We went to Håøya aka Goat Island for a hiking and farm-to-table experience. All we knew about this going in was a recommendation from a friend that said there were free roaming goats and a good bakery on an island outside of Oslo. That was enough!
Once we understood the ferry schedule we were able to buy a ticket with the same app Oslo uses for all public transportation (#ruter). A scenic hour long ferry overlooking hilly forests nestling oceanside houses brought us to Håøya.
Getting off the ferry, there was no signage for anything other than camping rules on the island and information about roaming goats. So we set off down the gravel road in front of us and wandered around until we saw a couple signs with the goat logo of the “farm” here.
Picking miniature raw strawberries which were incredibly sweet along the way, we past a small outdoor building / pen where they were milking goats before we reached the bakery building which itself wasn’t really marked.
The grilled goat cheese and bread was something to remember however their summer sausage was a bit too salty for me.
Next we went on a hike through a lush forest which eased up and down until reaching 715 ft. The trail at time was extremely groomed and easy to read while rocky, rooted and a little less worn in other places.
I had heard there was old WWII defenses on the island and we passed by some old concrete gun turret ruins and another bunker building.
Finally after signing a friendly summit register from the local municipality, we turned around to allow ample time to grab the last ferry back to Oslo. Ample time because the ferries offloaded and loaded quickly, in under a minute when they arrive.
It was a perfect half a day trip out of Oslo into nature with good food. This was a nice story about the goat “farm”. My biggest regret? There were no roaming goats!!
Some other things we really enjoyed in Oslo were the Ostara Bar, Grassroots Square and Salt.
