The three best resorts in Finland for downhill skiing are Levi, Ylläs, and Ruka. They are all quite far from Turku and Helsinki, but it’s worth it to go up north to Lapland for the longer slopes and all the other snow activities you will find there.
| Resort | Distance |
|---|---|
| Levi Ski Resort | 990km / 12h 20m by car from Turku ship terminal |
| Ylläs Ski Resort | 955km / 11h 55m by car from Turku ship terminal |
| Ruka Ski Resort | 890km / 10h 35m by car from Turku ship terminal |
Ski pass prices for the winter of 2021 are listed in the below table. We can see that the prices are very close to each other and really the difference is so small that this shouldn’t effect your choice when choosing which ski resort you want to visit.
| Resort | Ski Pass Price |
|---|---|
| Levi Ski Resort | 1 adult 5/7 Days 187€ 2 adults + 1 child 4 Days Family pass 390€ 2 adults + 1 child 5/7 Days Family pass 485€ |
| Ylläs Ski Resort | 2 adults + 1 child 4 Days Family pass 386€ 2 adults + 1 child 5/7 Days Family pass 481€ |
| Ruka Ski Resort | 1 adult 3/4 Days 122€ 1 adult 5/7 Days 184€ 2 adults + 1 child 4 Days Family pass 376€ 2 adults + 1 child 5/7 Days Family pass 472€ |
Ylläs Ski Resort
Ylläs is the largest ski resort in Finland when measured by the number of slopes, the difference in altitude, and the slope kilometers. Ylläs rises to a height of 720 meters and you can find the longest slopes in Finland, the 3,000-meter-long Ylipitkä and Jättipitkä.
Slopes: 63
Altitude difference: 463 meters
Slope kilometers: 53
Longest slope: 3000 meters
Lifts: 29 capacity 17,500 people / h
Day ticket price: 35/38 e (adults) 24/25 e (7-12 and over 65 years old)
Beds: 22,000
Levi Ski Resort
Levi is the largest center in Finland in terms of ticket sales and market share. This popular tourist center has plenty of high-quality services, a short distance to the airport. Finland’s most efficient lift and snowmaking system guarantees well-maintained slopes for a long season.
Slopes: 43
Altitude difference: 325
Slope kilometers: 44
Longest slope: 2500 meters
Lifts: 26 capacity 27,600 people / h
Day ticket price: 35/39 e (adults), 24 / 24.50 e (7-12 and over 65 years old)
Beds: 24,000
Ruka Ski Resort
Although Ruka doesn’t match Ylläs and Levi in height it is number one in Finland in terms of the season’s length in days. The season lasts from October to May in most years, and at its best, there are almost 250 days you can ski. Ruka’s market share is the second largest after Levi.
Slopes: 34
Altitude difference: 201 meters
Slope kilometers: 30
Longest slope: 1300 meters
Lifts: 21 capacity 24 100 person / h
Day ticket price: 36/38 e (adults) 30.50 / 32 e (12-17 years old) 22/23 e (6-11 and over 65 years old).
Beds: 23,000
The Ruka interactive slope map can be found at panoraama.com/ruka
Finding accommodation in Ruka
A good place to start looking for a place stay is the Ruka homepage since they have an accommodation search where you can enter the days you want to travel and it will find cottages from different sites like Lomarengas, ProLoma, Rukako and Ruka911 in addition to the ones which are rented directly by the Ruka site.
If you are travelling by car then it makes also sense to look at cottages and accommodation that is 15-20 minutes away from the Ski Resort since you will get a lot more options. For example closer to Kuusamo and the services it provides you can find Holiday Club Kuusamon Tropiikki which also has a spa.
Things to do in Ruka and Kuusamo
During the winter period, downhill Skiing is naturally the main attraction in Ruka but there are many other things you can also do like Cross Country Skiing, Snowmobiling, Ice Fishing, Ice Karting, Snowshoe trips to the Oulanka National Park, visiting Husky and Reindeer farms just to name a few.
Some of the things I personally think are worth trying are:
- Oulanka National Park has winter trails and you can even see the Jyrävä waterfall during the winter time which is only 3km from the nearest parking area
- Snowmobile Safari
- Husky Safari for the Whole Family @ 30€ per person for 2,5km ride
If you are interested in Cross Country Sking the ladulle.fi service shows the cross country ski trail maps in the Ruka and Kuusamo area.
There are several companies offering activities in the Ruka area so there is plenty of choices. I would recommend checking out rukaadventures.fi since from their website you can see many options at a glance and then use those keywords for doing your own research to find more companies offering activities.