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Things to Do in Kuusamo, Finland
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Plan language: EnglishMost popular attractions in Kuusamo, Finland
The top things to do in Kuusamo, Finland center on wild Nordic landscapes and year-round adventure. Hike the 82-kilometer Karhunkierros Trail through Oulanka National Park, stopping at the thunderous Kiutaköngäs Rapids, where water drops 14 meters. In winter, carve down 26 slopes at Ruka Ski Resort, just 25 kilometers north of town.
1. Oulanka National Park
Step onto rugged trails where Arctic wilderness meets rushing rapids and ancient pine forests. You'll cross suspension bridges, climb frost-shattered cliffs, and hear nothing but wind, water, and birdsong.
Quick facts: Roughly 80,000 visitors hike its trails every year, with the famous Karhunkierros Trail stretching 82 kilometers through bear country. The park sits right on the Arctic Circle, where winter temperatures routinely drop below minus 30 degrees Celsius.
Highlights: The Kiutaköngäs rapids thunder through a narrow granite gorge, dropping 14 meters over just 600 meters, and the turquoise water looks almost milky from glacial silt. Locals say you can spot bear tracks in fresh snow within minutes of the main trailhead during late autumn.
2. Ruka Ski Resort
Chase the aurora down open slopes from October snow, long before other resorts wake up. Ride under floodlights and northern lights while temperatures dip to minus 20; the sauna is waiting at the bottom.
Quick facts: With 26 ski lifts and 34 slopes spread across 91 hectares, this resort offers one of Finland's longest ski seasons thanks to artificial snowmaking that keeps runs open from October through May. The midnight sun paints the slopes in golden light during spring, while winter nights deliver regular displays of the aurora borealis overhead.
Highlights: The resort owns Finland's only Olympic-standard slopestyle and halfpipe courses, used by pro riders from around the world during the annual Ruka Freestyle competition each April. Night skiing here means riding under floodlights while the northern lights crackle green directly above your helmet, and you can book a private igloo sauna right at the base of the main slope.
3. Karhunkierros Trail
Feel the pull of untamed Lapland on Finland's most famous hiking route. Cross swaying suspension bridges, plunge into river canyons, and sleep under the midnight sun.
Quick facts: The 82-kilometer route weaves through two national parks and crosses the Arctic Circle line with 15 suspension bridges along the way. More than 100,000 hikers tackle sections of the trail annually, with the popular 12-kilometer Bear's Ring being the most-trodden stretch.
Highlights: At the Hautaoja Gorge, you can stand on a narrow plank bridge suspended over a turquoise river while the walls of ancient granite rise 20 meters on either side. Locals swear the fried vendace fish at the halfway hut at the 40-kilometer mark is worth planning your whole hike around.
4. Kuusamo Church
A warm wooden sanctuary in the heart of the Arctic, where the golden altar painting glows even on the darkest winter days. Experience Finnish church atmosphere, stunning carpentry details, and peaceful silence that lingers long after you leave.
Quick facts: The pale yellow wooden church rises above the town center with a tall, slender bell tower that locals can spot from nearly any road in Kuusamo. Its interior seats around 500 people, and the altar painting depicts the Risen Christ in warm, golden tones that catch the northern light beautifully.
Highlights: Step inside on a winter Sunday and you might catch a service where the choir sings accompanied by the deep, resonant tones of the church's antique organ, installed in the early 1900s. The church hosts candlelit Christmas concerts each December, when the long Arctic darkness makes the glow through the tall windows feel almost magical from the outside.
5. Kiutaköngäs Rapids
Watch a river explode through a granite crack with a roar you can feel in your chest. You'll stand inches from the spray on wooden platforms built right into the cliff edge.
Quick facts: The water thunders through a narrow granite gorge at a rate of roughly 45,000 liters per second during peak spring melt. Only two viewing platforms exist along the 500-meter trail, both positioned to catch the spray and roar of the whitewater.
Highlights: The entire cascade drops just 19 meters, but the water squeezes through a gap barely 15 meters wide, which is what makes the turbulence so violent and mesmerizing. On calm autumn mornings, mist from the falls catches low golden sunlight and creates a shimmering rainbow that hovers directly over the gorge.
6. Riisitunturi National Park
Walk through forests where winter turns every branch into glowing ice sculptures. Snowshoe up treeless fells for views over a sea of frozen trees and endless wilderness.
Quick facts: Winter temperatures here drop below minus 20 degrees Celsius while the park's famous snow-laden spruce trees bend into dramatic arches, some holding over 400 kilograms of powder. The park's fells climb to 465 meters above sea level, yet the gentle slopes make the terrain surprisingly accessible for snowshoers of all levels.
Highlights: When temperatures hit around minus 20 degrees, warm springs beneath the park create mist that rises into the air, freezing onto every branch and needle in a shimmering layer of ice crystals called ryte. Watching the sunrise turn these frozen forests into a pink and gold cathedral of frost is something photographs simply can't capture.
7. Kuusamo Town Museum
Step into a century of border-town life packed into three rooms and a log cabin. Touch authentic artifacts, hear war-era recordings, and see how families survived the harsh eastern Finnish winters.
Quick facts: The collection holds over 3,000 artifacts chronicling life along the Finnish-Russian border through war, logging, and reindeer herding eras. A restored 19th-century log cabin on the grounds shows how early settlers lived with no running water and a single wood stove for heat.
Highlights: The museum keeps the actual typewriter and field telephone used by local resistance fighters during the Winter War, complete with bullet scratches still visible on the metal casing. You can press the telephone's receiver to your ear and hear a recording of the last coded message transmitted before the unit was abandoned in 1940.
8. Myllykoski Rapids
Feel the ground shake as thousands of liters of water crash through a narrow granite gorge every second. Walk the short riverside trail and watch the force of the rapids up close from wooden viewing platforms.
Quick facts: The river drops roughly 13 meters in just a few hundred meters, creating a roar you can hear from the parking area well before you see the water. During peak spring melt, the flow can surge to several times its summer volume, turning the rapids into a wall of white water.
Highlights: Stand on the observation platform at sunset and watch the low Nordic light catch the spray, turning the whole gorge into a shimmering curtain of gold and silver. The water here is so clear you can spot fish holding in the eddies right below the drop, something that surprises most first-time visitors.
9. Jyrävä Waterfall
A thunderous 8-meter cascade that swells 50x its size during spring melt. Feel the spray, hear the roar, and watch the water turn to white foam before your eyes.
Quick facts: The water drops 8 meters in two separate cascades, pushing over a wide ledge that turns into a frothy white curtain during spring melt. Its flow surges from 2 cubic meters per second in dry spells to over 100 cubic meters per second in May.
Highlights: Most visitors only see the waterfall from the viewing platform above, but scrambling down the short side path puts you right at the base where spray cools your face and the roar drowns out all thought. On winter nights, the partly frozen falls glow under the northern lights, with ice formations catching green and purple arcs overhead.
10. Holiday Club Ruka
Swap your ordinary hotel for a front-row seat to Arctic nature with a spa built right into the snowscape. You will soak in steaming pools, chase the Northern Lights, and wake up to husky sleds and frozen rivers at your doorstep.
Quick facts: The resort sits at the edge of Oulanka National Park, giving guests direct access to over 80 kilometers of marked trails. Its glass-walled sauna cabins face the Arctic sky, where the Northern Lights appear on roughly 200 nights per year.
Highlights: The on-site spa has a swim-through corridor connecting an indoor pool to an open-air hot tub, so you can paddle from 28-degree water into sub-zero air without ever breaking stride. On clear winter nights, the combination of rising steam and glowing aurora overhead makes the tub feel like a front-row seat to the cosmos.
Where to Stay in Kuusamo, Finland
Selected by City Buddy based on guest reviews and proximity to top attractions
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Traditional Sweet Dishes
Runebergin tortut
Runebergin tortut are small cylindrical almond and raspberry cakes that are a Finnish classic, though they are especially loved in the eastern and northern regions like Kuusamo during winter celebrations.
Mustikkapiirakka
Mustikkapiirakka, or wild blueberry pie, is a staple in Kuusamo because the surrounding forests are bursting with wild bilberries every summer, and locals pick them by the bucketload for this beloved dessert.
Leipäjuusto with cloudberry jam
Leipäjuusto, known as Finnish squeaky cheese, is traditionally baked and served warm with cloudberry jam, and in Kuusamo the pairing honors both the local reindeer herding heritage and the cloudberries gathered from nearby bogs.
Traditional Savory Dishes
Poronkäristys
Poronkäristys is a thinly sliced reindeer stew, traditionally cooked in a cast iron pot with butter, salt, and pepper, and served over mashed potatoes with lingonberry jam. It is deeply tied to the Sami and reindeer herding culture of the Kuusamo region.
Lohikeitto
Lohikeitto is a creamy salmon soup made with potatoes, leeks, and dill, and it is a warming staple in Kuusamo thanks to the region's rich lakes and proximity to salmon-rich waters.
Kalakukko
Kalakukko is a savory rye bread pie stuffed with fish and pork, a traditional Eastern Finnish dish that travelers historically carried on long journeys through the wilderness near Kuusamo because it stays fresh for days.
Traditional Beverages
Kotikalja
Kotikalja is a traditional Finnish homemade ale with a very low alcohol content, brewed from malt, water, and sugar, and it has been the everyday farmhouse drink in Kuusamo for generations.
Glögi
Glögi is a spiced mulled drink made with red wine or berry juice, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom, and in Kuusamo it is the essential warming beverage served at Christmas markets and after a day of skiing in the freezing air.
Kossu
Kossu, short for Koskenkorva, is a famous Finnish vodka made from barley, and in Kuusamo it is a traditional toast spirit that warms the body during the harsh northern winters.
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Most popular day trips
Ruka Ski Resort
Finland's largest ski resort with slopes, trails, and summer activities
Oulanka National Park
Famous for the Karhunkierros trail, rapids, and rugged wilderness scenery
Rukatunturi Fell
Iconic fell offering panoramic views and year-round outdoor adventures
Posio and Riistunturi National Park
Quiet fell landscapes, aapa mires, and excellent berry picking spots
Salla Reindeer Park
Meet and feed reindeer in natural Finnish Lapland forest setting
Getting there
Train stations
Long distance buses from Oulu, Rovaniemi, and Helsinki
VR trains from Helsinki and southern Finland
Kuusamo Airport is 5-10 minutes from town center, with taxi and rental car available; most visitors rent a car as public transport is limited in the region.
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Comments (5)
If you want northern lights, download the Aurora app and drive 20 minutes out of town to avoid light pollution. Also book your snowmobile tour through a local outfitter, not the hotel desk, you'll pay half the price for the same ride.
Rent a car instead of relying on taxis or buses, they cost a fortune and barely run on weekends. Also, the supermarket in town, K-Market, has way cheaper snacks and coffee than the resort shops near the ski lifts. Huge money saver.
Went in early March hoping for northern lights and got three clear nights in a row. Cold as hell though, like minus 25 cold, so pack every layer you own. Rukatunturi at sunrise was worth the frozen toes.
Beautiful but pricey. Everything felt like tourist pricing, even the grocery store. If you can handle the dark, December is magical with all the snow. I would skip it if you hate cold weather because it really is freezing.
Honestly thought three days was enough but I wished I had booked one more. The husky safari was the highlight, food was surprisingly good at the little cafes near the ski resort. Bring cash, some places don't take cards.