Hvaleyrarvatn
Hvaleyrarvatn and its surroundings are one of the most beautiful places in the capital region. There are many walking trails in the area, and everyone is free to fish in the lake.
Hvaleyrarvatn is an ideal outdoor recreational area and is located footpath around the lake, as well as other walking trails in the vicinity. In The app You can find both a mindfulness walk by the lake and a walking trail from Stórhöfði to Hvaleyrarvatn.
Hvaleyrarvatn is situated a short distance above Hafnarfjörður in a small cove, surrounded on three sides by hills: Vatnshlíð, Húshöfði and Selhöfði. To the west of the lake is Selhraun, which blocks the outflow of water from the cove. The Hvaler farmers had a summer farm here in earlier centuries, and the ruins under Selhöfði may be those of the old farmstead. Legend has it that a water snake in the lake killed a girl at the farm, and so it was abandoned.
In 1956, the Hafnarfjörður Forestry Society was given 32 hectares of land on Húshöfði, to the north-east of the lake, for afforestation. Since then, the society has greatly expanded its planting area and has done a great deal of good work there, as can be seen in their forest, Höfðaskógur.