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Snowshoeing in Oulu

Broken plates of ice and snow spread across a frozen expanse of water under a flat grey sky

Illustration photo: ice on frozen water, not from the Oulu trips.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

Book Nallikari Safaris' walk on the frozen sea: it is flat, lends clothing and snowshoes, and starts at the beach, a city bus ride from the centre. Choose the small Oulu–Kemi aurora walk only if a group of six after dark suits you and you are happy not to know in advance where you will walk.

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.

Nallikari Safaris@rootedlapland
Price from €85 €129
Duration 2 h Not stated
Where Sea ice and Hietasaari Not published
Youngest 12 8
Winter clothing Included Not stated

Only the price is marked, as arithmetic. The two are different kinds of outing rather than cheaper and dearer versions of one walk.

Where these figures come from
  • Nallikari Safaris: Two hours on the frozen sea and through Hietasaari from Nallikari beach, with a fire lit on the ice.
  • @rootedlapland: An aurora walk for up to six, with headlamps and homemade treats by a fire, on an unpublished route.

Two guided snowshoe walks are sold for Oulu on the pages we read.

On the sea from Nallikari

Nallikari Safaris dresses you at its experience centre by Nallikari beach in an overall, boots, hat and gloves, fits snowshoes and poles, and walks you out onto the frozen sea and on through the forest and parkland of Hietasaari. The route is flat, and the company calls it ideal for beginners. On the ice it lights a fire, makes coffee and shows you how a hole is drilled through the sea ice. It takes walkers over twelve.1

After dark, for six

The walk sold as Oulu–Kemi by @rootedlapland takes six at most and no one under eight, lends headlamps with the snowshoes and serves homemade treats by a fire. It meets in a private yard, decides the route on the day, and lists an aurora guarantee without saying what it covers.2 It is also compared with the walks near Kemi in snowshoeing in Kemi and Tornio.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Is it safe to walk on the frozen sea?

The company describes the walk as a safe one on the frozen sea and has it led by a trained guide. Walking out on your own is a different matter: the thickness of sea ice varies from place to place and week to week, so without a guide ask locally before stepping onto it.

How do we get to Nallikari without a car?

The company says bus number 15 runs to Nallikari from Oulu City Hall. The walk meets at its experience centre in the basement of the Nallikari Aalto hotel building, entered from the seaside; the back door is kept locked, so walk round to the front.

What if we cancel?

Both listings, as we read them, allow free cancellation until 24 hours before the start. The aurora walk also lists an aurora guarantee without saying on its page what it covers, so ask before booking whether it means another evening, a refund or something else.

Written by

Lapland Handbook Staff

Lapland Handbook is written by its editorial staff in Rovaniemi. Every price, age limit and group size in a comparison is read from the operator's own page and marked "Not stated" when the operator does not publish it. Each guide names who should not book, and names the operator that suits each kind of group, whichever it is.

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