Snowshoeing in Ranua
Illustration photo: frost-covered trees and a hut, not from the Ranua trips.
The short answer
For a walk that is about the forest itself, book BirdyBush's Simojärvi hike: it is the less expensive, short and led in French or English. For a family day where snowshoes are one part among many, book Lupland's activity park, which adds reindeer, sledging, skating and a sauna and lends winter outerwear.
Two ways to snowshoe with a guide are sold in Ranua on the pages we read, one a walk and one an activity park.
A nature walk at Simojärvi
BirdyBush walks you through the snowy forest for about an hour and a half, roughly a kilometre and a half, teaching you to read animal tracks, forest birds and trees, then warms you up by a fire in its kota with stories about local wildlife. It lends snowshoes and poles, guides in French and English, and takes no one under twelve. At 42 euros it is one of the least expensive guided snowshoe walks we found anywhere in Lapland.1
Snowshoes as part of an activity park
Lupland’s activity park puts snowshoeing into three hours that also include feeding and walking a reindeer, skating, kicksledding, sledging, e-bikes, a sleigh ride behind a snowmobile, sausages by the fire and a sauna with an ice bath. It lends winter outerwear and needs at least two people.2
Tours you can book
A short nature walk on snowshoes at Simojärvi, ending in a kota
Run by BirdyBush
From €42per person
Length2.5 h
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)A day at an activity park with reindeer to feed and lead
Run by Lupland Adventures
From €119per person
Length3 h
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
When does the Simojärvi walk run?
From December to March, in two sessions a day, from ten to half past twelve and from two to half past four, according to the listing. That makes it easy to combine with a morning or an afternoon at the Ranua Wildlife Park on the same day, if you have a car to get between them.
Do we need our own winter clothing?
For Simojärvi, yes: its listing includes no clothing and asks you to bring warm shoes, so come in your own winter coat, trousers, hat and gloves. Whichever you book, wear wool or synthetic layers underneath rather than cotton, which stays damp once you have warmed up walking and then chills you at the fire.
How far is Ranua from Rovaniemi?
About an hour's drive. Rovaniemi has many more guided snowshoe trips, compared in [snowshoeing in Rovaniemi](/guides/snowshoeing-rovaniemi/), so a visitor based there need not drive to Ranua for snowshoes alone; the reason to snowshoe here is to combine it with a day in Ranua.