Explore 5 ski resorts in Finland. Every card links to a full resort page with pictures, terrain and the numbers; the arrow opens the description without leaving this page.
The largest ski resort in Finland, in Lapland north of the Arctic Circle, and a regular World Cup slalom venue in November when the northern hemisphere season is barely under way. The fell is low and rounded so the runs are short, but there are a great many of them, and the whole operation is modern and well run. Floodlighting covers a substantial part of the area, which matters in a place where midwinter days barely get light. The cross country network around the fell is enormous, and the winter activities beyond skiing are much of the reason people come. Husky and reindeer safaris, snowmobiles and northern lights evenings all sell out ahead. Kittilä airport is fifteen minutes away with direct flights from several European cities.
Two fells in Finnish Lapland, Pyhä and Luosto, sharing a pass and sitting inside a national park, around an hour and a half from Rovaniemi. Pyhä has the steepest slopes in Finland and a good vertical for the country, while Luosto is gentler and quieter. Both are floodlit, which matters in the polar night. The Pyhä Luosto national park around them is old growth forest and gorge country, and the amethyst mine on Luosto is open to visitors. Northern lights, husky safaris and snowshoe trips are a large part of what people come for. The season runs from October into May.
One of the best known resorts in Finland, in Kuusamo just below the Arctic Circle, with one of the longest seasons in Europe running from October into May. The fell is low, so the runs are short, but there are a great many of them spread around the hill in every direction, and the whole operation is modern and well run. Floodlighting covers a large part of the area, which matters when midwinter days are barely light. The Oulanka national park nearby has the Karhunkierros, the best known hiking trail in Finland, and the winter activities around Kuusamo are a large part of why people come. Kuusamo airport is fifteen minutes away.
A ski area in eastern Finland north of Kuopio, on a low hill beside Lake Syväri, and the main winter destination for that part of the country. The vertical is modest but there are a great many runs and lifts, and floodlighting covers most of the hill, which is essential this far north in midwinter. There is a substantial resort village at the base with hotels, apartments, restaurants and a spa, and the area operates year round with golf and lake activities in summer. The Finnish lake district around it is forest and water. Kuopio sits an hour away.
A rounded fell in Finnish Lapland north of the Arctic Circle, with two small villages at its foot and one of the largest cross country networks in Europe spread through the forest around it. The downhill terrain is gentle, because the fell is low and the runs are short, but the Nordic skiing is exceptional and the season runs late into spring with snow that is dependable in a way the Alps are not. People come for the winter itself as much as for the skiing. Husky safaris, reindeer farms, snowmobile trips and northern lights evenings are the real draw and they sell out well ahead. Log cabins with saunas are the usual accommodation, plus hotels in Äkäslompolo and Ylläsjärvi. December is dark. February and March give light and snow together.
fesek / CC BY-SA 2.0
