Natural Hot Spring
Ostakarið
North Iceland
Ostakarid was a rustic hot pot fashioned from a repurposed cheese vat on Husavikurhofdi headland, fed by a geothermal seawater borehole with two sections at differing temperatures. It operated as an informal local bathing spot for around two decades, but its current operating status is uncertain following the 2018 opening of GeoSea Geothermal Sea Baths on the same headland, drawing on water from the same borehole. GeoSea is the confirmed, currently-operating option for geothermal bathing in this area.
Ostakarið's real draw today is its story — a repurposed cheese vat that quietly proved the value of the same geothermal seawater now bathed in at GeoSea, just up the same headland.
Story
Ostakarið's story starts with a search for something else entirely. In the early 1990s a borehole was drilled on Húsavíkurhöfði, the headland above Húsavík, hoping to find water to heat the town. What came up instead was hot, mineral-rich seawater — too salty for household heating, but locals soon noticed it felt remarkably good to soak in. In 1992 an old cheese vat from the local dairy farmers' cooperative was set beside the borehole, and Ostakarið — literally "the cheese tub" — became an improvised, much-loved local hot pot, prized in particular by people managing skin conditions. That original cheese-tub bathing spot has since been superseded. When GeoSea's geothermal sea baths opened on the same headland in 2018, drawing on water from the same and an adjacent borehole, Ostakarið's informal soaking tubs stopped operating. As a gesture to the people who built it, GeoSea is reported to have offered the original Ostakarið pioneers free lifetime access to the new baths.
History
Ostakarið began in 1992, when a repurposed dairy-cooperative cheese vat was placed beside a geothermal seawater borehole on Húsavíkurhöfði, after the well — drilled in search of water to heat Húsavík's houses — instead surfaced water too mineral-rich and salty for that purpose, but valued locally for its effect on the skin. It operated as an informal, free local bathing spot for roughly two decades. When GeoSea's purpose-built geothermal sea baths opened on the same headland in 2018, drawing on water from the same borehole, Ostakarið's makeshift tubs closed; GeoSea is reported to have given the original Ostakarið founders free lifetime access as thanks. (Source: Guide to Iceland, "A Lovely Visit to the GeoSea Geothermal Sea Baths in Húsavík.")
Did You Know?
When GeoSea opened on the same headland in 2018 using water from the same borehole, it reportedly gave the original Ostakarið founders — the locals who first set up the cheese-tub hot pot in 1992 — free lifetime access to the new baths. (Source: Guide to Iceland.)
Admission
Status unconfirmed — multiple sources report Ostakarið is no longer operating; see GeoSea nearby
Practical Information
Best Time
Not applicable — see GeoSea (same headland) for current geothermal bathing in this area.
Duration
Not applicable (current access unconfirmed).
Getting There
On Húsavíkurhöfði headland just outside Húsavík, North Iceland, reached via a short unpaved road; current physical access to the original cheese-tub site is unconfirmed, and GeoSea now occupies the same headland.
Transport
Short drive from Húsavík town centre via unpaved road to Húsavíkurhöfði, the same headland where GeoSea now operates.
Budget
Reported as free or very low-cost historically (one source cites a 300 ISK entry while it operated); current status and any fee are unconfirmed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still bathe at Ostakarið today?+
Multiple independent sources indicate that Ostakarið's original cheese-tub soaking spot is no longer operating and has effectively been superseded by GeoSea, the geothermal sea baths built on the same headland in 2018 using water from the same borehole. This has not been independently confirmed on-site, so if you're hoping to bathe here, check locally before making a special trip — GeoSea, nearby on the same headland, is the modern, operating alternative.
What was Ostakarið?+
An improvised local hot pot made from a repurposed cheese-making vat, placed beside a geothermal seawater borehole on Húsavíkurhöfði headland in 1992, after the borehole — drilled to find heating water for Húsavík — struck mineral-rich, overly salty seawater instead.
Why was the water good for bathing but not for heating?+
The borehole water was hot but mixed with seawater, making it too salty and mineral-rich for Húsavík's district heating system — though locals found those same minerals beneficial for the skin.
What replaced it?+
GeoSea Geothermal Sea Baths, which opened on the same Húsavíkurhöfði headland in 2018 and draws on water from the same and an adjacent borehole in a purpose-built, paid facility.
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