator and none of the listings states a number of minutes. Do not assume you get an hour. Treat Kerid as a stop, not a destination, and you will not be disappointed.

Facilities at the Crater

The ticket listing is specific about what is on site, and it answers three of the questions people most often ask.

Difficulty and Who It Suits

Both the admission ticket and the cheapest coach tour describe the site as easy, with steps down to the crater lake, and the other two day trips say suitable for all fitness levels. The steps to the water are the only part that asks anything of you, and you can skip them and stay on the rim if you prefer.

Two practical notes. Wear footwear with a grip, because volcanic gravel is loose when dry and slick when wet, and our what to wear guide covers the basics for Iceland in general. And check the weather listing before you go. The small-group minibus runs in all weather, but the crater itself is at its best with light and visibility, which links back to the site's own phrase about the sun shining.

If You Have a Car

Buy the admission ticket or pay at the gate. ISK 700 is the whole cost, parking is free, and you set your own pace and your own time of day. This is the cheapest option by a wide margin and the only one where the time at the crater is genuinely yours.

The tradeoff is that you handle the driving, the weather call and the rest of the Golden Circle yourself. If you are already on the route with a hire car, this is the obvious answer.

If You Want the Whole Golden Circle Done for You

The coach at $91 is the cheapest tour that includes Kerid, and it runs seven hours with pickup available from Reykjavik stops. Remember the rule: Kerid appears only on departures before midday, so book the morning bus. Children must be with an adult, and there is no fixed minimum age stated.

For a smaller group and hotel pickup at the door, the minibus at $119 runs eight hours, carries a minimum age of five and allows only a small backpack on board. It also offers an optional geothermal bakery stop with bread tasting, which the coaches do not.

If You Want a Soak Added

The ten-hour tour at $111 combines the Golden Circle and Kerid with the Secret Lagoon, and it is the only one of the three that builds admission fees into the price. Towel rental is extra and the minimum age is two, so it works for families with small children.

One seasonal note from the listing itself. The Secret Lagoon closes for upgrades between 12 and 22 May in the spring season, and on those dates the tour swaps in Laugarvatn Fontana instead. If you travel in that window, read the listing before you book rather than after.

If You Are Building the Rest of the Day

Kerid takes less time than the drive to it, so it is never the whole plan. The three Golden Circle stops sit on the same road, and the coach tours here bolt one of them to a lagoon or a hot spring. If the weather turns while you are out that way, the lava tunnel at Raufarholshellir is under an hour from the crater and runs underground whatever the sky does, and the Lava Show back in Reykjavik pours molten rock on a fixed schedule.

What Closes It or Spoils It

There is no safety closure attached to Kerid in any of the source material. It is not an eruption site, so the Department of Civil Protection rules that govern access to active lava fields on the Reykjanes peninsula do not apply here. The site's own operating condition is weather: the phrase in use is that it is open when the sun is shining, which in an Icelandic winter means short days, ice on the steps and a real chance the visit is brief.

Volcanic gas closures, which do affect trails near Reykjanes when the wind pushes gas across a route, are not a recorded problem at Kerid. The crater is in Grimsnes, a different volcanic system with no recent activity.

Who Should Not Bother

If you have already seen several craters and want raw volcanic terrain, Kerid may feel small and tame. If you need wheelchair access to the lake shore, the steps down are a barrier and the listings do not state that the lake path is accessible. If your whole party is under five, the small-group minibus is closed to you, though the coach with Kerid states no minimum age and the swimming tour takes children from two.

If what you actually want is to go inside a volcano rather than look into one, that is a different trip entirely, and our Thrihnukagigur volcano tours page covers the descent that does it.

The Season, In Short

Summer gives you the easiest walking, the greenest contrast against the red slopes and the longest window of daylight. Winter gives you a quieter site and a lake that may carry ice, but the steps down are the first thing to become treacherous and daylight hours are few. No listing on this page states a season of closure, so the practical reading is that access follows the weather and the light rather than a calendar.

Whatever the month, Kerid is a stop and not a hike. Budget your energy accordingly and leave room in the day for Geysir, Gullfoss and Thingvellir if you are doing the full route.

The Easy One on the Golden Circle

Kerid sits right on the Golden Circle route in Grimsnes, so most visitors reach it without a detour. The crater is about 6,500 years old, 270 m across and more than 55 m deep, with a lake about 14 m deep at the bottom. Maintained paths run around the rim and down to the water, and the walk suits most fitness levels.

There is free parking, free toilets and a food truck. The entry charge is a ISK 700 service fee at the gate. Compare that with Askja and Viti in the highlands, which need a long drive and only open in summer, or with Eldfell on Heimaey, which requires a ferry to the Westman Islands.

For a first look into a volcano on a standard day trip, nothing else is this simple.

What the Others Offer Instead

Each alternative gives you something Kerid cannot. The Inside the Volcano tour lowers you by lift through the magma chamber of Thrihnukagigur, which is a far deeper experience but costs far more and books out early. The Raufarholshellir lava tunnel puts you inside old plumbing beneath the lava field.

On the Reykjanes peninsula you can hike across ground that erupted within the last few years, though access depends on what the Department of Civil Protection has open. Kerid promises no lava and no heat. It is a finished, quiet crater with red slopes and calm water, and it costs a few dollars to enter.

If that is what you want, compare the options on the Kerid crater page.

Where the Money Goes Further

Price is where the gap widens. A self-guided visit to Kerid costs ISK 700 and as much time as you like. Guided Golden Circle days that include the crater run from $91 for a seven-hour coach to $119 for an eight-hour small-group minibus, and a ten-hour version with the Secret Lagoon soak is $111.

A descent into Thrihnukagigur or a helicopter flight over the Reykjanes eruption area sits in a different league entirely. Kerid is the budget answer to seeing a volcano in Iceland. It is not the most dramatic one, and it will not show you glowing rock, but per dollar spent it is hard to beat.

An overview of every option sits on the Iceland volcano tour homepage.