Things to do in Saariselkä in winter

7 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Saariselkä lies on the E75 beside the fells of Kaunispää and Iisakkipää, and Urho Kekkonen National Park stretches east from the village to the Russian border. The ski slopes lie right next to the houses, the cross-country tracks run out from the village, and most guided tours on this site either start here or collect guests from the hotels.

The main tours get a short summary here and a full guide elsewhere on this site. The sauna, fatbikes, horses, karting and the wilderness dinner have no page of their own, so they get more space below.

The main winter tours

Husky sledding

The dogs are not kept in the village. The best-known safari drives you about an hour by van to Veskoniemi, where two people share a sled on a 10 km track and swap between driving and sitting. A walk with a single husky near Ivalo offers a quieter alternative without a sled. Details and age limits are on our page about husky sledding in Saariselkä.

Northern lights

The regional tourist office gives September to April as the aurora season, and the Finnish Meteorological Institute names the hours either side of midnight as the best time to look. The photography tour by Arctic Timetravels collects guests within 15 km of the village centre, drives as far as it needs to find a clear sky and includes photos taken with a professional camera. It lasts three hours. No operator promises a sighting. The full list is on our page about northern lights tours.

Snowmobiles

On the tundra safari by Lapland Welcome you drive for one and a half to two hours of a three-and-a-half-hour tour, with a snack by an open fire. The driver needs a valid licence, and children shorter than 140 cm ride in a sledge pulled by the guide. Shorter rides, evening tours and full days are compared under snowmobile tours.

Reindeer and Sámi culture

Saariselkä lies in the Sámi homeland, and reindeer herding remains one of the cornerstones of Sámi culture. Lapponia Tours runs an evening reindeer sled ride from its safari house at Honkapolku 1 in the village. The operator bans torches during the ride. The Sámi Parliament asks visitors never to approach a herd without the owner's permission. More on reindeer and Sámi culture.

Ice fishing and Lake Inari

Lake Inari, the third largest lake in Finland, is the usual destination. One five-hour tour picks you up in Saariselkä by minibus and takes you by snowmobile-drawn sled to a small island, where a three-course lunch is served in a tepee. Under Finland's general fishing rights, ice fishing with a single rod is free on Lake Inari. See ice fishing and Lake Inari.

Snowshoes and skis

Outdoor Expert Saariselkä has its office a few steps from the national park border and runs snowshoe walks of two or four hours, plus a two-hour evening walk, for up to ten people. A cross-country lesson from the same office lasts an hour and a half. Both are compared under snowshoeing and skiing.

Sauna

Kuukkeli Sauna World sells two-hour visits to a public sauna area with a smoke sauna, a panoramic sauna, a warm outdoor pool, a cold plunge pool, a hot tub for twelve and an indoor pool. A large towel and drinking water are provided; bring swimwear or rent it on site. In winter a transfer is included, and in summer you arrive on your own. It is a shared session rather than a private one, and one guest found the smoke sauna out of service on the day of the visit in January 2026.

A second smoke sauna, Kuurakaltio, belongs to the Fell Centre at Kiilopää, roughly 17 km from the village by road and reachable by the ski bus in winter.

Fatbike tours

In the Saariselkä and Kiilopää area, cyclists may use the maintained winter trails, which are shared with walkers, snowshoers and skiers, while the ski tracks are for skiing only. Outdoor Expert runs guided rides of two to four hours from the door of its office, on an electric or a regular fatbike, for groups of up to six. You need to be able to ride a bike, and the operator warns that toes and fingers get cold, so bring warm gloves and boots.

Horse riding

Polaris Point Horses keeps its horses on a farm between Saariselkä and Ivalo, about 25 minutes from Saariselkä and 40 from Ivalo. The tour lasts two hours, with at least an hour in the saddle on a forest trail, each rider on their own horse. No experience is needed, groups are limited to four, and riders must be at least 12 and weigh no more than 115 kg. A helmet is provided. The operator asks riders not to wear moon boots or other very large shoes.

Check the transport before booking. The tour page lists a transfer to the farm and back, but several guests wrote that no transport was included.

Ice karting

Frozen Ring runs go-karts on icy terrain. You meet outside the reception entrance of the Holiday Club in Saariselkä 15 minutes before the start, and the whole session lasts an hour and a half, with two 15-minute drives. Thermal clothing is provided. No driving experience is required, but drivers must be at least 12 and taller than 150 cm, and the activity is not suitable for people with back problems. A recent guest found the time behind the wheel short.

Dinner in the wilderness

Star Arctic offers a three-hour evening in which a driver takes you to its wilderness centre for a three-course buffet. The tour page names sautéed deer, smoked salmon and mashed potatoes, with drinks included. After dinner there is a short walk to look at the sky, with thermal clothing lent if needed. One guest wrote that the group was hurried back to the bus before there was time to watch for the aurora. The operator notes that the menu may not suit guests with several allergies.

On your own in the village

The ski area spreads over two fells beside the village. The resort lists 24 slopes, 16 of them lit, with a vertical drop of 180 m. The longest toboggan run in Finland starts on Kaunispää, more than a kilometre long, and its light art is at its best in the polar night season from December to February. Tobogganing there is only allowed during lift hours, because snowcats work on the slopes after closing, and the run from the summit is not suitable for children under 7. Free toboggans are no longer handed out, so rent one in the village or at the lifts.

For a quieter afternoon, the free snowtube area in front of the Lieggâ Láávu restaurant suits all ages, and part of the cross-country network is lit from 6:00 to 22:00. Kaunispää can also be reached on foot or by car for the view over the national park. Our page on Saariselkä village has more on the slopes and trails, and Urho Kekkonen National Park covers the routes beyond.

Fitting it into the day

Daylight shapes the schedule. From 6 December 2026 to 6 January 2027 the sun stays below the horizon, and on 21 December civil twilight lasts from 09:36 to 14:41. Daytime activities fit into the late morning and early afternoon, which leaves the evening for the aurora. A few combinations work well:

• A snowshoe walk from the park border in the twilight hours, then the sauna in the late afternoon.
• Ice karting at the Holiday Club in the morning and a husky safari in the afternoon.
• Horse riding near Ivalo, followed by the wilderness dinner in the evening.
• A day on the slopes and the toboggan run, then a late aurora photography tour.

From February the light returns quickly, and by 1 March the sun is up from 07:33 to 17:14. The tourist office describes March and April as months of deep snow and long daylight.