Ice fishing with children in Ruka: what works for a family
Illustration photo: a frozen lake, not at the Ruka fishing spots.
The short answer
With a toddler, book the family trip that pulls small children to the lake in a heated sledge, or the Kitka River trip with a warm cottage beside the ice. With children of three and over and no car, the snowshoe trip that collects you from the Ruka hotels. For the shortest outing close to the resort, the lake a short walk from the gear house.
How the operators compare
Prices are the operators' own published starting prices as of the date this guide was updated, and they change through the season.
| Adventure Apes: family trip | Northern Lights Expedition: Kitka River | Ruka Adventures: by snowshoes | Rukapalvelu: nearby lake | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youngest | 2 | No age limit | 3 | 4 |
| Child fare | €49 (2 to 17) | €55 (under 12) | €45 (4 to 11) | €48 (5 to 11) |
| Small children | Heated sledge | Warm cottage nearby | Walk with an adult | Short walk |
| Winter clothing | Not stated | Your own | Lent | Included |
| Getting there | Meet at the lodge | Not stated | Pick-up at Ruka hotels | From the gear house |
-
Adventure Apes: family trip
- Youngest
- 2
- Child fare
- €49 (2 to 17)
- Small children
- Heated sledge
- Winter clothing
- Not stated
- Getting there
- Meet at the lodge
Two and a half hours from the company's lodge to Lake Kitka, small children pulled in a heated sledge.
-
Northern Lights Expedition: Kitka River
- Youngest
- No age limit
- Child fare
- €55 (under 12)
- Small children
- Warm cottage nearby
- Winter clothing
- Your own
- Getting there
- Not stated
Three to four hours at a cottage on the frozen river, with a warm room and toilets close to the ice.
-
Ruka Adventures: by snowshoes
- Youngest
- 3
- Child fare
- €45 (4 to 11)
- Small children
- Walk with an adult
- Winter clothing
- Lent
- Getting there
- Pick-up at Ruka hotels
Pick-up from the Ruka hotels and the last stretch on snowshoes, children with an adult.
-
Rukapalvelu: nearby lake
- Youngest
- 4
- Child fare
- €48 (5 to 11)
- Small children
- Short walk
- Winter clothing
- Included
- Getting there
- From the gear house
Two hours on a lake a short walk from the gear house, with winter clothing for everyone.
No cell is marked: the right trip depends on the child's age and on whether they can walk to the ice. The age bands are the ones each seller prints.
Where these figures come from
- Adventure Apes: family trip ruka.fi read Sep 28, 2026
- Northern Lights Expedition: Kitka River ruka.fi read Sep 28, 2026
- Ruka Adventures: by snowshoes rukaadventures.fi read Sep 28, 2026
- Rukapalvelu: nearby lake ruka.fi read Sep 28, 2026
- Adventure Apes: family trip: Two and a half hours from the company's lodge to Lake Kitka, small children pulled in a heated sledge.
- Northern Lights Expedition: Kitka River: Three to four hours at a cottage on the frozen river, with a warm room and toilets close to the ice.
- Ruka Adventures: by snowshoes: Pick-up from the Ruka hotels and the last stretch on snowshoes, children with an adult.
- Rukapalvelu: nearby lake: Two hours on a lake a short walk from the gear house, with winter clothing for everyone.
With children, an ice fishing trip around Ruka is decided less by the fishing than by how a small child gets to the ice and where they warm up.
Toddlers
Adventure Apes’ family trip takes children from two. It walks from the company’s lodge to Lake Kitka and pulls small children in a heated sledge, with infant seats available.1 Northern Lights Expedition sets no age limit on its Kitka River trip, where a warm cottage and toilets are close to the ice.
From three and four
Ruka Adventures takes children from three, with an adult beside them, and collects the family from the Ruka hotels.2 Rukapalvelu’s lake is a short walk from its gear house, and the trip takes children from four.1
Clothing
Rukapalvelu includes winter clothing and Ruka Adventures lends it. The Kitka River trip asks you to bring your own, and the family trip’s listing does not say, so pack snowsuits for the children unless the seller confirms otherwise.
The trips for adults are compared on the best ice fishing trip in Ruka, and what each costs a family on ice fishing prices in Ruka.
Tours you can book
Ice fishing reached on snowshoes, with pick-up from the Ruka hotels and the gear lent
Run by Ruka Adventures
From €85per person
Length2–2.5 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)A three-hour ice fishing trip where the catch can be cooked over a fire, winter outfit lent
Run by Ruka Safaris
From €98per person
Length3 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
Do teenagers pay the adult fare?
It depends on the seller. Adventure Apes charges the child fare up to seventeen and Ruka Adventures up to eleven. Rukapalvelu's child band runs from five to eleven, and Northern Lights Expedition and Ruka Safaris count everyone from twelve as an adult. A family with a thirteen-year-old therefore pays the child fare only on the family trip with the heated sledge.
Can the whole family eat what we catch?
On the Kitka River trip, yes: the guide cooks the fish you catch at the cottage. Ruka Safaris' trip has a fire on the shore where the catch may be cooked, alongside coffee, tea and a snack. The other trips serve hot drinks, and Adventure Apes brings homemade biscuits, but they print nothing about cooking the fish.
What if we have to cancel because a child is ill?
Check the terms before paying, because they range from nothing back to generous. Adventure Apes' bookings are non-refundable. Northern Lights Expedition keeps the whole price inside two days and half inside five, and Rukapalvelu the whole price inside two days and half inside a week. Ruka Adventures keeps all of it inside a week.