Norway maintains 47 national parks covering approximately 32,500 square kilometers on the mainland and an additional 21,000 square kilometers across Svalbard. The Directorate for Nature Management oversees these protected areas under the Nature Diversity Act of 2009, which replaced earlier legislation from 1970. The first Norwegian national park, Rondane, received designation in 1962, protecting 963 square kilometers of mountainous terrain in eastern Norway. Hardangervidda National Park holds status as the largest mainland protected area at 3,422 square kilometers, encompassing Europe's most extensive mountain plateau between 1,100 and 1,400 meters elevation. The protected area system expanded significantly between 2002 and 2009 when Parliament committed to completing a representative network covering all major ecosystem types, resulting in 23 new national park designations during this period.
Jotunheimen National Park protects 1,151 square kilometers surrounding Norway's highest peaks, including Galdhøpiggen at 2,469 meters and Glittertind at 2,465 meters. The park boundaries extend across portions of Innlandet and Vestland counties, incorporating more than 200 summits exceeding 2,000 meters. Glaciers cover approximately 150 square kilometers within the park, representing remnants of ice fields that carved the Norwegian landscape during the last glacial maximum between 25,000 and 15,000 years ago. The Norwegian Trekking Association maintains 22 staffed lodges and approximately 300 kilometers of marked trails within Jotunheimen, with Besseggen ridge recording over 30,000 hikers annually along its 14-kilometer route. The park received national designation in 1980, absorbing earlier Galdøypiggen protected area established in 1964.
Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park spans 1,693 square kilometers across central Norway, positioned where the eastern and western mountain ranges meet. The park supports Europe's only wild musk ox population, descended from 27 animals released between 1932 and 1953 from Greenland stock. Current population estimates range between 250 and 350 individuals concentrated in the Dovre massif region. The park also contains critical habitat for wild reindeer, with approximately 1,500 animals utilizing the protected area during various seasonal migrations. Snøhetta peak reaches 2,286 meters within the park boundaries, marking the highest point in the Dovrefjell range. The E6 highway crosses through the park via Hjerkinn Pass at 1,020 meters, requiring specific design modifications including wildlife underpasses constructed between 2005 and 2011 to reduce vehicle collisions with migrating mammals.
Hardangervidda National Park encompasses Norway's largest mountain plateau between Bergen and Oslo, with average elevations between 1,100 and 1,400 meters extending across 120 kilometers east to west. The protected area contains approximately 15,000 lakes and tarns, most remaining frozen from October through June. Europe's largest wild reindeer population utilizes Hardangervidda for calving and grazing, with estimates consistently recording between 6,000 and 8,000 animals. The Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre operates a research station at Skinnarbu, collecting migration data through GPS collars since 2006. The Bergen Railway crosses the northern edge of the park, reaching 1,237 meters at Finse station, Norway's highest railway point. Hardangervidda received national park status in 1981 after extended debates regarding hydroelectric development, which had already placed the Hardangervidda plateau under modified protection in 1968.
Jostedalsbreen National Park protects 1,310 square kilometers surrounding continental Europe's largest glacier, which covers 487 square kilometers across Vestland county. The ice field reaches maximum thickness of approximately 600 meters near the central accumulation zone, feeding 28 distinct glacier arms descending into surrounding valleys. Nigardsbreen glacier arm has retreated approximately 2.5 kilometers since measurements began in 1748, with most retreat occurring after 1930. The Norwegian Glacier Museum at Fjærland documents glacier dynamics through ice core analysis and photographic records spanning 150 years. Briksdalsbreen and Kjenndalsbreen attract approximately 200,000 combined visitors annually, though access regulations implemented in 2017 require certified guides for glacier surface travel. The park received designation in 1991, incorporating earlier protected zones established in 1986.
Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park covers 2,102 square kilometers along the Arctic Circle boundary in Nordland county, protecting portions of Norway's second largest ice field. Svartisen comprises two distinct glaciers, Vestre Svartisen at 221 square kilometers and Østre Svartisen at 148 square kilometers, separated by the Glomdalen valley. Engabreen glacier arm descends to 20 meters above sea level, marking the lowest glacier terminus in mainland Europe. The Svartisen Subglacial Laboratory operates beneath 200 meters of ice, accessible through a 3.5-kilometer horizontal tunnel constructed in 1988 for hydroelectric purposes but adapted for glaciology research. Arctic Circle Centre at Saltfjellet marks the 66°33'N latitude line where the park boundaries cross, though Earth's axial precession shifts this demarcation northward approximately 14 meters annually. The park gained protection in 1989 combining earlier reserves from 1938 and 1986.
Rondane National Park established Norway's protected area system in 1962, initially covering 572 square kilometers before expansion to 963 square kilometers in 2003. Ten peaks exceeding 2,000 meters rise within the park, with Rondslottet reaching 2,178 meters as the highest summit. The park protects the southernmost extension of continuous alpine tundra in Norway, supporting plant communities typical of areas 400 kilometers further north. Wild reindeer populations utilizing Rondane dropped from approximately 2,000 animals in the 1960s to fewer than 200 by 2010, primarily attributed to infrastructure development fragmenting migration corridors. The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research maintains monitoring stations recording vegetation changes related to grazing pressure and climate variables since 1995. Rondvassbu lodge serves as the primary visitor facility, operating since 1938 and recording approximately 15,000 overnight stays annually.
Femundsmarka National Park protects 573 square kilometers of boreal forest and wetlands along the Swedish border in Innlandet county, representing Norway's largest undeveloped forest wilderness. Femunden lake extends 60 kilometers within and beyond park boundaries, reaching maximum depth of 130 meters and supporting arctic char populations at the species' southern distribution limit. The park contains minimal infrastructure, with no roads penetrating the protected area and four unstaffed wilderness cabins providing the only shelter. The forest composition includes Scots pine stands exceeding 400 years age in fire-protected sites along the lake's eastern shore. Archaeological evidence documents Sami settlements within the current park boundaries dating to approximately 1,200 CE, with reindeer herding continuing until the 1970s. The park received designation in 1971, motivated partly by Swedish establishment of Fulufället Nature Reserve across the adjacent border in 1966.
Børgefjell National Park spans 1,447 square kilometers across the Nordland-Trøndelag border, protecting transition zones between boreal forest and alpine tundra. The park lies within traditional Sami territories, with five siida (herding districts) maintaining reindeer grazing rights throughout the protected area under agreements formalized during park establishment in 1963. Approximately 4,000 reindeer utilize Børgefjell seasonally, moving between winter ranges at lower elevations and summer pastures above 1,000 meters. The Nordland line railway passes within 15 kilometers of park boundaries at Majavatn station, historically the primary access point before road construction reached the area in the 1970s. Børgefjell contains over 300 catalogued archaeological sites including pit houses, offering structures, and reindeer hunting installations dating between 500 CE and 1800 CE. The park expanded from initial 900 square kilometers to current extent through additions in 2003.