Rondane National Park () is the oldest national park in Norway, established on 21 December 1962. The park is located in Innlandet county, in the municipalities of Dovre, Folldal, Sel, Nord-Fron, Sør-Fron, Stor-Elvdal, and Ringebu. The park contains ten peaks above , with the highest being Rondeslottet at an altitude of . The park is an important habitat for herds of wild reindeer.
The park was enlarged in 2003, and now covers an area of . Rondane lies just to the east of the Gudbrandsdalen valley and two other mountain areas, Dovre and Jotunheimen are nearby. Dovre National Park lies a very short distance to the north of this park.
Establishment
thumb|250px|right|[[Smiubelgen, the western part of Rondane.]]
After nearly a decade of planning, Rondane was established as the first Norwegian National Park on 21 December 1962. It was first established as a nature protection area, but was later named a national park. The main reasons for protecting the park were "to safeguard the natural environment with its native plants, animal life, and cultural heritage and also to secure the environment as a recreational area for future generations".
thumb|251x251px|[[Atnsjøen]]
thumb|248x248px|Atnsjømyrene in spring
Legal efforts to protect nature in Norway date from 1954, when the nature protection law was passed. Soon after, in 1955, community meetings were held in the municipalities close to Rondane, and a commission was founded. Norman Heitkøtter was president of the commission, and made it possible by Royal resolution to establish Rondane National Park. At its establishment, the park covered an area of (later, this was nearly doubled).
Although Rondane was the first national park in Norway, many others followed. The parks are maintained by the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management.
2003 expansion
As a special measure for the protection of the wild reindeer, the park was significantly enlarged in 2003, its area increasing from to .
The expansion of the park primarily occurred towards the northwest, accompanied by moderate enlargements in the east and south. Furthermore, zones with reduced levels of protection, encompassing both landscape and nature conservation areas, were instituted in conjunction with the park.
A new national park, Dovre National Park, between Rondane and Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park was also opened. Following the expansion, it is now only approximately from the northern border of Rondane to the southern border of Dovre National Park, and large sections of adjacent mountain areas are protected by the three parks.
Geology
thumb|250px|left|Geology in Rondane; the rock shows signs of sedimentation.
The bedrock in Rondane comes from a shallow sea floor, created 500 to 600 million years ago. From this, changes in the Earth's crust created a mountain area of metamorphic rock and quartz. There are no fossils found in Rondane today and so it is thought the sea where the rock came from contained no animal life. The Directorate for Nature Management regards Rondane as "especially important as a life supporting area for the native reindeer". It is estimated that approximately 2000 to 4000 reindeer live in Rondane and the nearby Dovre area. To protect the reindeer population in their core area during , hiking trails have been moved. The park was also enlarged in 2003 to provide increased protection for the reindeer.