Ylläs: Exploring on Your Own

Ylläs has up to around 50 km of marked snowshoe trails, through forest, across open bogs and up toward the fells. They are marked with blue signs showing a snowshoer, then blue sticks along the way.

A few things worth knowing:

• No permit is needed for snowshoeing, in the national park or outside it.
• The trails are marked in early winter, as soon as there is enough snow. They are not groomed. After fresh snow, you sink, and you go much slower than the distance suggests. Plan time, not kilometres.
• Snowshoes and poles can be rented in the villages. Snowshoes fit on normal winter boots. Big soft "moon boots" hold badly in the bindings.

Around Yllästunturi there are also about 100 km of maintained winter trails, marked with blue and white signs. They are packed by snowmobile and shared by walkers, snowshoers, fatbikers and dogs on a leash. If you just want to walk in the forest without snowshoes, these are the ones.

Ylläs is a big skiing area. In midwinter around 150 km of tracks are open, and from mid-February the full network of around 320 km. Tracks are groomed until 1 May if the snow allows. The official map at map.yllas.fi shows which tracks were groomed today. It is a website, not an app. The free version has limited zoom; the full map is paid.

The one rule people break: don't walk or snowshoe on ski tracks. They are for skiers only. A footprint in a classic track ruins it for everyone after you. In early winter, before classic tracks are made, walking and biking on them is allowed, except on lit tracks, which are always ski-only.

Trail maintenance in Ylläs costs more than €600,000 a year, and it is not paid by the state. Everyone who uses the trails is expected to pay the trail fee, collected by Visit Ylläs:

• €10 for a day
• €25 for a week
• €50 for a season

You can pay with MobilePay, or support the trails by buying the map. Honestly, if you use the tracks for a week, €25 is fair.

Along the trails you will find rest spots and campfire sites, some with a lean-to (laavu) or a kota. When you stop, step off the trail so others can pass.

Going up a fell on your own is possible on marked routes. Above the trees, the weather is a different world: wind, poor visibility, and on some days you can't tell the snow from the sky. If the top disappears in clouds turn around. The view will be there another day.

Kuertunturi. Our favourite easy fell. In winter a marked snowshoe trail goes up through snow-loaded forest to the top, about 2 km from the trailhead near the village (Karhukoantie), or just over 3 km from the Velhon Kota parking on the Kolari road. From the top you can see all seven fells of Ylläs. A full loop back to Äkäslompolo is a good 11 km. Visit Ylläs route story

Kesänkitunturi. In winter, a ski track and snowshoe trails take the gentler side of the fell up to the Tahkokuru day-trip hut, at the tree line. Visit Ylläs

Tuomikuru, from the Ylläsjärvi side. A marked loop of about 6 km from the Ylläs Ski Resort Ylläsjärvi area, on snowshoes or on foot. Follow the green "Tuomikurun kierros" signs up to the Tuomikuru kota at the tree line, with a fire pit and wide views to the east and south. Count about two hours, plus breaks.

Half the point of a trail tay here is the coffee stop. These are the ones we keep going back to. We have no deal with any of them.

• Velhon Kota, south of Äkäslompolo. A wilderness café in a kota, reached on skis, snowshoes or on foot. In winter you can also park on the Äkäslompolo–Kolari road and walk about 400 m. The path crosses the Äkäsjoki river on an ice road, so stay on the marked route.
• Karilan Navettagalleria, Äkäslompolo. A café and gallery in an old cowshed on the Karila farm, Karilantie 31. Opening hours change with the season, so check before you go.
• Cafe Kota, Kotamaja, next to Pyhätunturi, north of Äkäslompolo. Sunny terrace, soup, hot drinks and an open fire, for skiers and walkers.
• Aurinkotupa, Ylläsjärvi. A café by the ski tracks, about 5 km from the fell nentre, with fresh buns, soup, a few reindeer in a fenced yard and a free lodge for grilling sausages.

Much of the trail network runs inside Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park. The rules are simple:

• Fires only at designated fire sites, using the wood provided or dry fallen twigs where allowed. Never during a forest fire warning.
• Stay on marked trails, especially in sensitive areas.
• Varkaankuru, right next to Yllästunturi, is a restricted zone: from 1 May to 30 November, access is only on the marked trail.
• No bins in the park. Whatever you bring in, you take back out.
• Dogs on a leash.

Most days, a trail walk near the villages is very safe. But winter in Lapland doesn't forgive small mistakes, so here are the ones we see.

Cold

You warm up while moving, and cool down fast when you stop. Dress in layers, take one off before you sweat, and put a warm layer on as soon as you stop. Hands and feet go first: at −25 °C, mittens beat gloves.

Darkness

From December to January, the days are short, and in Äkäslompolo the sun can stay behind the fells for weeks. Start early, plan to be back before dark, and always carry a headlamp, even for a "short" walk.

Weather

Check the forecast before you go, especially for the fells. Wind changes everything: −10 °C with strong wind feels much colder than a calm −20 °C.

Leaving the trails

Off the marked trails, the snow can be deep enough to sink to your waist, and you are on your own if something goes wrong. Steep fell slopes can also carry avalanche risk, even here. Our guides are avalanche-trained, and we still keep away from steep slopes after heavy snow or wind. If you are not experienced in winter terrain, stay on the marked network.

Emergencies

The emergency number in Finland is 112. Download the 112 Suomi app before your trip. Tell someone your route and when you plan to be back.

We can't promise northern lights, on your own or with us. What you can do is give yourself a chance: a clear sky, real darkness, and patience.

Kesänkijärvi, the lake below Kesänkitunturi, is our favourite spot. You can get there on foot, on skis or by car, and there is a parking area by the lake (Kesänkijärven pysäköintialue, off Sahatie). It is open, away from the village lights, with fells around it. Dress warmer than you think: standing still on a frozen lake at night is cold.

Lake ice needs to be at least 5 cm thick to walk on, and it is not the same everywhere: currents and streams keep some spots thin. If you are not sure, ask locally, and cross lakes only on marked tracks or trails.

• Warm layers and a spare dry layer
• Mittens, hat, buff
• Headlamp
• Charged phone, kept warm in an inside pocket, and a power bank
• A thermos with a hot drink, and something to eat
• The trail map (paper or map.yllas.fi)

The Yllästunturi Visitor Centre Kellokas, near Äkäslompolo, is the best place to start: maps, advice on trails and conditions, and some trails start right from its yard. There are also self-service tourist info points in Äkäslompolo (in the K-Market Jounin kauppa hall) and in Ylläsjärvi (at the ski resort, near the ticket office).

We'd rather be honest. If you want a walk on a marked trail on a nice day, go. You'll love it.

A guide makes a real difference when:

• you want to leave the marked trails and get into deep snow and quieter places, without worrying about navigation or safety, with avalanche-trained guides;
• you want to go out at night, away from the village lights, with someone who knows the ground in the dark;
• you want to try backcountry skiing for the first time and have someone show you how;
• you don't have the gear and don't want to rent and figure it all out;
• you just want someone else to deal with the plan, the weather and the fire.

That is what we do, in groups of 8 people maximum. If one of those sounds like you, here are our day tours from Ylläs. If not, enjoy the trails :)

More from our guides: Before you come · Snowshoeing · Backcountry skiing · Northern lights