Stevns Cliffs were one of the most remarkable places we visited in Denmark.

Here, we've put together all the key info to help you plan your visit to Stevns Klint.

Like many travelers before us, we headed to the UNESCO-listed Stevns Klint for the dramatic cliff views and the wild coastal scenery this part of Denmark offers. Once there, we also discovered a bit of the country's history by visiting nearby mining sites and Cold War locations, and we wandered along a few of the local trails, though they were more gentle walks than serious hikes.

We also came across a beautiful lighthouse and a really cool medieval church that's almost falling into the sea as the cliffs slowly erode beneath it. And because we timed our visit just right, we managed to catch what might be some of the best sunrise and sunset views in all of Denmark.

All of this came with 66 million years of natural history, which, honestly, was the biggest reason we came to Stevns Klint in the first place. Sure, the cliffs are beautiful, and it's without a doubt one of Denmark's top attractions. But it's the K–Pg boundary layer that makes the site truly unique and why we added it to our Denmark travel plans right after learning about it.

Simply put, this part of modern-day Zealand island holds key evidence of the asteroid impact that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, making it one of the most important geological sites in the world. And that's not something you see every day. So, if you want to know everything about Stevns Klint and how we spent our time there, just keep reading.

Stevns Klint was easily one of the most beautiful places we saw in Zealand.

Practical Tips for Stevns Klint Visit

Stevns Klint stretches for about 17 kilometers along the coast of Denmark's Zealand, with several access points along the way. In this guide, we focus on the three main spots we personally visited and found the easiest for exploring the cliffs.

These are Stevns Klint Experience (and nearby Rødvig), the village of Højerup, and Stevns Lighthouse, listed from south to north. The distance between all three is just seven kilometers, making the area easy to explore whether you’re driving or hiking. If this is your first visit, we recommend starting at the Experience Center.

Driving to Stevns Klint

The cliffs are about an hour and a half south of Copenhagen, around one hour from Roskilde, and about two hours from Odense. Driving is the most convenient way to reach and get around the area, giving you the freedom to stop wherever you like and skip the stress of tracking train or bus schedules. Check out the best deals on rental cars in Copenhagen here.

While heading to Stevns Klint, we drove on a narrow road that had red lanes for cyclists.

Parking at Stevns Klint

Parking is free at Stevns Klint Experience and Stevns Lighthouse, while Hojerup has paid parking. Since we visited outside the busy summer months and timed it around sunrise and sunset, the area felt peaceful, and parking was never a problem.

Taking a Tour

You can also join a popular guided tour to Stevns Klint directly from Copenhagen that highlights the site's UNESCO heritage.

Getting to Stevns Klint by Public Transport

Thanks to its location near Denmark's capital, getting to Stevns Klint by train is easier than you might expect. From Copenhagen, take a train to Koge, then transfer to a local train (Lokalbane) heading to Rodvig. The journey takes about 80 minutes. From Rodvig, you can access the cliffs through the Stevns Klint Trail. Alternatively, take a train to St. Heddinge and connect to a bus going to Hojerup. You can also mix both options if you're up for walking between Hojerup and Rodvig.

Accommodation near Stevns Klint

We stayed in Hojerup at a lovely Stevns Klint Bed and Breakfast, just a five-minute walk from the old church and cliffs. Rodvig might be the most convenient place to stay since it's very close to the coast and has plenty of lodging options. Strandhotel Klinten ApS and Rødvig Kro og Badehotel are definitely the two of the best places to stay near Stevns Klint.

We stayed in Hojerup at this charming bed and breakfast.

When to Visit Stevns Klint

You can visit the cliffs any time of year. Summer brings warm weather but also the largest crowds. For a more relaxed visit, go in the spring or fall. We went in September during a weekday, arriving in the evening and again in the early morning, and had most of the area to ourselves. Winter visits are even quieter, though you'll definitely want to dress for the cold and wind (a good windbreaker is a must-have).

Exploring the Stevns Klint Around the Experience Center

Since we knew we wanted to end our day in Hojerup, we decided to start at the Stevns Klint Experience area. So, after pulling into the Stevns Klint Experience parking lot (at least this time, it was free), we realized a few things. The lot was pretty much empty, aside from a few campervans planning to stay the night. But there were no people in sight, so the whole area felt strangely empty, almost abandoned.

The Stevns Klint Experience was built into the hillside of the Boesdal Limestone Quarry.

I say that because everything in front of us really gave off that feeling. Aside from the closed museum on the left, we saw a vast limestone quarry stretching out ahead and a large cone-shaped structure that looked like it was being reconstructed, though, at that point, we had no clue what it was.

So, we passed the museum on the left and focused first on the quarry. It's called Boesdal Limestone Quarry (Boesdal Kalkbrud) and was in use from 1914 to 1978. Now, it's a recreational area with a few nice trails, making it a decent place for a walk. It's still just an abandoned quarry, though, so walking, having a picnic, or maybe fossil hunting are the main activities. There are supposedly two basic overnight shelters farther in (probably mostly used by locals), but we didn't get that far.

Here’s what the Boesdal Quarry looked like from the top.

Our tip: There's an even cooler quarry about 25 kilometers west of here, Faxe Kalkbrud. It's filled with water, and swimming is not allowed, but you can rent a hammer and chisel and go fossil hunting, which sounds awesome, at least if you're into geology.

After that, we shifted our attention to the big structure we had seen earlier. After getting closer, we found out it's called The Pyramiden. It was once used to store crushed and dried limestone, and most quarries had one. These days, it's being repurposed into a cultural space for local events. It was still fenced off when we visited, as the reconstruction wasn't finished yet, so after taking a few photos, we continued toward the beach through a huge opening right in front of us.

From Boesdal Quarry, we walked to the beach through the opening you can see on the left side of this photo.

Now comes the really cool part (though not so great for nature). The opening we walked through wasn't natural. At some point, miners blasted a tunnel through the cliff to dump excess flint on the beach. Over time, erosion made it much larger. And today, it's the only place where you can walk straight through the Stevns Klint and reach the beach.

Visiting the Stevns Cliffs around sunset was so peaceful.

It was a beautiful, quiet evening with no one else around. It was just us, the limestone cliffs, the pebbly beach, a few seagulls, and the waves of the Baltic Sea. We wandered around, taking it all in and enjoying the soft evening light. Moments like this always make us sentimental, and for that reason alone, visiting Stevns Klint felt completely worthwhile. Since the cliffs face east, we didn't get to see a proper sunset here, but the sunlight still created some amazing scenes.

Stevns Klint is mostly composed of white chalk and bryozoan limestone.

When we were ready, we walked back to the quarry and climbed up the right side of the cliffs to connect to the Stevns Klint Trail (Stevns Klint Trampesti). The cliffs here aren't the tallest (definitely not like Slieve League or the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland), but the views are still great, and the short scramble to the top is worth it.

The whole Stevns Klint Trampesti trail is 22 kilometers long, so we just explored a small part of it.

Once we joined the trail, we kept walking for a few hundred meters along a narrow path right on the cliff's edge, enjoying more views along the way. The trail actually leads all the way to Rodvig, but we didn't get that far, and after a while, we felt like we'd seen enough and turned back. It was an easy, pleasant walk, suitable pretty much for anyone who can manage the short climb from the quarry tunnel.

If you're staying in nearby Rodvig, you can actually walk to the Experience Center along the Stevns Klint Trail. It's about two kilometers each way, with great views the whole time. The town itself has a few good overnight options, including Rødvig Kro og Badehotel.

Stevns Klint Museums

If you have more time or manage to plan your visit better than we did, there are two museums at Stevns Klint that are definitely worth exploring. One focuses on geology and the events from 66 million years ago, while the other dives into Cold War history. Which one is better to visit depends on your interests. The Stevns Klint Experience is right next to the quarry where we parked, and the Stevnsfort Cold War Museum is located about a kilometer to the east.

Stevns Klint Experience

Since we arrived later in the afternoon, the Stevns Klint Experience was already closed. It was a bit of a shame because it sounded genuinely interesting, but that's just how travel works sometimes. Anyway, the Stevns Klint Experience is a modern museum that tells the story of the asteroid impact that changed life on Earth 66 million years ago. It's not a huge museum, but it features a lot of interactive exhibits, making it perfect for families with kids.

The museum is open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM between June and September and from 10 AM to 4 PM for the rest of the year (closed on Mondays). Tickets cost DKK 140 per adult. That might seem a bit pricey given the museum's size, but it's fairly standard for museums in Denmark. For comparison, we visited the main museum in the Wadden Sea National Park, and the price was about the same (and that one was also pretty small).

Since the Stevns Klint experience was closed, we ended up spending more time outside.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort

The second museum we missed was the Cold War Museum Stevnsfort. We honestly had no idea this even existed until later that evening when we visited the HAWK missile battery in Højerup. While the geological side of Stevns Klint is fascinating, this former Cold War fortress-turned-museum looked even more intriguing (at least to me; Lucie was more into geology this time).

Built right into the limestone cliffs, this site served as a secret NATO underground stronghold during the Cold War, designed to help defend against possible Soviet attacks. It was decommissioned in the 2000s and later opened as a museum. The underground complex was engineered to withstand nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare and includes 1.7 kilometers of tunnels.

These can be visited only with a guided tour. Above ground, you can explore the original military installations, including a HAWK missile battery and massive naval guns with a range of 23 kilometers (we had seen similar guns in Tirpitz Museum, but that was WW2).

A self-guided visit to the outdoor area costs DKK 95 per adult, while a 1.5-hour guided tour of the tunnels costs DKK 190 per adult (also quite expensive in my eyes). The museum is open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM during the summer. It's closed in winter (November to January) and open from 10 AM to 3 PM the rest of the year.

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Chasing the Sunset at Stevns Lighthouse

With the sun quickly setting, we headed to Stevns Lighthouse, located about five kilometers north of where we were. We parked in the free lot just behind the metal gate and then walked over to the lighthouse. Unsurprisingly, since it was so late, the lighthouse was closed. Normally, it's open from 11 AM to 5 PM during the main season (April to October), with shorter hours for the rest of the year, so keep that in mind if you want to go inside.

We got to enjoy the Stevns Fyrcenter from outside since we arrived too late to go in.

The current lighthouse dates back to 1878 and replaced the older one from 1818, which was one of the most advanced in Europe at the time. You can climb the 27-meter tower for some great views of Møn Island, Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen, and, on a clear day, even Sweden. That said, we still saw a lot just from the nearby cliffs, so missing the tower wasn't a huge deal.

There's also a small museum inside the lighthouse, but it was closed when we arrived. Just past the lighthouse, there's a picnic area with a few tables, offering lovely views of the Baltic Sea, but surprisingly, not much of the cliffs.

The views of the Baltic Sea were as beautiful as ever.

Hoping to catch a view of the cliffs, we headed north along the Stevns Klint, but it was more or less the same story. There were a few gaps in the bushes now and then, but the only cliffs we could see were pretty far off in the distance.

With the sun already below the horizon and the sky darkening fast, we eventually turned back and returned to the lighthouse. From there, we took a short walk around the abandoned Cold War site nearby (which also had a HAWK battery). This site at Stevns Lighthouse was free to enter, but there wasn't much to see. And not just because it was dark. The whole place felt pretty rough and neglected.

Not much was really left of the abandoned Cold War site at Stevns Lighthouse.

We walked along overgrown paths and concrete roads, passed a few mounds, and spotted what looked like a bunker entrance. And that was about it. There were pretty much no signs or explanations showing how this site is connected to Denmark’s Cold War era. If you're interested in seeing original Cold War military structures like radar systems, missile pads, and bunkers, you'll want to visit the nearby Cold War Museum Stevnsfort we mentioned earlier.

As we left late, we saw that Stevns Lighthouse continues to serve as a navigational aid for ships sailing through the Baltic Sea.

Staying at Stevns Klint Bed & Breakfast

After a long day on the road, we finally arrived at Stevns Klint Bed and Breakfast, where we had booked a room for the night. It offered free parking and a really peaceful setting, plus we were given a larger room than expected, which made the stay super comfortable.

Breakfast was included, but we skipped it to catch the sunrise over the Baltic Sea instead. The Stevns Klint and Højerup Church were just 500 meters away, so we had the perfect location for an early start to our next morning.

There wasn't a more cozy place to stay in the Stevns Klint area than this, was there?

Catching the Sunrise at Højerup Old Church

The only place we missed the previous evening was the famous Højerup Old Church, one of the must-see attractions while visiting Stevns Klint. Even though we arrived at our room quite late, we decided to start the next day as early as possible. Our idea was to enjoy the beginning of a new day from the cliffs near the church and maybe even watch a sunrise from there. It was a solid plan, and shortly after deciding, we went to sleep.

After a good night's rest, we woke up while it was still dark outside. It was something we started doing back in Jutland, and it quickly became our routine. Our bed and breakfast was only 500 meters from the church, but instead of walking, we drove there since we were planning to check out right after and head to our next destination without returning to the room.

The parking lot was just a stone's throw from the old church.

That decision turned out to be not exactly budget-friendly. Once we reached the parking lot at Højerup Old Church, we found out it wasn't free. There was a barrier, and we had to pay 40 DKK at the machine (though the fee has since changed to 50 DKK between 10 AM and 4:30 PM, or 20 DKK outside those hours; card payment is accepted).

Anyway, the paved parking section was quite small (I counted around 20 spaces), but there was also a dirt lot next to it. We even saw a campervan parked on the grassy area behind, so that might be an option during the busier summer months.

A Romanesque style new church in Hojerup was built after part of the old one collapsed into the sea.

From the parking area, we could see both the old and new Højerup churches, but since we came for the cliffs, we headed to the old one first. We were a bit late for sunrise, and by the time we reached the cliff, the sun was already above the horizon but hidden behind clouds, so we didn't miss that much.

Højerup Old Church was built around 1250 CE and is mostly known for its dramatic location perched on the cliff's edge. And we mean right on the edge. In 1928, part of the Stevns Cliff collapsed, taking part of the church and the adjacent graveyard with it into the sea.

We assumed the church would be closed since it was still early, but when I tried the handle, the door swung open. The interior wasn't very large (no surprise since the choir section was gone), and the space was quite modest.

Inside, the old Hojerup Church was quite modest, but there were some medieval paintings.

At the far end of the church, where the choir once was, is now a small balcony with some of the most beautiful views of Stevns Klint and the Baltic Sea. The view to the left was especially stunning, easily one of the best in the area. The balcony itself was quite small, but since we were the only ones there, it didn't matter at all.

We found some of the best views of Stevns Klint from the balcony at Hojerup Church.

As breathtaking as the cliffs looked in the morning light, we joked about how 'safe' the church's viewing point really is. Apparently, the foundation has been reinforced with concrete, so the whole church is now considered very secure.

From the church, we walked through a gate on the right and headed toward the old fisherman's hut (Fiskerhus). The half-timbered house was closed, so we could only view it from the outside and read about its history. It was built around 1820 in memory of the fishing families who lived and struggled in this part of Denmark.

Nearby was a wooden staircase we used to walk down to the beach. After hiking up and down Mons Klint a few days earlier, this staircase didn't feel like a challenge at all.

Once on the beach, we walked around for a bit, but it definitely wasn't the wide, sandy type we had gotten used to in Jutland. Besides pebbles, there were many large rocks that had fallen from the cliffs. Even though the tide was low, the beach itself was quite narrow, especially when compared to places like Grenen or Rømø Island.

On the other hand, scrambling over the rocks was fun for a while. Walking the Sorte Næse or similar trail on this surface would be a whole different story, though.

There were some really slippery stones at Hojerup Beach.

Højerup is also one of the best spots at Stevns Klint to see the K-Pg boundary layer in the world, though we're not geologists and had a bit of trouble identifying it. It should be between the white chalk and limestone layers, and I believe we spotted it. A few years ago, we visited Drumheller's Badlands when we lived in Calgary, and we had the same issue, though the boundary layer there was super thin, and we couldn't find it at all.

Fiskeler is a thin, dark clay layer rich in iridium, and Stevns Klint is one of the best spots to find it.

Regardless, it was a beautiful morning. Since we had the beach all to ourselves and weren't in a hurry, we sat down for a while and just watched the calm sea and soft light touching the cliffs. It was one of those mornings you wish could last forever. But, of course, it couldn't, so eventually, we got up and climbed back to the top.

On the way up, something worse (at least to me) than the Chicxulub impact happened. I dropped my lens cap, and it fell through the wooden steps into the bushes below. In all those years I travel, I've had similar misadventures in places like Tongariro Circuit and Garibaldi Lake (yeah, it happens to me a lot), but this was the first time I couldn't retrieve it. So, for the rest of the trip, I was one lens cap short. Thankfully, I had my trusty camera bag with me, and I managed to keep the lens glass protected. At least no dinosaurs went extinct this time.

The upper section of the path leading to the beach was well maintained.

Once back at the top, we enjoyed the view of the cliffs one last time and walked back to our car. We considered visiting the New Hojerup Church (it was built after the old one was found to be unsafe), but since we'd already visited three churches on Møn Island the day before and planned to see the UNESCO-listed Roskilde Cathedral later that day, we skipped it. From there, we drove off to Roskilde, where our next stops were the cathedral and the Viking Ship Museum.

Travel Resources

Here you can find links to all the travel resources we use and which you might find helpful when planning your next holiday.

Accommodation: When looking for accommodation, we usually search hotels via Booking.com or Hostelworld.

Tours: Although we love to travel independently, some places are better to visit with a guided tour.

We prefer GetYourGuide for its easy-to-use interface and solid reputation. Another great alternative is Viator.

Rental Cars: When going on a road trip, we always use Rentalcars.com, a reliable site for booking a rental car in advance.

Flight Tickets: When looking for flight tickets, you can search Skyscanner to find the best price.

Travel Insurance: World Nomads and SafetyWing cover against risks of travel.

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How to Visit Stevns Klint (+ Practical Tips)