Things to Do in Levi, Finland: A Year-Round Activity Guide

Step off the coach in Sirkka on a winter night and the cold lays a clean, sharp hand on your face. Walk a few minutes out past the lit windows of the village and the sound of the road falls away behind you, until there is only the squeak of snow underfoot. Look up, and the sky is already crowded with more stars than you thought existed, the North Star steady among them. The first travellers are said to have found their way to this village by following that star. Kittilä Airport is now about 15 minutes away and the journey is easy. But the reason for coming has not changed in all the years since. The fells. The river. The snow and the light, turning slowly through the seasons.

Things to do in Levi, Finland run from snowshoe walks, ice fishing, winter biking and northern-lights outings in the heart of winter. In the light half of the year they turn to fell hiking, canoeing, and fat-bike, gravel and mountain-bike riding under the midnight sun. This guide walks through the whole Levi year, season by season, with honest local advice on what each one does best, where to stay, and how to arrive.

We write it as the people who run the tours, not as a brochure. Polar Star is a family-owned Arctic Experience Company, and Levi is home. We have hosted guests in the village since 2007, and our guides live here through every season. Our own apartments and cottages, our own fleet and around 30 of our own experiences all come from one house in Sirkka. When we tell you a trail is worth walking, it is because someone here walked it this week.

Levi in 60 seconds

Levi is Finland's best-known fell resort, built around the village of Sirkka in Kittilä, about 15 minutes from Kittilä Airport. In winter, things to do include snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ice fishing, winter biking and northern-lights outings. From summer to autumn they include fell hiking, canoeing on the River Ounasjoki and the wilderness River Kapsajoki, and e-fatbike, gravel and mountain-bike tours.

The aurora season in Levi runs from late August to mid-April. The sections below walk through the year season by season. If you are still weighing up dates, our guides to the northern lights in Levi and to summer in Levi dig deeper into the two ends of the calendar.

Winter activities

Winter is the season most guests travel for, and it earns the journey. The polar night itself belongs to December and January. There are a few hours of low, soft daylight. The blue moment glows over the snow at either end of the day. And the long dark evenings belong entirely to the sky. By February the frost still cracks in the trees, but the days are visibly longer and the light is coming back to the snow. March and April are our spring winter: long bright days on settled snow, and nights still dark enough for the northern lights until mid-April. Dressed properly, the cold stops being a problem and becomes part of the pleasure, the thing that makes the fire, the sauna and the first hot drink taste of something. We talk every guest through their layers before each tour, because warmth is the whole difference between enduring Lapland and falling for it.

Snowshoeing is the simplest way into the winter forest, and the one we most often start people on. You put on the snowshoes and take your first few steps, and the forest quietly lets you in. Off the packed path, into snow that holds your weight, where the only tracks are a hare's and your own. An easy snowshoe walk near Levi takes about 2 hours and asks nothing of a complete beginner. The Panoramic Snowshoeing from the Top of Levi tour takes you above the trees for wide fell views. And the Snowshoe Adventure to Fell Kätkä ends where every good winter walk should. Around a fire in a kota (a traditional Lappish hut). Hands warming on a cup while the stories start.

Cross-country skiing is part of everyday winter life here, and Levi's track network is one of Finland's finest. Our beginners' skiing tour starts on flat, easy ground by Lake Immeljärvi, where the rhythm comes quickly and the scenery does half the teaching. Most guests find that rhythm in the first few minutes, and after that there is nothing to do but watch the forest go past.

Ice fishing is winter at its quietest. On the Arctic ice-fishing experience we drive out to a frozen lake beyond the village, drill the holes and wait, line in hand, while the fells stand silent around the ice. Two hours on the ice pass faster than you would believe. The first tug on the line, the light changing over the fells, a hot drink in your hands and a stillness you feel in your soul.

E-fatbike rides in the snowy forest are our own favourite way to move in winter. Wide tyres float over the snow, and the electric help is gentle on the climbs. The packed trails wind through woods so quiet you can hear the snow tick off the branches. Ride out under the stars and follow the trail deeper into the forest. Stop out on the open bog, switch off the lights and listen to how quiet a winter night can be. It is one of our bike tours that run right through the year.

Reindeer, huskies and snowmobiles belong to many first Lapland winters. We host visits to a traditional family reindeer farm with a 1 km sleigh ride, and a longer 3 km reindeer safari for those who want more time in the sleigh. You watch the forest go past at reindeer pace, the runners sliding over the snow. The herder stops along the way to tell you how the herd lives through the winter. Our guide to husky and reindeer safaris in Levi explains which suits whom. Snowmobile safaris also leave the village daily through the snow season, for those who want a faster pulse and more ground.

Lainio Snow Village is a partner attraction we are always glad to take guests to. An ice restaurant, an ice bar and a gallery, rebuilt every winter entirely from snow and ice. The corridors glow blue, and the ice sculptures are genuinely worth the visit. Our guided excursion to Lainio Snow Village takes about 3 hours.

And the slopes? Levi is Finland's most famous downhill resort, and the lift side of the village hums all winter; Levi Ski Resort covers slopes, lifts and tickets. Our own work begins where the lift queues end: in the quiet forest, on the lake ice and under the night sky.

Summer and autumn activities

From late May to mid-July the sun never properly sets over Levi, and the village puts the skis away and takes out paddles and bikes. Summer in the north is short, light-filled and warmer than most guests expect. It also changes the way you keep time. Dinner at nine feels like afternoon. Midnight glows gold. And you find yourself outdoors long after you meant to turn in. It is the season our family has worked hardest to build since 2007. The snow-free half of the year is Lapland at its most local. Quiet trails. Warm light at midnight. Days that move at village speed.

On the water. The River Ounasjoki, one of Finland's great free-flowing rivers, has run past the family lands of our co-founder and owner Juha for five hundred years, and it carries our summer. A peaceful guided paddle is the gentlest start, and our full guide to canoeing on the River Ounasjoki covers routes and skill levels. The evening midnight sun canoeing tour takes about 3 hours in the low golden light, the water so still it seems to hold its breath. And the 7-hour wilderness canoeing day on the wilderness River Kapsajoki reaches properly remote country. Groups who would rather laugh than glide can try river rafting with car tyres through the rapids.

On the trails. The guided hike on the Päiviö Trail is an easy 2 hours through light-filled pine forest. The Särkitunturi day hike climbs to one of the area's loveliest summit views, the kind that makes everyone go quiet for a minute at the top. For a bigger day, the Pallas panoramic hike to Taivaskero fell in Pallas–Yllästunturi National Park takes around 7 hours at a steady, guided pace. If you would rather slow down than climb, the Levi Summit Tour with Mindfulness pauses on the fell top to simply breathe.

On two wheels. Summer turns the gravel roads of Kittilä and the fell trails into serious riding country, wide empty roads where you meet more reindeer than cars. We run e-fatbike day tours on our own fleet of fat bikes. We guide gravel rides and mountain-bike adventures too, including rides under the midnight sun and multi-day journeys that reach Northern Norway.

Autumn folds all of it into the most colourful weeks of the year. In September the ruska turns the forests red and gold, and the air sharpens until every breath feels clean. Hiking and gravel and mountain-bike riding are at their absolute best, and from late August the first northern lights of the new season return to the darkening sky.

Northern lights season

The aurora season in Levi runs from late August to mid-April, whenever the night is dark and the sky is clear. Levi sits about 170 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, which puts the village in excellent aurora country, and a few minutes from the village lights the sky falls properly dark. When the lights do come, they arrive quietly: a pale arc low in the north that you might take for cloud, until it sharpens, finds its green, and begins to move.

One honest thing before you build a holiday around them: nobody can promise you the northern lights. Nature decides. What we promise instead is the best possible chance, dark skies away from the village, warm gear, and a local guide who knows where tonight looks most likely to open. And when the sky stays quiet, the campfire, the stars and the silence of the fells are still worth the evening. More than one guest has told us afterwards that the waiting was the part they remembered.

We look for the lights in our own ways. There is aurora canoeing on the open river in early autumn. There is a guided northern-lights e-fatbike ride that covers ground under the starry sky. And there is an evening snowshoe walk for those who prefer stillness to speed. Dress warmer than you think. Our guide to what to wear in Lapland covers layering for nights that can reach −20 °C and below. For timing your trip month by month, see our guide to the best time for northern lights in Levi.

Where to stay

Where you sleep quietly shapes the whole holiday, and Levi offers everything from village-centre apartments to log villas in the forest quiet. We are Lapland's holiday apartment specialists. Our own Polar Star Apartments in and around Sirkka have carried the Green Key eco-label since 2020, and our Polar Star Cottages sit a little further into the peace. Finns love mökkeily, cottage life: a sauna warming, a fire lit, no schedule and nobody to meet. It is how this country rests, and in the cottages you can try it for yourself. The units range from a 20 m² studio for two to a 108 m² villa for eight, and the larger cottages sleep up to nine.

Staying and touring from the same house keeps everything simple. One local family. One email thread. And a guide who already knows which door you will step out of in the morning. The village services are a short walk away, and the nearest bus stop is 100 metres from the apartments. Browse our accommodation, or start with our honest advice on where to stay in Levi. Apartment or cottage? Village centre or a little further out? We explain what each choice means in practice.

One practical tip from nearly twenty winters: in the peak weeks around Christmas and the February holidays, Levi books out early. Reserve your dates first and build the activity programme afterwards. We are happy to help with both, in either order.

Getting here (Kittilä Airport)

Kittilä Airport (KTT) is about 15 minutes from the village by car, and we help our guests with transfers. Just tell us your flight. If you have more time than hurry, take the night train to Lapland and the coach up to Levi. You sleep through the distance. You wake to the fells sliding past the window. And you step off 100 metres from our apartments. Driving up through Finland is straightforward too, on good, quiet roads that empty out the further north you go.

However you arrive, the office at Torikuja 10 A is in the middle of the village, and real people answer the phone and the email. We listen and help, especially when you need something out of the ordinary.

From the field: A guest family once landed late after a missed connection, certain their first evening's activity was lost. The guide simply waited at the office with the gear ready and something warm to drink. They went out into the dark an hour behind schedule, and none the worse for it. A small company in a small village: plans here bend rather than break.

Plan your Levi days with us

Pick a season, pick a pace, and tell us who is coming. We will build the days around you, honestly, the way we would for friends coming to stay. Current rates and availability for both stays and experiences are on our booking site at polarstartravel.fi, and you can always email sales@polarstartravel.fi or call +358 10 325 4040 first. See you in our home village, Sirkka!

Frequently asked questions

What is there to do in Levi besides skiing?

A great deal. In winter: snowshoe walks, cross-country skiing, ice fishing, e-fatbike rides through snowy forest, reindeer farm visits and northern-lights outings. In the snow-free months: canoeing, fell hiking, and e-fatbike, gravel or mountain biking. Levi is a genuine year-round destination rather than only a ski resort.

Is Levi worth visiting in summer?

Yes. From late May to mid-July the midnight sun keeps the nights light, the River Ounasjoki opens for canoeing, and the fells are made for hiking and cycling. Summer is also the quietest, most local-feeling season in the village.

When can you see the northern lights in Levi?

The aurora season runs from late August to mid-April, on dark, clear nights. No one can promise a sighting, because nature decides, but staying several nights and heading out with a guide who reads the conditions gives you the best possible chance.

How many days do you need in Levi?

In winter we recommend a full week in Levi: time for several guided activities, slow days in the village and more than one chance at the northern lights. In summer, three to four nights suits a first visit, though hikers and cyclists often stay a week and never run out of routes.

Is Levi good for families?

Very. The gentle snowshoe walks, the reindeer farm visit, beginner skiing and ice fishing all suit children, distances are short, and our apartments and cottages sleep two to nine. We raised six children at the foot of this fell, so family pacing comes naturally to us.

How far is Levi from Kittilä Airport?

About 15 minutes by car. We arrange transfers for our guests, and the night train plus coach is a lovely lower-emission alternative: the nearest bus stop is 100 metres from our apartments.

Do I need a car in Levi?

Not necessarily. The village is walkable, our experiences include the short transfers they need, and we move guests and bikes with our own transports. A car only becomes useful if you want to explore the wider Kittilä area entirely on your own schedule.

What should I pack for a Levi holiday?

Layers, in every season: thermal base layers, a warm mid-layer and a windproof shell in winter, when clear nights can reach −20 °C and below. Lighter layers plus a warm jumper and insect repellent in summer. We advise every guest on gear before each experience.

Written by Heidi Jokela, CEO, Polar Star Travel.

About Polar Star Travel

Polar Star Travel is a family-owned, truly local Arctic Experience Company based in Levi, Finnish Lapland. We don't just want to show our guests Lapland. We want them to truly feel it. We bring together accommodation, Arctic nature, local people and culture, adventure, and wellbeing to create meaningful Lapland experiences. We know this land, its stories and its special places, and we want to share them with our guests in an authentic, warm and personal way. Polar Star: Find Your True North.

From our home village of Sirkka, about 15 minutes from Kittilä Airport, we have hosted guests since 2007 in our own apartments and cottages, each with its own sauna. We guide around 30 of our own experiences year-round, from aurora canoeing and snowshoe walks to e-fatbike, gravel and mountain-bike tours. Our work is certified by Green Key (Polar Star and Origo Apartments), Green Activities and Travelife for Tour Operators.

Sources:

Levi Ski Resort, official Levi resort information

Finavia: Kittilä Airport

Luontoon.fi: Pallas–Yllästunturi National Park

Torikuja 10 A, 99130 Levi · +358 10 325 4040 · sales@polarstartravel.fi