Pretty much up until I discovered Melsheia, I had been running on a lot of bitumen and concrete, with the odd gravel track around Mosvannet, Stokkavannet, Hålandsvannet and Godalen. Unless you get out of the city and head for Sandnes, there isn’t much in the way of actual soft trails in Stavanger, unless your goal is the beach.
Melsheia is not far away from my in-laws, so whenever we went to visit them, I managed to squeeze out a run here and there on its beautiful soft forest trails. Melsheia is used both in winter and summer. In winter as a nordic skiing park, which is lit at night, and in summer for trail running and walking, and the odd biker.
The Rogaland Arboretum backs onto Melsheia and both make for a beautiful experience in the Norwegian outdoors.
Looking out across Rogaland Arboretum