Lodbjerg Lighthouse

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A cultural-historical gem in the midst of the wilderness

One of the main attractions in National Park Thy is Lodbjerg Lighthouse, which stands alone in the midst of a vast heath and plantation area. The lighthouse was built in 1883 and first lit on November 28, 1884. The lighthouse tower is 35 meters high, and the light is situated 48 meters above sea level. Access to the lighthouse is available every day, year-round, from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

Lodbjerg Lighthouse once housed three families, each tasked with keeping the lighthouse running 24/7. They each had their own homes within the small lighthouse complex, meticulously organized by rank. In the old rooms of the lighthouse keeper, you can visit the coffee room today, where volunteer hosts welcome visitors and sell coffee/tea, juice, and homemade pastries.

There is also access to an exhibition about the lighthouse keeper's duties beyond keeping the lighthouse light on every night; one of the more surprising tasks was to send birds that had perished from flying into the light to the Zoological Museum in Copenhagen.

In the old chicken house, which is open year-round, there is space to enjoy your packed lunch, warm up by the wood-burning stove, or borrow a backpack with adventure equipment for your excursion. Notice the three old chicken doors on the facade of the house. Even the chicken house was divided into three, to keep track of whose eggs were whose.

Practical Information

Lodbjergvej 33, 7770 Vestervig

(Find it at Google Maps)

Opening hours of the lighthouse and exhibition: Open every day, year-round from 7 AM to 9 PM. Admission to the lighthouse costs 30 kr. (free for children) and is paid in cash at the tower cash register box at the entrance or in the cafe.
Opening hours of the coffee room in 2024: 11 AM to 4 PM from March 22 to April 1 (school Easter holidays) + daily from May 1 to September 30 + October 11 to20 (during school autumn holidays).
Meet the volunteer lighthouse keepers: You can meet the volunteer lighthouse keepers on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 AM to 4 PM during the same periods that the coffee room is open. The lighthouse keepers are ready to share a story about the lighthouse or answer questions. At 11:30, they invite guests for a small tour of the area, usually located in the courtyard. Reservations cannot be made in advance for visits to the coffee room.
Facilities at the lighthouse: There are toilets and an accessible toilet at the lighthouse. You can also fill a water bottle before starting your hike along the Redningsvejen trail or one of the many other marked hiking routes from the square in front of the lighthouse.
Lodbjerg Lighthouse reopened in May 2019 after extensive restoration, serving as a stepping stone to the magnificent nature outside. The renewal of Lodbjerg Lighthouse was achieved through a partnership between National Park Thy, the Nature Agency Thy, and the Municipality of Thisted, with support from Færchfonden, Realdania, the Outdoor Council, and the Nordea Foundation.

During the summer season, you can purchase coffee and homemade baked goods in the volunteer-run coffee room. Photo: Poul Christian Madsen.

You can also experience this

Few places in National Park Thy are more beautiful than the dune heath near Lodbjerg Lighthouse. The dune heath is home to creeping willow and heather, as well as bilberries, cranberries, and bog cotton. You can also find heather, bell heather, hairy hawkbit, and various species of sundew. When spring sun appears, you might encounter adders and common lizards. On the outermost dunes, the robust marram grass grows, with its extensive root system and growth ability that effectively secures and binds the dunes.

North of Lodbjerg Lighthouse, you will find two beautiful groups of a total of nine burial mounds. Pollen analyses from excavations reveal that in the Stone Age, there were forests with lime, oak, and yew trees. Later, more and more heather pollen appears, indicating that the first farmers in the area cleared the forest to cultivate the land, and after a brief cultivation period, heather took over.

Lodbjerg Plantation was initiated in 1923, making it a relatively young plantation. It was established at a time when sand stabilization was no longer the top priority, and from the beginning, more natural considerations were taken into account here than in most dune plantations. Consequently, there are quite large areas that have not been planted and instead are left as heath, meadows, plains, and fields.

Today, the Nature Agency practices close-to-nature forest management in Lodbjerg Dune Plantation. Old and dead trees are allowed to remain standing, even during timber harvesting. This is essential for the natural rejuvenation of the forest and biodiversity, providing a sustained forest cover and a more stable forest climate.

The plans include significantly increasing biological diversity in the future, for example, by preserving more old trees, planting more native tree and shrub species, closing additional drainage ditches, and ceasing soil cultivation in the area.

1 kilometer to the west, Lodbjerg's coastal cliff rises up to 10 meters high above the beach and the North Sea. The coastal cliff consists of moraine clay and mica clay, which protrudes from the dunes and is therefore called "black noses."

The mica clay, located at the bottom, is a marine deposit, and here you can find fossils of snails and mussels. The clay noses are overlaid with wind-blown sand, and between the clay and sand, there are peat layers from ancient bogs and cultural layers from earlier settlements. The coastline is continuously eroding, and it occasionally reveals fossils and ancient artifacts from the cliff.

Please note that the descent to the beach along the coastal cliff is demanding. Follow the black route towards the water, and there is a rope to assist you up and down.

Behind the chicken house, you'll find the Lodbjerg Lighthouse shelter area, surrounded by dune heath, where you can hear the roar of the North Sea. Here, you'll find two 7-person shelters and one large 30-person group shelter.

One of the shelters is wheelchair accessible and has a rail with two hooks for attaching your own stretcher.

The wheelchair-accessible shelter can be reserved. Group shelters can be reserved by institutions and larger groups for events. Booking provides priority access to the shelter, while the rest of the area and other facilities must be shared with other users. Individuals can use the shelter if it's not booked. If a booked shelter is unused by 8 PM, it may be used by others. And remember, whether you've booked or not, it's both good etiquette and enjoyable to share the area with others.

The last shelter cannot be reserved in advance.

It is possible to pitch tents on the site, and there is room for approximately 14 people for tent camping.

Facilities at the site include a fire pit with a grill grate, a composting toilet, a waste bin, a water source, and a horse paddock. From the parking lot at Lodbjerg Lighthouse, there is a smooth path with a stone dust surface that leads down to the shelter area.

You can book shelters here: 7-person shelter.

Redningsvejen (Route 1). 67 km. Difficulty: Difficult. Redningsvejen spans the entire national park from Agger Tange to Hanstholm. From Lodbjerg Lighthouse, you can follow it northwards, for example, to Lyngby (and back along the beach, totaling approximately 13 km) or southwards to Agger (and back along the beach, totaling approximately 10 km).

Flade Sø Route (Route 2). 13.5 km. Difficulty: Easy. A circular route that takes you around Flade Sø on the dune heath and the dike, with excellent opportunities to observe the birdlife by the lake.

Sorte Næse Route (Route 3). 6.2 km. Difficulty: Very difficult. A circular route through the dune heath, down the coastal cliff, and along the beach. The route passes by the coastal cliff formation "Sorte Næse" and provides a good insight into the landscape. Please note that both the descent and ascent along the cliff are demanding, and at high tide, you may have to go a bit into the sea to complete the route!

Penbjerg Route (Route 4). 5.7 km. Difficulty: Difficult. Refered to as the most beautiful hiking route in National Park Thy. A circular route through nature, up to the highest point of Stenbjerg Dune Heath, and back along Redningsvejen. Please note that during the winter months, the route may be very wet in some places and require a detour. (download brochure)

Lodbjerg Route (Route 5). 9.5 km. Difficulty: Moderate. A circular route through Lodbjerg Dune Plantation, with a detour on the dune heath and past Lodbjerg Church. The route can be shortened at several points if you prefer a shorter hike.

Did You Know

Lodbjerg Lighthouse is what's known as an approach lighthouse. With its powerful light at night, it assists ships in coastal navigation and sailing in nearby waters. Lodbjerg Lighthouse still shines with two white flashes every night, with 20 seconds between each flash.
The lighthouse is located one kilometer from the sea because engineers found a solid moraine hill beneath the sand to build on. At that time, in 1883, there was not a single tree to be seen in the area.
The lighthouse is constructed from Swedish granite from the quarries in Hirsholmene. It was precisely cut into fitted and numbered blocks, which were then sailed through the Limfjorden to Krik Harbor and transported by horse-drawn wagon to Lodbjerg.
The lighthouse consists of a round conical shaft that is 25 meters tall. The diameter at the bottom is 8.6 meters, and at the top, it is 6.3 meters, with the same number of stones in each row all the way up.
Originally, the light source for the lighthouse was a four-wick oil lamp. In 1904, it was replaced by a petroleum-driven incandescent burner. Both of these produced a lot of soot and required lighthouse keepers to keep the glass and lenses clean. It wasn't until 1955 that an electric incandescent lamp of 550 W was installed.
The lighthouse was turned off on April 18, 1940, when seven German soldiers from the occupying force arrived. Over the next few years, the Germans built a breastwork and a range finder support on the lighthouse's upper platform, constructed a crew bunker north of the plantation, a bunker in the backyard, started a tunnel from the bunker to the lighthouse, and mined the entire area with 2,640 mines.
The lighthouse tilts slightly northwest due to the tunnel work.
Lodbjerg Lighthouse was designated as a protected monument in 2002.

Lighthouse Lodbjerg. Photo: Peer Nannestad.

Lili Ruth Arenttorp, tells about growing up at Lodbjerg Fyr