Saariselkä | Exploring Finland
Saariselkä is a resort village in northern Finland, in the region of Lapland. Its main attraction is the ski center along the slopes of the two nearby mountains of Kaunispää and Iisakkipää. The village is home to several hotels and separate lodges. Reindeer walks the streets and tourists come for either skiing or summer activities such as hiking in the vast wilderness.
A Short History of Saariselkä
The area around Saariselkä had a more golden history before the white snow began attracting visitors. Gold was discovered here in 1865. The discovery was followed by a few decades of prospecting. A mine shaft was established in nearby Laanila, but never resulted in any larger findings. Gold panning is, however, a popular activity in the area’s rivers.
The resort of Saariselkä came to be in the 1970s as the first ski slopes at Kaunispää opened in 1971. Finnish companies built their own lodges in the village, which were used by their employees. These has during the centuries been joined by commercial hotels and resort lodges.
Things to Do and See
Saariselkä attracts both for winter and summer activities. In the winter there are the ski slopes Kaunispää and Iisakkipää that is the main attraction. There are around 20 slopes for Alpine skiing here as well as around 200 kilometers of tracks for cross-country skiing.
During the summer, there are instead kilometers of hiking and biking trail in the surrounding wilderness. Even downhill biking is possible from the Kaunispää mountain. The surrounding area has also plenty of rivers and lakes for fishing and the forests are popular for picking berries, such as cloudberries, crowberries, and lingonberries.
How to Get to Saariselkä
- Flights: Ivalo Airport (IVL) is to the north, it is a regional airport with seasonal flights to other European airports and regular domestic flights to Helsinki.
- Car: Saariselkä is located along Road E75 between Ivalo and Sodankylä.
The driving distance from 5 major Finnish cities, according to Google Maps:
- Helsinki – 1083 kilometers (12 h 20 min)
- Turku – 1094 kilometers (12 h 40 min)
- Vaasa – 795 kilometers (9 h 20 min)
- Oulu – 477 kilometers (5 h 40 min)
- Joensuu – 805 kilometers (9 h 20 min)
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