Kuusamo | Exploring Finland

Kuusamo is a town in northern Finland, in the eastern part of the region of Northern Ostrobothnia. To its north lies Finnish Lapland while not far to the east is the border with Russia. The town is one of Finland’s large tourist hubs and the surrounding area includes places such as Ruka, one of the largest ski resorts in Finland.

A majority of Kuusamo’s around 14.800 inhabitants are native Finnish-speakers. That number, however, the population of the entire municipality. The urban population is estimated to be around two thirds of that number. The population has been in decline for decades, especially in the more rural communities.

A Short History of Kuusamo

The area of Kuusamo has for a long time been inhabited by the Semi-nomadic Sámi people. The border between Sweden and Russia had been determined with the Treaty of Teusina in 1595. The treaty marked the border between the two countries to the east. Kuusamo was a part of the Swedish province Västerbotten. Västerbotten is today still a part of Sweden, but is a lot smaller and centered around the the cities of Umeå and Skellefteå.

Arrival of Settlers

It wasn’t until after 1673 that settlers began arriving in Kuusamo. The movement was pushed by a Swedish tax exemption to encourage the settlement of Lapland. The new settlers mainly came from the regions of Savo and Kainuu. The new Finnish settlers soon ousted the Sámi inhabitants in the area. Agricultural farming together animal husbandry, with mainly cattle and reindeer, became the key livelihoods. The growing forestry industries sped up the local development from the end of the 19th century onward.

Independence and War

It wasn’t until the Finnish independence in 1917 that the local production faced difficulties. The harbors at the White Sea that had been used for shipping out the local goods from the forestry industry had ended up on the other side of the border in Russia. Another issue was that some reindeer herds had also ended up on the wrong side of the border. The very same border came even closer to the town after the Winter War as parts of the area was ceded to the Soviet Union. Kuusamo was even evacuated in 1939 in preparation for a possible invasion. Kuusamo didn’t fare any better during the Continuation War. The war ended with the village being burned to the ground by Russian troops.

Modern Times

Kuusamo raised from the ashes and the population exploded to over 20.000 in the 1960s. The limited job opportunities have since meant a steady decline in the population. After the rebuilding of the village tourism joined agriculture as an alternate livelihood. It was with the establishment of the first ski slope at the mountain Rukatunturi in 1954 that marked the start of the Ruka Ski Center. Kuusamo has since been a regional center of tourism, especially in the winter.

Things to Do and See

It is estimated that around one million tourists visit Kuusamo during a year. What is the main attraction? What to do in the city and its surroundings? This main attraction here consists of outdoor activities. That is the case both during summer as well as during the cold and dark winters. With its location not far from the Arctic Circle, there summer days are long and so are the winter nights.

Kuusamo Village

The center of Kuusamo lies at the intersection of the two streets Kitkantie and Ouluntaival. It is along these streets that you will find most of the small businesses as well as the small shopping center Torikeskus. Just outside of the center, between the two lakes Torankijärvi and Kuusamojärvi, is the local history museum. This open-air museum showcases the farming life of a normal family here in the 1930s. There is a total of 16 buildings here, all connected to the historical farm life. There is also a larger commercial center in the southwestern part of Kuusamo, where the larger department stores and other businesses are located.

Ruka Ski Resort

Kuusamo is the gateway to the Ruka Ski Resort located around 25 kilometers to the north. At the slopes of the Rukatunturi mountain is one of Finland’s larger winter sport centers. Rukatunturi reaches an altitude of 492 meters. Over 500 meters of tracks for cross-country skiing crisscross the surrounding area. These tracks are commonly hosting the one of the competitions int he annual cross-country skiing world cup. The competitions at Ruka usually mark the start of the season for all Nordic disciplines.

However, winter is not the only season here. During the summer the local wilderness is instead housing kilometer after kilometer of hiking and biking paths, as well as long planned routes along the waterways for kayaking, canoeing and other small vessels.

Local Wilderness

The vast forests of the region and the numerous lakes offers plenty of options for activities. Skiing is popular during the winter, but also the summer has its possibilities. The many lakes are popular for fishing, but also canoeing or other kinds of paddling. Many of the lakes do offer the possibility to swim. One of the more central beaches is the Kelanranta. The region is also covered by many and long hiking trails and if you are lucky you can combine it with picking berries.

How to Get to Kuusamo

Flights: The closest airport is Kuusamo Airport (KAO) located just a few kilometers from the center of the village. In addition to several seasonal flights across Europe, there are regular flights to Helsinki.
Car: Kuusamo is located along road E63 between Kemijärvi and Kajaani. It is also connected to Oulu via road 20.

The driving distance from 5 major Finnish cities, according to Google Maps: