Facts about Ruka & Kuusamo Lapland

Updated 10.10.2012 unless mentioned otherwise below.

Facts about Ruka Ski Resort in Lapland:

• in winter: ski resort Ruka, Ruka pedestrian village, cross country tracks, snowmobiling routes and great variety of guided winter activities
• in summer: the magnificent nature in Kuusamo — National Parks Oulanka, Riisitunturi, Syöte, Pyhä and Paanajärvi (the latter in Russia), Karhunkierros hiking trail, Kitka and Oulanka rivers, steep hills and numerous lakes with lots of fish

Facts about Ruka Ski Resort in Lapland

• Ruka in Lapland is one of the largest ski resorts in Finland comparing sales: almost 8 million euros per year (2011-2012)
• Ski season 2011-2012: 360.000 skiing days, appr. 127.000 unique skiers
• 34 groomed runs, biggest vertical 201 m and longest run 1300 m. The top of Ruka is 492 meters above sea level.
• Groomed runs altogether 20 km: 41 % blue/beginner, 43 % red/intermediate and 16 % black/advanced.
• Effective snow making on all runs (with almost 100 snow guns), 27 illuminated runs (87%).
• 21 lifts: 5 chairs with one super fast RukaExpress detachable chair with bubble cover, hourly capacity of 25.400.
• FIS rated Vuosseli Super Pipe, Snow Park & Street, Ski/Boarder Cross course and a moguls run, Battery Run, suitable for international competitions (length 225 m, vertical 106 m, steepness 52 % i.e 29 degrees) and FIS rated slalom run.
• 2 rental shops: 2100 sets of alpine ski equipment, 400 sets of snowboards and 200 sets of cross-country skis.
• 5 groomers and over 90 snow guns: snow making capacity of 1250 cubic meters of snow per hour.
• The biggest and oldest ski school in Finland, Ski School Ruka, 180 instructors (mostly part-time).
• The longest ski season in Finland: October to June (appr. 200 days). 2012-2013 season expectation is 18.10.2012-9.6.2013, 235 days.
• Slopes are open every day 9.30 a.m - 7 p.m. according to weather conditions. Ski lift opening hours by lift can be found at ski.ruka.fi website. 
• Night skiing on Fridays  7-11 p.m (December - mid-April)

Routes:

• Appr. 2000 km of different kinds of marked routes on Kuusamo area.
• 506 km of cross country trails in Kuusamo (53 km illuminated); out of these 200 km in Ruka (21 km illuminated).
• First Snow Track for ski season 2012-2013: 2 km at Kuusamo Petäjälampi (nearby Kuusamon Tropiikki Spa, opening after the first below zero period due to snow making).
• 500 km of marked, free-of-charge snowmobile routes and 100 km of safari organizers' own routes.
• In the summer: 160 km of hiking routes, 605 km of biking routes, 350 km of classified paddling routes and 100 km of boating routes.
• Nordic Walking routes: Kuusamo centre 4,5 km; Munakka Nature Trail 2,7 km; Toranki route 9,6 km.
• Ruka Trail around the ski resort available for skiing (lit) during winter and hiking during summer; 8,2 km.

Restaurants:

• In Ruka area 28 restaurants & bars/pubs (7.803 seats), out of which 10 on-mountain restaurants and several cafés; 1000 seats on terraces
• In the whole Kuusamo area 64 restaurants & bars/pubs with 15.415 seats

Other facilities:

• Ruka pedestrian village consists of over 1000 visitor beds, 15 restaurants, 10 shops and underground parking for 320 cars right by the ski area.
• Shopping Centre Kumpare: Ruka Info (tourist office), shops, kindergarten, bowling, saunas, massage, internet.
• Kuusamon Tropiikki Spa: 3 saunas, large pool area and a big water slide.
• Ruka Summer Sled Track is the longest one in Finland (1.001 m).
• 63 safari organizers with varied programs and equipment rentals.
• RukaGolf: 9 holes and a driving range 5 km from Ruka. A new 18 hole course is being planned nearby Kuusamon Tropiikki Spa.
• Ruka International Ski Jump Stadium: K120 and K64 jumps (K120/HS142 is the biggest year-round jump in Finland).
• Karhuntassu Visitor Centre: Kuusamo Info (tourist office), internet, Hannu Hautala Nature Photography Centre, fishing permits, Kuusamo products, cafe.
• SkiBus route around the ski resort and accommodation areas free of charge when traveling with a valid ski pass during the opening hours of the lifts.
• Hiking bus transporting hikers to the starting points of Karhunkierros Trail as well as to the airport; year round.
• Airport Bus from and to every flight at Kuusamo airport; year round.

Beds in hotels, apartments and cottages:

• Altogether appr. 40.000 beds in Kuusamo area (including holiday homes); 23.00 of these in Ruka area.
• New holiday apartments and cottages rising with the rate of 200 per year.
• 6.900 holiday apartments and cottages in Kuusamo.

Visitors:

• MEK Finland estimates: Kuusamo was the 5th most visited touristic attraction in Finland during the year 2007.
• Appr. one million visitors in Kuusamo every year; 94.036 of these arrived by airplane 2009.
• During 2011 there were 440.800 overnights, of which 351.700 were Finnish and 89.100 foreigners (this number does not include overnights in cottages).
• Over 200.000 visitors stop in the Ruka village during the summer according to the traffic estimates.
• 169.000 people visited Oulanka National Park during 2010; this park is part of the PAN Parks organization.
• 73.000 persons visited Oulanka Visitor Centre during year 2010.
• 34.700 visitors found interesting information in the Karhuntassu Visitor Centre on 2010.

Other facts:

• Tourism income in Kuusamo on 2009 was 94,3 MEur.
• Appr. 790 residents of Kuusamo area work in tourism business: 39 % of these in accommodation and restaurants, appr. 19 % in sales and shops and 32 % in other fields of tourism.

Climate and weather conditions in Kuusamo

The climate in Kuusamo region is more continental than in most other parts of Finland. The mean temperature of the year is around 0°C and the growing season is 135 days long. The ground is covered with snow around 200 days from the end of October till the middle of May. Winter conditions may cause a challenge for drivers, so please take a look at Driving in Finland.