Innlandet county is a sweeping expanse of rich farmland, thriving wilderness and mythical mountain ranges, stretching across middle and southeastern Norway. It is the only landlocked county in Norway, and is second in size only to Troms og Finnmark in the north. It hosts 20% of the country’s agricultural land, specializing in grains, hay, potatoes and livestock. Norway’s largest lake, Mjøsa, its tallest mountain, Galdhøpiggen, and several famous valleys and mountain ranges call Innlandet home.

Nestled along the eastern shore of Lake Mjøsa is the county’s largest town, Hamar. Founded in 1849 to promote trade and tourism on the lake, modern Hamar was built on the site of its previously abandoned medieval counterpart, the ruins of which you can tour today at Anno Museum Domkirkeodden. North Americans will especially enjoy Utvandrermuseet, the Norwegian Emigrant Museum. It features collections of archives and artifacts, and buildings from the U.S.’s upper Midwest, built between 1870 and 1920. Sons of Norway’s Hamar Lodge 8-017 can also be found here, meeting on Mondays at 7:00 p.m.

On the northern end of Lake Mjøsa, you will find the town of Lillehammer, known as the gateway into the lush Gudbrandsdalen (Gudbrand Valley). It is famous as the site for the 1994 Winter Olympic Games, and as the starting point for the annual Birkebeiner ski race. Visitors can step back in time at Maihaugen, an expansive open-air museum with nearly 200 historic buildings, dating from the 1200s to present day. Adventure also awaits among giant sleeping trolls and fairy tale castles at the popular Hunderfossen amusement park.

Extending 140 miles to the northwest, Gudbrandsdalen offers a wide scope of villages, art centers, historic farms, stave churches, and delicious local restaurants to be explored and enjoyed, along with beautiful scenery. This region encompasses several smaller valleys, such as Espedalen, home of the annual Peer Gynt Festival, and Ottadalen, the scene of the Battle of Kringen. In 1612, locals hurled boulders down the valley into a band of Scottish mercenaries, ensuring they never made it to Sweden. One bunad from this region, the råndastakk med rutaliv features a plaid vest not unlike a Scottish tartan. The folk art of Gudbrandsdalen is celebrated in the rosemaled Sons of Norway Christmas ornament for 2021.

Just west of Gudbrandsdalen lies a trout fishing paradise and traditional district called Valdres. Two famous bygdedanser (folk dances) associated with this region are the lively couple dance Valdresspringar and the showboating hallingdansen or Halling. Valdres is home to Hallgrim Hansegård who has brought Halling dance into modern times with his dance company Frikar. Hansegård’s choreography and dance prowess were featured on the world stage in the winning 2009 Eurovision Song Contest entry, “Fairytale.”

Looming tall to the east, north and west, the Rondane, Dovrefjell, and Jotunheimen mountain ranges are some of the most famous in Norway. Preserved as national parks, they all offer amazing hiking and skiing trails, downhill slopes, and fishing along with striking views of waterfalls, rivers, lakes, and wildlife.

Featuring the oldest national park in Norway, the Rondane range borders the valley to the east. Visitors here can go on a moose safari or drive up the Rondane Norwegian Scenic Route to stop at Sohlbergplassen, a view painted by Harald Sohlberg as “Winter Night in the Mountains.”

Dovre National Park and Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, to the northwest, both encompass large sweeps of the Dovrefjell mountain range. They are home to herds of musk oxen, which were successfully reintroduced to the area in 1947 from Greenland.

As the connection between south and north, the Dovre mountains are integral to Norway’s identity. Enig og tro til Dovre faller – “United and true until Dovre falls” was a motto of the signers of the constitution at Eidsvoll in 1814. This also served as an early secret password for the lodge meetings of Sons of Norway.

Formed in 2020 by combining Oppland and Hedmark counties, Innlandet is a land of sleepy farms and sleeping trolls, wide valleys of grain and boundless stands of forests, deep lakes and tall, lonely mountains. It is the perfect setting for an adventure of giant proportions.