“Warm Beach” To Open In East Iceland

In just a couple years’ time, Nauthólsvík will no longer be the only warm-water beach in Iceland.

RÚV reports that the owners of the Blue Lagoon and Jarðböðin í Mývatnssveit, along with eleven shareholders, have committed to investing 280 million ISK to creating a “warm water beach” at Urriðavatn lake, near Egilsstaðir. The total cost for the project is estimated to be 500 million ISK, and one shareholder, Ívar Ingimarsson, says enough funding has been secured to make the project a reality.

“With their contributions, the step has been taken that this will be completed,” he told reporters. “These are parties who understand this project well, and it is great cause for celebration to get this on the table.”

In implementation, geothermically heated water from a borehole near Urriðavatn will be pumped into the water to provide the sort of warm-water bathing experience that most of our readers are familiar with at Nauthólsvík. In addition, facilities will be constructed at the site and, as northeast Iceland is well known for considerably warmer air temperatures in the summer than the capital area usually experiences, this beach could be the new summer hot spot in Iceland.

The project is expected to be completed in 2019.