Ruka ski slopes - Wikimedia / Blue Elf
The small resort of Ruka is situated in Finnish Lapland, on the eastern side of the country near the border with Russia. As with the other Lapland resorts, such as Levi, it benefits from a long season of guaranteed snow, and a large list of snow-related activities, mainly thanks to the Santa-Experience tourist scene for which the Lapland area has become renowned.
But as well as the traditional husky rides, reindeer sledding, snow-mobiles, ice-fishing etc, Ruka has some skiing. And although Ruka's slopes are not going to appeal to budding World Cup downhill racers, for beginners and early intermediates looking to combine some slope-time with the whole Arctic-Circle experience, Ruka is a nice option.
On this page you'll find the following information about the resort of Ruka...
Unfortunately, unlike the other Scandanavian countries of Norway and Sweden, Finland doesn't have any resorts or ski areas that have an altitude that can provide any summer skiing. So you'll just have to make do with their slopes having a very long, and reliable, winter season.
What it lacks in altitude and black runs Ruka more than makes up for in reliable snow. The Finnish resort has one of the longest ski seasons in the world, not half bad considering there isn't the sniff of a melting glacier in sight.
Despite it's lack of height (the fell's top height is just under 500m) Ruka normally has enough snow knocking around to be able to start running it's lifts during mid October, and keep them going right through until June. And the good thing is that once the cold weather's got hold and the snow starts falling, that tends to be the trend for the rest of the winter - for instance, it's rare to get a warm mid-winter or pre-Christmas spell that you sometimes get in the Alps. Now that's what we call a snow-sure resort.
No live-streams are currently available for Ruka.
A list of webcams for Ruka and the surrounding area.
If you want some further information on Ruka, then you might find these links to other sites useful...
The nearest airport to Ruka is Kuusamo Airport. It's just over 30km away, so usually only about a 35 minute journey. That's the good news. The bad news is that we're not aware of any direct flights from the United Kingdom to Kuusamo Airport, although there are regular departures from Helsinki if you fancy connecting from there.
Go to the Kuusamo Airport website for further information.
Ruka's first ski slope was opened back in 1954, and is called Eturinne (translating as Front Slope). The number of slopes and lifts has grown over the years and now stands at a total of 29 ski slopes and 20 lifts.
Ruka is now a year round tourist centre. As well as the downhill slopes there are extensive cross country trails for Nordic skiing, snowmobiling tracks, snow-shoe trails, husky rides, ice fishing, ice climbing and, of course, all of the Reindeer and Santa experiences that are so popular before Christmas. In the summer months Ruka has now become popular for hiking, with over 160 km of trails, mountain biking, and various boating and rafting experiences to enjoy.
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