60 years of development
How long has the river been here? Day and night, water flows from the glacier and mountains. Day and night, we hear the sound of the running water. A thousand tones exist in the river’s murmur. The sound gave name to our place on earth: Jølster – the sound of running water.
The water in the river comes from the ice on the plateaus, the snow in the valleys, and the rain over the meadows. The grass reaches for the sun, green leaves unfold in treetops shaped by the light in the sky. But the roots stretch toward the water. Roots are found along the river.
How long have we been here? The story of Jølstra, the islet in the river, and the Hjelmbrekke family stretches back many generations.
Great-grandfather Eirik knew the river like no one else. Strong and gleaming, the trout held its ground against the current—slim and swift in the shelter of the rocks. Great-grandfather Eirik followed the fish along the riverbank, his steps just as strong and sure, leading the way to the best fishing spots.
Often, Guttorm Kalhovd would join Eirik Hjelmbrekke by the river during the interwar years. For the beloved village pastor, creation was at its most beautiful on days like these, with good fishing.
Great-grandfather Eirik and great-grandmother Nikolina had nine children. Grandfather Leiv was the fourth in the bunch.
Already in elementary school, he noticed a cheerful girl from Grimsbøen he couldn’t take his eyes off. Her name was Engel. Grandfather Leiv went to agricultural school, and grandmother Engel went to homemaking school. She learned to cook. He learned to build. It was as if the wooden planks softened in his hands, shaping themselves just as he wanted. Engel softened too.
But the girl from Grimsbøen wanted more than just cooking.
Grandmother Engel rested her back against the birch tree. The heather was soft, and the sand felt warm against her feet out on the river islet. She watched the sun sparkle on the water and listened to the wind playing in the leaves.
Engel knew the islet like no one else. Ever since she arrived as a newlywed at the farm "Ondeveia," the islet had become her place on earth.
Grandfather Leiv might have been up in the mountains checking on the sheep on a summer day like this in the early 1960s. At home in the yard, five children were running around, full of energy. The hens fluttered between the house and the barn.
Four sisters and a little brother saw the spark of creativity in their mother’s eyes when she returned home. Norbjørg, Jartrud, Randi, Eili, and Egil grew up with Engel’s joy in sharing their place on earth and creating lasting memories for those who came to Jølster.
Tents, dry toilets, and a wooden bridge were soon replaced by cabins, sanitary facilities, and a car bridge at Jølstraholmen Camping. Every morning, Engel hung her money pouch over the handlebars of her bicycle and rode out to collect payment from the guests. Every evening, she returned home—often after spending the entire day chatting with tourists.
She put it simply: "I like life as a hostess."
A white scar stretches across the knee of the old builder. The chisel cut through his skin and down to the bone when Kaare Åsen built the first cabin at Jølstraholmen. He left his axe inside the wall.
Many years later, he got it back when the small cabin had to make way for a larger one. The axe was right where he had placed it, with the initials K.Å. carved into the handle.
Kaare Åsen’s initials are etched into the history of Jølstraholmen, just as the white scar on his knee has etched Jølstraholmen’s history into him. From standing alone with an axe and chisel, he built Åsen Hyttebygg, which later became Jølster Bygg—growing into a cornerstone company in lower Jølster.
Jølstraholmen Camping served as both a showcase and an important customer for the local entrepreneur.
A truck drives through the darkness over the mountain. Its flatbed stretches six meters into the night, but the load extends even further. The logs Egil has picked up from Moelven are sixteen meters long.
In the cab, his wife Eli sits beside him, cradling little Eirik in a blanket. They are on this journey together—they are always together. And they are young. At just 20 years old, they took over the running of Jølstraholmen Camping in the late ’70s. The logs on the truck will support the roof of the new gas station.
Sixteen meters. An impossible length for a truck. An impossible height for a crane.
But they load it onto the flatbed anyway and hope for the best. They build a ramp for the crane, lift the logs, and get the roof over the gas station.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
"We wanted to create a workplace for both of us," Egil explains. A gas station, service center, store, café, cabins, and playground. What started as a workplace for two soon became a workplace for ten—a workplace for many.
A holiday destination for thousands.
One of them is little Vibeke. She sits in the soft, white sand out on the islet. She hasn’t learned to walk yet. She doesn’t crawl either. Instead, she has a unique technique—scooting forward on her bottom through the sand. Her father, Reier, watches his little girl and feels the joy of vacation settle into his bones. Suddenly, she places her tiny hands in the heather, pulls herself up, takes her first steps, and toddles across the islet toward her father.
Forty years later, Reier feels the same happiness every time he crosses the highest point of the mountain pass between east and west, knowing that the annual holiday week at Jølstraholmen Camping is approaching.
"I have no other word for it than joy. It is pure and absolute happiness to arrive at Jølstraholmen. I'll be back next year, too."
Reier Dahl has been a happy guest at Jølstraholmen for generations. Happy in a tent with a dry toilet, happy in a cabin with a respatex table and bunk beds, happy in the then-modern Ål cabins from the 1980s, and happy in the new deluxe cabins.
"It's the people who are the secret," he explains. "You won’t find hospitality like this anywhere else. You don’t just feel welcome—you feel like they’re genuinely happy to see you and have been waiting for you. The warm smiles that greet me when I arrive are worth far more than a high-standard cabin."
Where do the smiles come from? Perhaps they stem from a deep love for the place, the strong family bond, and the creative spirit passed down through generations. But there came a time when Eli and Egil couldn’t continue. The endless hours of work had become too much, and they decided to sell Jølstraholmen Camping. Their son Eirik had already taken over running the SPAR store. Would their daughter Kristine step in as the third generation of the Hjelmbrekke family to run the campground?
At first Kristine said no. Then she met Tore. Then she said yes.
Kristine and Tore came home. Eli and Egil left. Tore didn’t know how to plow, but he plowed. He didn’t know how to dig, but he dug. Nearly ten years later, he can do it all. "I've been very lucky," Kristine smiles. And it takes only a fraction of a second to see that Tore feels just as lucky to be with her.
A photo flies across the web. The world discovers Jølstra through a triangular window on Instagram.
A new perspective, better comfort, but the river is the same outside the windows of the river suites that are going viral. The same as when Grandma Engel found her place on the land out on the islet, the same as when Great-Grandpa Eirik and the priest Kalhovd lured the trout out between the rocks.
We borrow her for the short time we have so that new generations can find enough roots to reach for their opportunities, in their time.
How long has the marsh been here? It lies along the other side of the river, covered in heather and berries, with tall pine trees and sturdy stones. Stones to climb on and rest by. Kristine knows the marsh like no one else. Two children follow her gentle steps across the mysterious wetland. Nikolai and Ronja know that their mother smiles the way she does when she dreams—just as Engel once dreamed to the sound of a thousand tones from the river, sixty years ago.
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River Suite 1
Our most popular Suite of all time. Here you get the illusion of spending the night in the mighty Jølstra River.
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River Suite 2
Our newest River Suite with a built-in bathtub in the bathroom. Fantastic view of the Jølstra River.
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Deluxe Riverside 2.0
This is the Rolls-Royce of our deluxe cabins. Fantastic location along the Jølstra River with extra spacious accommodations.
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Deluxe Riverside
Stay luxuriously by the river in our delicate Riverside Deluxe cabins. Perfect for families who appreciate a little extra comfort.
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Deluxe Beachfront
The ultimate family cabin is located right next to our popular swimming pond.
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Junior Suite
Ål cabin upgraded to a Junior Suite. Perfect for couples or families looking for a unique place to stay.
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Deluxe HC friendly
Suitable for people with mobility needs and great for families who prefer to stay away from the river. A big and comfortable cabin.
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Standard Riverside 2.0
Upgraded Riverside cabins by the river, Jølstra. Fully equipped kitchen and heated floors in parts of the cabin.
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Riverside Standard
Ål cabin with a fireplace and a great location along the Jølstra River.
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Comfort Holmen
Comfortable cabins on Holmen, located by a side river. Fully equipped kitchen and two terraces with sun in the morning and evening.
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Comfort mini
Our smallest and cheapest cabins. Good beds, bathroom and TV.
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The Lodge
Spacious and fully renovated timber lodge with a cozy atmosphere. The lodge has three bedrooms, comfortably accommodating six guests. It also features a private sauna.
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Master Barn Suite
Exclusively in historical barn
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Grinda Suites
Exclusive suites in a historic barn
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Family Barn Suite
Family Barn Suite in our historic barn on Jølstraholmen Nature Hotel