Experience, play and learn
Clip: The Lærdal Wild Salmon Visitor Centre and Rick Rosenthal, Wild Logic
Experience, explore, play and learn more about wild Atlantic salmon
Lærdal is home to one of four authorized wild salmon visitor centers in Norway. Here you can experience, explore, play and learn more about the wild Atlantic salmon.
We are open every day from May 1st to September 30th.
You can combine your visit with an art experience at Sogn Art Centre and enjoy good local food at Laksen Bakery and Café . Both are located in the same building as us. The center is also a good starting point for a walk along the river or the old preserved wooden houses on Lærdalsøyri
Follow the salmon through its life
The exhibition is self-guided, with no physical guide. You explore the salmon’s life cycle at your own pace — from its early years in the river, through its migration to the open ocean, and back through the fjord and up the spawning river to the waterfall, impossible for salmon to pass. Along the way, you can read, listen, and test your knowledge through interactive elements and quizzes. The aim is to encourage reflection and highlight what wild salmon mean to us.
For school classes and kindergartens
We offer schools and kindergartens free visits and guided tours or outdoor nature tours.
Shared building, shared experiences
In the building you will also find Laksen Bakery and Café and Sogn Art Centre You can go up to the roof, look down at the salmon in the center, enjoy the view of the fjord and the river, get an art experience and good local food all in the same place.
More about the building Øyraplassen 14
The Lærdal River - The King's River
His Majesty King Harald is an experienced angler who started out as a salmon and sea trout fisherman in The Lærdal River . First time in 1951, later as a regular guest for over 70 years. In 1984, a fishing spot in the river was named "Kronprins Haralds Mur". This as a sign of the King's connection to Lærdal and the river.
The Spawning Festival in October
Spawning Festival combines nature experiences, professional content and culture, right in the heart of the salmon kingdom. The festival runs over three days with activities for all ages, from fly fishing workshops and guided spawning walks along the river, book baths, professional programs, concerts and dance.