Karhunkierros (Finnish for ''Bear's Round'') is a

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trail that stretches from

Salla Salla (''Kuolajärvi'' until 1936) ( smn, Kyelijävri) is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The nearby settlement of ...

to Kuusamo in north-eastern

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. The route was first marked in 1955, and has since become the most popular hiking trail in Finland, attracting some 15,000 hikers every year, mainly over the high season lasting from mid-July to late September. The trail is approximately long, and runs for the most of its length within the Oulanka National Park.

Route

The trail has two main starting points. The paths starting at Hautajärvi and at Ristikallio converge at Taivalköngäs, from where the trail continues along the

Oulanka Oulanka National Park ( fi, Oulangan kansallispuisto) is a national park in the Northern Ostrobothnia and Lapland regions of Finland, covering . The park was established in 1956 and was expanded in 1982 and 1989. It borders the Paanajärvi Nati ...

and

Kitka Kitka Women's Vocal Ensemble is an all-female professional vocal ensemble based in Oakland, California and focused on Eastern European women’s vocal traditions. It was founded in 1979 as an offshoot of the Westwind International Folk Ensemble. ...

rivers towards

Rukatunturi Rukatunturi ( fi, Ruka) is a high fell and a ski resort in Kuusamo, Finland. Apart from downhill skiing, there are over 500 km of cross-country skiing tracks. Also snowmobiles can be rented to enjoy some of the area's 600 km of snow ...

fell. Starting from Hautajärvi makes the total length of the trail 80 kilometres, while the Ristikallio variant is some 9 km shorter. The route is marked with orange paint markings in trees and rocks. It is also perfectly possible to hike the route in the opposite direction, starting from Rukatunturi, but most people prefer the aforementioned ways. Also of note is the Pieni Karhunkierros, or Little Bear's Round, a circular day trip trail of that partly shares the route of Karhunkierros proper.

Accommodation

Along the trail there are eight

wilderness hut A wilderness hut, bothy, backcountry hut, or backcountry shelter is a free, primitive mountain hut for temporary accommodation, usually located in wilderness areas, national parks and along backpacking and hiking routes. They are found in man ...

s that are open and free to use for every visitor to spend a night in, plus two day trip huts for shorter breaks. In addition there are several campfire sites and lean-to shelters, and a more fully equipped camping ground.Outdoors.fi – Services along the Karhunkierros trail
Camping near huts and outside the designated areas is mainly permitted under

Everyman's right The freedom to roam, or "everyman's right", is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the right of public access to the wildernes ...

References

External links

Karhunkierros at Outdoors.fi
{{coord, 66.163, N, 29.124, E, display=title, source:dewiki Kuusamo Salla Hiking trails in Finland Geography of North Ostrobothnia Tourist attractions in North Ostrobothnia