The house Kvitnesgården is located in a woodland called Folkeparken (the People's Park) southwest of Tromsø's city centre, and it is part of the city’s open air museum. Close to the sea Kvitnesgården, the large boathouse “Stornaustet”, and a few smaller buildings form one of the museum’s two main clusters of buildings. The other group, the farmstead Mortengården with its boathouse “Engenesnaustet”, is further north along the main road which cuts through the area. 

Kvitnesgården originates from the trading post Kvitnes on the island of Vanna (Vannøya) in the district of Karlsøy. It was built in 1826 and dismantled in 1966. The purpose of this group of buildings is to give an insight into life at the many old North Norwegian trading posts which were both economically and socially important as well as exposed to influences from around the world.