Winter trip to Vuokatti

In paid collaboration with - Vuokatti

Time of the visit: February Weather: Cloudy Temperature: -12°C Length of stay: 2 nights

After our awesome trip to Kainuu, we got to stay in Vuokatti for a few extra days. I had never been there before, so I was excited about our stay. 

Vuokatti is best known for its ski tunnel which enables skiing throughout the year and many other fantastic training facilities for athletes. There’s also a wide range of winter activities and services from spa and sauna world to downhill skiing and different safaris. This means that it is an excellent winter holiday destination for families and groups.

Have a look at what we were able to include in our visit!

Haapala B&B

We woke up in our cozy accommodation at Haapala B&B, which is in a nicely renovated old farm. The farm has been in the Korhonen family for five generations. Nowadays Haapala has a fantastic restaurant, accommodation, saunas and a brewery.

Our day started with a breakfast buffet in the restaurant, which actually shares the space with the brewery. Afterwards Craig gave us a tour in the brewery and told us about the beer-making process. It was nice to get to know how things work behind the scenes and how much time and knowledge it all requires. They have included ingredients and flavours from Finland in a cool way in their products.

Now we had gotten a pretty good image of what Haapala is about. Such a nice place to come for meals or for the whole experience with accommodation and sauna. 

Husky adventure

After a delicious lunch, we needed to rush as the huskies at Vuokatti Safaris were eager to go on an adventure with us. As we arrived, I think we were as excited as the huskies. We couldn't wait to get the briefing done and get going on the sleds. It’s funny to see how the dogs are jumping and barking before the departure as they can’t wait to go!

Once we took off, all the dogs got quiet and super focused. There's a beautiful bond between you and the huskies during the adventure and you definitely need to work together and respect each other. What a nice way to enjoy nature!

Snowshoeing

There was still a bit of daylight left after the husky safari, so we decided to pick up snowshoes from Vuokatti Ski Service. We got a good tip to visit a neighbouring fell to have a peek at the scenery towards Vuokatti. We also found a trailhead, where no-one had been since the last snowfall. We decided to go for a little hike along the trail.

It felt like we were on another planet with the snow giants and no one else around. We had time only for a little tour before it got completely dark. It was definitely a good workout to make our own path in the deep snow. There was no need to hit the gym after.

Glass Igloos

Later that evening, we were able to sit down in a restaurant for the first time in a long while due to the restrictions. Even just that felt amazing! We had a wonderful service and a very tasty meal at Amarillo!

Afterward, we continued to another superb accommodation, Arctic Lakeland Igloos. They are unique mirror glass igloos with outside hot tubs by the lake Sapsojärvi. These igloos and the hot tubs are a nice way to witness the northern lights if you're lucky with the weather.

Snowmobiling

Our last day started with an exciting snowmobile adventure with Vuokatti Safaris. We joined a tour with a guide to get familiar with the area. After a coffee break in a cozy cafe Heikkilän Pirtti, we continued the adventure on our own. It was time for Macarena to take control of the snowmobile, which she handled well. It took us a while for us to make it back as I wanted to stop and take photos of the snow-covered trees all the time. After we got back, you could see that she really enjoyed riding the snowmobile, as the smile didn't leave her face for hours.

All in all, we only got to see and experience a tiny part of what Vuokatti has to offer. We enjoyed every part of it and realized that everything you could ask for in a winter holiday can be found here!

Daniels top 3 tips for Vuokatti:

• Haapala B&B

• Vuokatti Safaris - Snowmobile tour

• E-Bikes

Other things to do in Vuokatti:

• Spa & sauna world

• Amazing tracks for nordic skiing

• Ski & Snowboarding

• Multiple nice restaurants

Winter Escape - Arctic Lakeland Kainuu

In paid collaboration with - Arctic Lakeland Kainuu

Time of the visit: February Weather: Sunny/Cloudy/Snowstorm Temperature: -10-27°C Length of stay: 4 nights

I have visited different areas in Kainuu throughout my life during the summer. It was the time to finally experience this precious area during winter to test if it lives up to the summer season and the memories I have.

If you are looking for a new experience in this lovely region, Arctic Lakeland is a great website to plan your trip, discover different areas, and schedule activities for your trip. This was very helpful website for us prior to the trip.

Let’s go!

Region: Kajaani

Our trip started from Oulujärvi, which is the fifth largest lake in Finland. It was such a gorgeous weather and we arrived just in time for the sunset. We had a moment to enjoy this beautiful place before our dinner made out of local ingredients delivered to our accommodation. Dinner in a “floating” igloo on a frozen lake was definitely a first time for us! Afterward, we continued with a unique sauna experience on the frozen lake next to our igloo. Of course there were some auroras and a beautiful starry sky to enjoy from the window of the sauna.

The following day, we got picked up by our host Kaisa from Luonnollisesti Oulunjärvi. We hopped in the snowmobile sleigh and headed to collect the fish from the nets they set the previous night. After learning their techniques in winter fishing and enjoying this rewarding experience, we got a well-deserved coffee and snack break by the fire at Ärjänsaari, a gorgeous island in Oulunjärvi and a must-see place in summer. Also an excellent destination during wintertime.

Region: Paltamo

After a cold, but fun day on the lake, it was time to head towards our next destination in Paltamo. We made our way to the hilltop of Arctic Giant and were stunned by the views. Again we arrived just in time for the sunset and settled to our accommodation, which was definitely as distinctive as the first one. From the newly opened Aurora Birdhouse, we got to enjoy the sunset over the endless landscape. After the delicious dinner we hopped into our jacuzzi. We couldn't believe how lucky we were, as seconds after we jumped in, the sky filled with dancing northern lights. What a way to relax after a busy day!

Region: Puolanka

The next day we headed north to Ukkohalla ski area. This place is known for it’s amazing snow park in the winter and the summer possibilities including a cable park in the water.

We wanted to take a bit slower pace here and enjoy walking in the middle of those giant snow-covered trees. After some time in the woods we made it to the top of the ski hill, where you have a nice view point. It was soon lunchtime, and there was one more place that we wanted to see before it was getting dark. We took our car next to Komulanköngäs and head out to the campfire by the waterfall to enjoy a cup of coffee and heat up our sandwiches. The waterfall is a unique site in Finland, so I highly recommend stopping there if you're passing by. Due to the cold winter months, the waterfall was under the ice and snow.

It got late and a massive snowstorm arrived while we made our way to our accommodation Lake Resort Paljakka. Because of the storm, we decided to stay at our cabin for the evening. It was a good idea as it got really extreme out there. Luckily we had our cozy cabin with a hot jacuzzi outside to witness one of the heaviest snowstorms I've seen in Finland.

Region: Hossa

Our morning started with an early departure towards Hossa National Park. The fresh snow on the road made the drive to an activity in itself. We made it to Hossa and picked up e-bikes from Kainuun Luontoretket and headed towards the parking. It was obvious very fast that it would have been too much to ask to reach our planned destination Värikallio. Luckily there are plenty of campsites around, so we quickly came up with a plan-b. We didn’t go for a long trip due to the new snow, but definitely enjoyed every meter of it. We stopped at Lihapyörre for a little tea break and made a fire to cook some lunch.

As we made it back from the bike adventure, we had a traditional sautéed reindeer meal waiting for us at Hossan Poropuisto. It was nice to sit down with the family and hear some stories of their traditions and life in the area.

Loma-Hossa must have heard about our biking adventure as they had heated up a sauna for us to enjoy. It is located by a lake, so obviously we needed to go dip in the frozen lake as well. We had a very pleasant stay in their new Naava cabin nearby.

Region: Vuokatti

We arrived in Vuokatti, the final destination of our trip. It was time to get to know the area a little bit, so we decided to give e-biking another chance. We picked up bikes from Vuokatti Ski Service and explored the town before heading to the top of Vuokatti Hill for the sunset. This time the beautiful peak didn’t get the golden glow from the setting sun, however we had a fun adventure on the bikes.

After our biking tour we arrived to the wonderful accommodation Haapala B&B. After getting settled to our room and grabbing some dinner, it was time to visit Haapala’s unique sauna. This newly finished handcrafted sauna gave a magnificent löyly and had a very nice atmosphere.

Vuokatti story continues on the next blog post…

So does it live up to it’s reputation as an amazing destination also in the winter?

Kainuu is an excellent destination for a winter holiday. You have the arctic vibes and possibility to do all the winter activities half of the traveling time from Southern Finland. This is definitely an undiscovered treasure. That’s why you usually don’t have to be queuing anywhere… yet! The amount of snow and those heavy snowstorms during our stay, proved that this area is usually guaranteed to have snow.

People from Kainuu are very friendly. You can also see that they are passioned about what they do. We always had a warm welcome and jokes were thrown right of the bat. Something that you can’t find everywhere.

We really enjoyed our stay and found many new nice places that will make us come back!

Salla - December Blues

In paid collaboration - Visit Salla - Koronaexit -project

Salla is a beautiful outdoor destination located in Eastern Lapland. Its diverse nature and great services makes it a perfect environment to enjoy a special getaway all year around!

I got an opportunity to take a few of my friends and go have a fun long weekend in Salla. The activities on our visit would take us to enjoy parts of the new National Park area. The days are quite short this time of the year, so we needed to plan the activities wisely. Good thing about winter though is that it doesn’t really get dark at all as the snow illuminates the nature. Some activities are a lot better in daylight, but some are possible to do in the dark as well. More on them later…

Time of the visit: Mid December Weather: Cloudy/Snow Temperature: -1 to -9 Length of stay: 3 days

4 Activities in 3 days

E-MTB (electric mountain biking)
This year the winter has been a challenging one due to the unusually warm start. Most of the longer trails for biking weren’t open yet. We ended up staying on the trails close to the ski hill which still served the purpose and we definitely had a fun time. E-MTB’s are a fun and fairly easy way to get to the nature even in the winter. I highly recommend trying them!

More about the bike trails here!

Skinbased
Next on our list was Skinbased-skiing to the top of Iso-Pyhätunturi. I’ve done this quite a lot the past few years and it’s always as fun. There are a few things to take into consideration when it comes to the routes and it was nice to have a guide with us along the journey, showing the best trails to go on. We made it to the top and had a quick cup of coffee before skiing back down to the starting point. It’s good to bring your head lamp to provide more contrast when it gets darker.
Starting point: Itäkota-Cafe Distance: 4.6km Elevation gain: 140m Time: 2h

Winter Walking
Nice relaxing walk in the woods is amazing for the whole family. Salla has really nice maintained winter walking trails with beautiful scenery and good places for a bonfire. Definitely a good option for an easier day in between harder activities. The trail was nicely marked and well maintained. No need for snowshoes on these trails! Remember to bring your headlamp also for this one as most of the winter walking trails are not illuminated! We only ended up doing a 4km trip including a nice bonfire stop at Kontiolampi lean-to.
Starting point: Salla Reindeer Park Stop 1: Kontiolammen laavu (950m) Firewood: Yes

Cross-country skiing
Salla has really nice cross-country skiing tracks that partly enter the future National Park. There are tracks that are illuminated in the dark, so we had to give it a go. The terrain was fun and had a good variety of uphills and downhills. It was really nice to get some kilometers in before the sauna.

See more on the tracks here!

Resources for Salla
For dinner - Restaurant Kiela
For lunch - Keloravintola
Groceries - 10 km in downtown Salla
Rental equipment - Salla Ski Resort
Cabins - Pan Village

Other things to do or visit
Salla Reindeer park
Kaunisharju - Viewpoint
Napapiirin Safarit - Snowmobile safaris
Salla Ski Resort