Old forest, river gorges and the best wildlife work in Finland. Just south of the Arctic Circle, and a different landscape from the fells.
Kuusamo sits just below the Arctic Circle against the Russian border, and it looks nothing like western Lapland. Instead of open fell there is old-growth spruce, steep river gorges and a lot of water. Oulanka national park and the Karhunkierros trail running through it are the reason hikers come.
This is also the right region for wildlife. Brown bear watching from purpose-built hides works here and does not work in Lapland, So when a client asks for bears in the north, this is where they go. Wolverine and elk are seen from the same hides. The season runs roughly May to August and the hides book out.
Ruka itself is a compact ski fell with a long season, often the first and last place in Finland with snow. Quieter than Levi and with less around it, which is usually the point.
Overnight hides near the border, booked with the operators who run them. Bears are wild, so nothing is promised, but the summer sighting rate at these sites is the highest in the country.
The Karhunkierros through Oulanka, day sections around Valtavaara and Konttainen, river rafting on the Kitkajoki, and cross-country skiing on a network that opens early.
Winter fatbiking on groomed forest trails, snowshoe routes into the old-growth, and quiet ski touring away from the resort side.
Chanterelles, lingonberry, cloudberry and freshwater fish, with a short and serious picking season in late summer. Lodge kitchens here cook what is outside the door.
The hides open and the forest is at its most active. June and July have near-continuous light, so the night in a hide is spent watching instead of waiting for light.
Autumn colour through the gorges, the best hiking conditions of the year, and the first aurora nights once the dark returns.
Ruka holds snow longer than most of Finland. Cross-country, fatbike and snowshoe, with far fewer people than the western fells.
May — August: Bear Season. The hides open and the forest is at its most active. June and July have near-continuous light, so the night in a hide is spent watching instead of waiting for light. September — October: Ruska and First Snow. Autumn colour through the gorges, the best hiking conditions of the year, and the first aurora nights once the dark returns. December — April: Snow. Ruka holds snow longer than most of Finland. Cross-country, fatbike and snowshoe, with far fewer people than the western fells.
We suggest 3 — 4 nights. 3 nights: Two nights at a forest lodge with one night in a hide, plus a day on the Oulanka gorges. 6 nights: Kuusamo for the wildlife and the old forest, then north to Lapland for the fells and the aurora.
Kuusamo (KAO).
Wildlife · Hiking · Quiet. Old forest, river gorges and the best wildlife work in Finland. Just south of the Arctic Circle, and a different landscape from the fells.