Finland’s ‘Ski Resort of the Year’ is open, with new UK flight connections, new luxury suites and an X Games finale still to come.
Ruka opened its slopes for winter on Friday 2nd October, while most of Europe’s ski resorts are still weeks away from their first snow. The season runs until 2nd May 2027, giving skiers more than 200 days on the snow at the resort named Finland’s Ski Resort of the Year 2026.
This winter, airBaltic flies direct from London Gatwick and Manchester to Kuusamo on selected dates, in just over three hours. Finnair has significantly expanded its connections via Helsinki, running up to seven days a week from London Heathrow, Manchester and Edinburgh, now offering shorter connection times than ever before.
Ruka-Kuusamo has spent the past few years quietly building a reputation as one of Europe’s most versatile winter destinations. Whether you’re travelling with young children, chasing the aurora or just there for the sauna, there’s something for everyone.
Ruka’s slopes suit every level, from first-timers to confident skiers. Its dedicated Rosa and Rudolf area is just for beginners and young skiers, with six magic-carpet lifts to take the fear out of a first go on snow, a ski school and gentle slopes kept well away from faster traffic.
Higher up, fast lifts and short queues mean more time on the snow and less time standing in line. The light, dry powder and snow-capped trees make Ruka feel truly unique, while late afternoon brings some of the most memorable skiing of the day as low winter sunsets turn the fell gold and pink. Away from the pistes, the Ruka Coaster, Finland’s first alpine coaster, is a must for adventure-seeking families.
Ruka-Kuusamo is a true Nordic skiing destination. Its network hosts the FIS Ruka Nordic World Cup each November, one of the season-opening fixtures on the international cross-country and ski jumping calendar. Hundreds of kilometres of trails wind through forest and fell, bordered by three national parks: Oulanka, Riisitunturi and Hossa.
Part of the pleasure is stopping along the way. A network of ski trail cafés serves warming food and local treats beside the trails. Several can be found in unique locations such as traditional log houses and even working reindeer farms.
This is where Ruka's international pedigree really shows. In April 2027, Ruka-Kuusamo becomes the first Nordic destination ever to host an X Games event, staging the finale of the inaugural MoonPay X Games League Winter Season - a season-long, club-based competition bringing the world's best skiers and snowboarders to Aspen, Calgary and finally Ruka.
The resort's own Ruka Park, built to World Cup standard, is open to every visitor: seven lines of varying difficulty span rails and small jumps through to big-air tabletops and even a halfpipe maintained to a high standard between the blue and red pistes.
Few destinations let you ski world-class terrain by day and chase the aurora by night in the same trip, but Ruka-Kuusamo is built around that pairing. Sitting beneath some of Europe's darkest skies, far from significant light pollution, this is one of Europe’s most reliable places to see the northern lights.
2027 marks ten years since the Polar Night Light Festival first lit up the slopes, and the milestone edition (running 15th January to 7th February 2027) is set to be the biggest yet, timed deliberately to coincide with some of the best months for aurora watching.
With more than 100 saunas across the destination (including everything from traditional smoke saunas to summit saunas with panoramic views) Ruka-Kuusamo is a destination that takes its wellness culture as seriously as its skiing. Traditions like ice swimming (avantouinti) and birch whisking remain a genuine part of daily life here, and spa resorts cater well for families wanting a gentler pace alongside the slopes.
Infinity Ruka: A new benchmark for luxury accommodation in Finnish Lapland has arrived. Infinity Ruka, an 8-bedroom, 1,000 sqm private Arctic estate comprising three separate residences (The Lodge, The Loft and The Hideaway) opens in November 2026 on the slopes of Ruka, offering ski-in, ski-out access at 380m elevation and a level of privacy and scale rarely seen in the region.
Arctic Lumo Resort: New this winter, Lumo's signature restaurant The Bear has relaunched with a wild-food concept built around Arctic game, foraged mushrooms and berries, under chef Kim Mikkola. Kim’s CV includes a stint at Noma in Copenhagen and founding the Michelin-starred restaurant Inari in Helsinki, as well as working alongside chef Esa Vartiainen.
Alongside the new menu, Lumo is also launching brand-new luxury Aurora Suites from December 2026: two-bedroom, two-bathroom glass-roofed suites with their own living room, fireplace, freestanding bathtub and outdoor jacuzzi, in addition to the existing glass-ceilinged Aurora Rooms built for Northern Lights viewing.
Lumo Lakeside Lodges bring the destination's sauna culture into individual accommodation, with private saunas and hot tubs at each lakeside property. Ideal for guests who want the classic Finnish cold-water-then-heat ritual without leaving their own doorstep.
Rukariutta, meanwhile, adds a run of new family- and group-sized apartments to the resort's options, aimed at larger parties and self-catering stays rather than couples or solo travellers.
