Karhunkierros: 82 kilometres from the Arctic Circle to Ruka
The Karhunkierros is the hike Finns name first. Eighty-two kilometres from the Karhunkierros Nature Centre at Hautajärvi in Salla, south through Oulanka National Park, ending on the fell ridge above Ruka in Kuusamo. Most people walk it in three to seven days.
Despite the name — Bear’s Ring — it is not a loop. It is point-to-point, walkable in either direction, and the two ends are 60 road kilometres apart, so plan the shuttle before you plan the walk. There is a shorter start at Ristikallio, off the Sallantie road, which joins the main trail at Taivalköngäs and brings the total to 70 km.
The route, section by section
Walking north to south: Hautajärvi → Rupakivi → Savilampi → Taivalköngäs → Oulanka Visitor Centre → Kiutaköngäs → Ansakämppä → Jussinkämppä → Päähkänänkallio → Harrisuvanto → Jyrävä → Juuma → Porontimajoki → Konttainen → Valtavaara → Ruka.
Metsähallitus splits it into four legs: Hautajärvi to the Oulanka Visitor Centre is 27 km; the Ristikallio branch to the same point is 18 km; Visitor Centre to Juuma is 25, 28 or 31 km depending on which variant you take; and Juuma to Rukatunturi is 24 km.
There are around ten free huts along the way, a mix of open wilderness huts you can sleep in and day huts you cannot. Source counts differ slightly — check the current Metsähallitus listing before you rely on a specific hut being a sleeping one.
Stop 1 — Hautajärvi
The northern trailhead, on the Arctic Circle, in the municipality of Salla. The Karhunkierros Nature Centre here is where most through-hikers start: maps, conditions, and the last reliable information point before the canyon. There is very little accommodation at Hautajärvi itself — this is a trailhead, not a base. Most walkers arrive the morning they start.
