In Pyhä, winter cycling routes start from the Visitors Center Naava and Pyhä Center towards the Tunturiaapa in Pyhä-Luosto National Park or Soutaja fell that is located slightly towards Luosto.
Download Pyhä-Luosto winter trail map here
The Tunturiaapa winter cycling route is an 8.5 km circular route within Pyhä-Luosto National Park.
The estimated travel time is about 2 hours, and it is classified as easy, but depending on weather conditions, it can also be moderately demanding. Depending on route choices, the distance varies between 6.5-10.5 km.
The route offers a diverse experience of the Pyhä-Luosto national park's nature, including old forests, aapa mires, and stunning fell landscapes. The starting point is at Nature Center Naava, Luontotie 1, 98530 Pyhätunturi.
Rest stops are Tiaislaavu lean to shelter and Porolaavu lean to shelter, equipped with a dry toilet. It's advisable to bring your own toilet paper. Highlights include panoramic views of the mire and a reindeer separation site.
The route is marked with blue pole signs, winter cycling signs, and brown metal signs. Both directions are recommended for travel.
The route starts from Visitors Center Naava, initially following the pedestrian pathway towards Kemijärvi. From there, it diverges onto the Pyhä-Luosto National Park trails (brown signs). The national park route deviates from the ski trail through old forests towards Tunturiaapa, providing breathtaking views of the fells. Rest stops such as Tiaislaavu and Porolaavu offer opportunities to take a break. The section through the aapa mire can be challenging in windy conditions, as the route may become drifted. The route returns to the starting point along the pedestrian pathway beside Pyhätunturintie. The route can be traversed in different directions, and various variations can be made, such as visiting Isokuru Hut or heading directly from Tiaislaavu to Porolaavu.
Note that the route is also part of a winter hiking trail, and you may encounter other users, walking and snowshoeing. Cycling is not allowed on the ski trail.
Pyhä wilderness trail 33km
- Open fron week 8. Please note that the trail is common with skiers. The trail goes in the middle of a cross-country ski track, and is allowed only for skiers and winter biking.
- 31-33 km, circle trail
- duration 4-6 h
- Intermediate / difficult (length, winter weather conditions)
- Length depending on route choices approx. 31-33 km.
- Recommended direction: clockwise
- The trail is marked with blue signposts (in the beginning) and the resto of the trail with blue winter biker symbols.
ROUTE DESCRIPTION:
Pyhä wilderness trail starts from Visitor Centre Naava, the trail runs first along the light traffic route for 600 meters towards Kemijärvi. At the Kerontie crossroad, drive over Kerontie and continue on the right side of the cross-country ski track, following blue signposts. The winter biking trail diverges from the next junction to the right, just after the national park boundary, passing through old woods deeper into the national park.
Depending on the route choices, the first rest area is either Isokuru kota-hut or Tiaislaavu lean-to-shelter on the edge of the mire. From Tiaslaavu you can continue past the Tunturiaapa bird watching tower through the aapa mire, or choose a shorter and more forested route towards Porolaavu lean-to-shelter. Until now, the route has passed as a so-called multi-use trail, where on the same route you are allowed to snowshoe, walk and cycle.
After Porolaavu lean-to-shelter, the winter biking trail goes in the middle of a cross-country ski track, and is allowed only for skiers and winter biking for the next 17 km. Bikers should therefore mind the skiers that use the same route.
The next rest areas after Porolaavu are the Haarainselkä and Salmiaapa day trip huts, to which the route follows along the border of the national park, mostly in fairly flat terrain. Between Tiaslaavu and Salmiaapa there are forests of different ages and here and there, in the mire sections, you can see beautiful landscapes towards the fell range. After Salmiaapa, the route dives into the forest, slowly climbing towards Huttujärvi lake.
After Huttujärvi lake, there will be a crossroad, from where you can get to Huttujärvi rental hut as a one-way trail. Note that the trail continuing from the rental hut towards Luosto is only for skiers. From the intersection of the Huttujärvi rental hut, the trail continues to ascend and after about 500 m a path diverges to the right towards the Huttuloma open wilderness hut. The path to this hut is not maintained, so it is only formed by visitors. From Huttuloma, the trail continues downhill towards Kiimaselkä, but diverges left from the cross-country ski track just after Huttujärventie parking area (not plowed in winter). The Pyhä wilderness route follows 2 km along the Huttujärventie road, which is not plowed in winter, but it is maintained for winter biking (maintenance less often than the cross-country ski track, which means that in heavy snowfall this section of the trail can become difficult to ride).
Huttujärventie road ends to Pyhä-Luosto road (road number 962), and the Pyhä Wilderness Trail continues to the right, following the road for about 5 km towards Pyhä. At the intersection of Lake Pyhäjärvi, the route switches to the light traffic route, continuing along for about 4 km back to Visitor Centre Naava.
More specific information about the route, like sights, resting places etc. from nationalparks.fi.
