Kinn Island

About

Far out in the ocean gap, you can find the green, and gras covered, island Kinn, and its church and characteristic mountain site Kinnaklova. The excellent walking paths and hikes, and the short travel from Florø make Kinn a very popular destination all year around. 

The area around Kinn was the central herring region in Norway during large parts of the 19th century. At its height, there were about 15 000 people living on Kinn island and the surrounding islands during the herring season. There are currently only a couple of people who live on Kinn island full time. The island is the home of the beautiful stone church from the Middle Ages. The church was renovated from 2018 to 2020. The mythical church is built in a roman building style, and has been used since the 12th century. This is the oldest church in Sunnfjord Region, and was traditionally linked to the legend of St. Sunniva and the Selju Menn. The church sits at the base of the steep mountain of Kinn, and the massive Kinnaklova is its nearest neighbour. The famous cleft cliff of Kinn is famous along the coast, as its charecteristic shape has always been a guide for sailors along our coast. 

During the summer of 2021 from 19th of June to 29th of August, the church will be open. The church’s hosts will also hold short prayers with song. There will also be a chance to buy coffee, water, chocolate, and cookies by the church. You can also use the toilets that are situated right by the church entrance. 

LOCAL BOATS TO KINN
Visit Kinn and let yourself be amazed by the island, history, the Medieval church, and the beautiful nature! You can travel with the local boat from the costal town Florø out to Kinn. The boat departs from Fugleskjærskaia in Florø daily and brings passengers past the many islands and islets. There are 5 departing boats Monday to Friday, and 2 boats during the weekend, and there is also an additional route during the summer season. Visit entur.no to search for routes. (From: Florø kai, Kinn. To: Kinn kai, Kinn). Tickets can be purchased on board the local boat. An adult ticket one way costs about 90,- and children and seniors’ tickets are about half the price. The local boat only stops at Kinn if the crew knows there will be passengers. You can find the phone number to the boat when you look up the routes on entur.no. Call the boat before it departs from Florø to ask it to stop at Kinn. 

WALKING PATHS
When arriving at Kinn you can follow the road to your right towards Kinn church. The walk along the 1 km long gravel road takes about 20 minutes. If you want to walk even further, you can continue on the hiking path around the island and end up by the quay where you can catch the local boat back to Florø. The hike from the church to the quay is about 3 km long and takes around 2 hours. Because the terrain is mostly easy, the hike fits both older and younger visitors. There is a somewhat steep incline when you hike up the Høgskaret. Signs mark the hike around the island and Kinn’s highest peak “Inste Stauren”. There is a great view at the top of this peak! If you want to hike up Inste Stauren, you will need to make sure you have some additional time at Kinn, seeing that it takes a bit longer. You can also hike up Kinnafjellet. The path up to Kinnafjellet begins between the quay and the church. See Ut.no for more detailed descriptions of the hikes. 

ACCOMODATION AT KINN 
The old school building functions as a cabin for a local chapter of the Norwegian Trekking Association DNT. You can rent a key to the cabin at the tourist office in Florø. IMPORTANT: Because of COVID19 restrictions, the cabin is locked and needs to be booked in advanced. Contact Signe Nordvik at +47 41530520 to book the DNT cabin. Kinn is also a good place to spend the night in a tent. Kinn Guest House is a pilgrim hostel and accepts bookings through Airbnb.no

GUEST HARBOR
There is a small floating jetty right where the local boat stops at Kinn. It costs 100,- for 4 hours and 200,- for 24 hours. It is also possible to stay by the stone quay, but you have to make sure you are not blocking the local boat or an ambulance boat. 

KINNASPELET
Kinnaspelet is arranged every year in June in front of Kinn church. Kinnaspelet is a historic outdoor play about love, hate, faith, and loyalty towards both the church and to people. Since its premiere in 1985, around 90 000 people have visit Kinn to watch Kinnaspelet. Kinnaspelet is truly a spectacular experience. The natural made amphitheatre below Kinnafjellet, the sky, and the changing ocean creates a beautiful back drop for the dramatic play. The boat trip out to Kinnaspelet is without a doubt something you will remember for a long time. 

GUIDED TOURS
Contact Visit Fjordkysten and the tourist office in Florø at mail@fjordkysten.no or +47 57743000 to ask about guiding. 
Kinn island is a part of the guided pilgrim cruise during the summer of 2021. More information about the tour here.