Family reindeer visit from Kemijärvi: what suits children
Illustration photo: a reindeer in a snowy forest, not at the farms named here.
The short answer
With young children, book Jauri Resort's outing in Kemijärvi: its own site describes it as suitable for young children, it is two hours, and transport and thermal gear are included. If you are willing to drive 46 minutes, the farm visit near Luosto states that all ages are welcome. Leave Salla's five-to-six-hour farm safari for older children. No listing nearby prints a child fare, so ask before booking.
For a family, the question about a reindeer outing is less which is best than which one says it will take your children.
In Kemijärvi
Jauri Resort’s own page describes its sleigh ride as family-friendly and suitable for young children, with the herder, a lasso and a fire around a short ride.1 Its platform listing adds only that it does not suit anyone with an animal allergy.
Near Luosto
The farm visit near Luosto, 46 minutes from Kemijärvi, is the only listing nearby that states all ages outright, and it includes transfers and a thermal outfit.2
In Salla
Salla’s outings are longer and more active: the drive-yourself safari is three hours and the farm safari five to six. Keep them for older children, and see the best reindeer tour from Kemijärvi for how they compare.
Questions people ask
How long is the sleigh ride itself on the Kemijärvi outing?
Jauri Resort's own site puts the sled trip at about one and a half kilometres within an outing of one and a half to two hours, with lasso throwing and a fire in a kota making up the rest. For a small child that balance helps: the time sitting still in the sledge is short, and the rest of the outing is spent on the ground or by the fire with a cup of berry juice.
Can a child drive a reindeer in Salla?
Salla Wilderness Park's safari has each guest drive their own reindeer behind the guide after a lesson, but the listing in this site's records gives no minimum age for doing so. Ask the park before booking with children, because a three-hour drive-yourself outing is a very different thing for an eight-year-old than for a teenager, and the park alone can say which it accepts.
What should children wear?
The Kemijärvi outing includes thermal gear and the Luosto visit a thermal outfit, though neither listing says whether children's sizes are among them, so ask. The Salla listings in this site's records do not mention clothing, so for either of those bring full winter layers, boots and mittens for everyone, especially for a long farm day spent partly in a sledge.