Urho Kekkonen National Park in winter

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Urho Kekkonen National Park stretches east from Saariselkä all the way to the Russian border, and the trails into it leave from the village, from the fell centre at Kiilopää, from Kakslauttanen and from Laanila. Near these access points you find marked routes and maintained ski tracks. In the more remote parts, Metsähallitus, which manages the park, describes a wilderness where you navigate with map and compass.

Size and history

The park covers 2,550 km² and is the second largest national park in Finland, after Lemmenjoki. Its northern section is untouched wilderness, with highland fells rising over 500 metres, deep valleys and clear rivers. The name Koilliskaira describes the wider forest wilderness, part of which is now protected as the park.

The park was first proposed as Koilliskaira National Park in honour of the 80th birthday of President Urho Kekkonen, and it now carries his name. The law founding it came into force on 1 May 1983.

Trails in winter

Metsähallitus counts about 200 km of marked hiking trails around Saariselkä, Kiilopää and Kakslauttanen, of which about 80 km lie inside the park. In winter a separate network of maintained winter trails around Saariselkä and Kiilopää is open to walkers, snowshoers, skiers, cyclists and people walking a dog. The cross-country ski tracks are for skiing only, so keep to the winter trails if you are on foot. One trail fee, collected by the local maintenance cooperative, covers the ski tracks, the winter trails and the snowmobile trails.

For skiers, the main track from Saariselkä through Laanila and Kiilopää to Kakslauttanen and on to Tieva and Muotka opens first each winter, laid with artificial and natural snow, usually in late October or early November. Most tracks are groomed every morning. Weather records from the village show a closed snow cover from 1 December to mid-April in every winter between 1991 and 2020.

The park rules published by Metsähallitus allow cycling in the park in winter everywhere except on the ski tracks. Guided fatbike rides are listed on our page on things to do in Saariselkä.

Kiilopää is a common goal for a first outing. At 546 metres it is one of the highest and best-known fells in the Saariselkä area, and a marked trail leads about 2 km each way from the Kiilopää gateway to the summit. In winter the ski bus runs out there from Saariselkä.

Huts, shelters and camping

According to the tourist office, the park has the densest network of wilderness huts, day cabins and marked routes in Finland, and the Metsähallitus brochure calls it the most comprehensive in the country, with open wilderness huts as well as huts that need a booking. Recreational use is managed through zoning, and the park provides rest areas, lean-to shelters and day huts along the routes.

Everyman’s rights, which normally let you walk, ski and camp for a short time in Finnish nature, do not apply in full inside national parks. In this park, camping is only allowed at designated sites. Check the zone rules with Metsähallitus before you plan a night out.

Guided walks and ski tours

Outdoor Expert Saariselkä has its office a few steps from the park border. Its snowshoe tour comes in three versions: two hours, four hours, or a two-hour walk in the evening. Groups are limited to ten, snowshoes and a warm drink are included, and you wear your own outdoor clothes. The tour suits beginners. One guest remarked that you could in theory walk the route on your own.

The same office runs guided back-country ski tours of two to four hours for up to six people, from age 8. According to the operator, back-country skis are usually easier for beginners than cross-country skis. Our page on snowshoeing and skiing compares every option around Saariselkä.

Reindeer and the Sámi homeland

Reindeer herding is one of the main livelihoods in the municipality of Inari, which belongs entirely to the Sámi homeland. The Sámi Parliament reminds visitors that what may look like wilderness is home to local Sámi people, and that there is not a single place in the homeland without a Sámi name. Its guidelines ask that a reindeer herd is never approached or disturbed without the owner’s permission, whether on skis, on a snowmobile or with a dog sled. Feeding sites, round-up fences and herders’ cabins are workplaces and off limits without permission.

Before you set out

Light is short in midwinter. The sun does not rise in Saariselkä from 6 December 2026 to 6 January 2027, and on 21 December civil twilight lasts from 09:36 to 14:41. From February the days grow quickly, and by 1 March the sun is up for almost ten hours. The tourist office notes that temperatures can fall below −30 °C, and the emergency number is 112.

Metsähallitus answers questions about the park by phone on weekdays from 10:00 to 13:00 at +358 206 39 7200. Its customer service for northern Lapland also sits in the Siida building in Inari, which our page on Inari and Siida describes. For clothing on a cold day outside, see what to wear in Saariselkä.