Skógafoss rainbow: when and where to stand
Short answer: 6 Nov 2026: Best rainbow from In front of the falls, by the pool, 10:05–16:10 (strongest around 12:50), if the sun is out.
Skógafoss drops 60 m straight down a south-facing cliff, and the spray drifts towards you as you walk up to the pool. With the sun behind you, a single or double rainbow forms in the mist at your feet or arching over the pool.
Fri 6 November 2026 · sunrise 09:15, sunset 16:51
By the pool: rainbow 10:05–16:10
Best rainbow from In front of the falls, by the pool, 10:05–16:10 (strongest around 12:50), if the sun is out.
| In front of the falls, by the pool looking north at the falls, sun behind you | A big, bright arc | 10:05–16:10 Best 12:50, high, arching over the falls |
|---|
Hour by hour
| Time | By the pool |
|---|---|
| 09:00 | |
| 09:30 | |
| 10:00 | |
| 10:30 | |
| 11:00 | |
| 11:30 | |
| 12:00 | |
| 12:30 | |
| 13:00 | |
| 13:30 | |
| 14:00 | |
| 14:30 | |
| 15:00 | |
| 15:30 | |
| 16:00 | |
| 16:30 | |
| 17:00 |
Plan it
Walk right up to the pool: the rainbow sits in the spray around you. In midsummer the midday sun is too high for a rainbow except low down near the ground; mornings and afternoons are better. A rainbow needs direct sun on the spray: on an overcast day there is none.
Through the year
| 15th of | By the pool |
|---|---|
| January | 11:50–15:15 |
| February | 09:55–17:20 |
| March | 08:15–18:50 |
| April | 07:55–18:50 |
| May | 08:20–18:15 |
| June | 08:50–12:00, 14:45–17:55 |
| July | 08:45–12:50, 14:05–18:10 |
| August | 08:10–18:45 |
| September | 07:35–19:00 |
| October | 08:45–17:30 |
| November | 10:40–15:35 |
| December | 12:50–13:45 |
Skógafoss rainbows by month
Questions
What time is the rainbow at Skógafoss?
6 Nov 2026: Best rainbow from In front of the falls, by the pool, 10:05–16:10 (strongest around 12:50), if the sun is out. The time moves through the year; pick your date above.
Which side of Skógafoss has the rainbow in the morning and which in the afternoon?
In front of the falls, by the pool: afternoons.
Why is there no rainbow at midday?
When the sun is higher than about 42°, the whole rainbow circle sits below the horizon. You can then only see it low down, in spray below you, if at all. In summer that rules out the middle of the day at most falls closer to the tropics.
How do you calculate the rainbow times?
A rainbow is a circle of about 42° around the point exactly opposite the sun. You only see the part of that circle that falls on sunlit spray, so it needs the sun behind you and lower than about 42° above the horizon. For every 5 minutes of the day we place that circle in the sky and check how much of it lands on the spray seen from each viewpoint.
Calculated from the sun's position at each viewpoint. The spray extent is an estimate for normal flow; wind pushes the mist around and can move the rainbow by a few degrees. Times are local (Atlantic/Reykjavik).