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Arctic by Cycle: Ylläs-Levi MTB Route

Finnish Lapland
Located in Reindeer Herding Area
Distance
49 km
Duration
1-2 days
Total ascent
635m
Highest point
358m
% Unpaved
99 %
% Singletrack
44 %
Difficulty (1-10)
3
% Rideable
100 %
Ylläs-Levi MTB Route is an already well-known single-track and forest road connection between the two holiday centers and the two major ski resorts of the Lapland area. The route crosses the southern part of the Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park in an old-growth forest on partly easy, partly more demanding single track on the fell sides, before getting on easier terrain toward Levi. The route can be ridden as a longish day ride on a mountain bike, but it's its best as an overnighter, taking the advantage of some of the historical or newer wilderness shelters on the way.
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Trail grades

We did the route as an easy overnighter with a late start from Ylläs. The otherwise busy (on the Finnish standards) national park was free of trekkers late in the day and the light was beautiful with shadows in the valleys, but the midnight sun still shining on the fell tops. The primary forests of the first part of the route were magnificent and the trails surprisingly easy, until near the Kotamaja, where a narrow natural single track started.

Going was slow, but the natural single-track between the steep-walled fells was stunning. Before arriving at the Pyhäjärvi open wilderness hut and lean-to, the route crossed many swampy parts as well, with duckboards and their steel siblings built to make progress with relatively dry feet still possible. We spent the night in the open wilderness hut, but spent the early hours of the night chatting with other campers and sharing a small bottle of single malt as well as stories from Lapland, Asia, and Africa…

A gorgeous clear morning opened the views to Lake Pyhäjärvi and a quick dip in the lake washed off the last fumes of the last night’s malty treat. Like the first day, the second one was short too, though much easier and route-wise quite different. After a shortish single track to the nearest parking lot, there was a connecting gravel route to a campfire hut at the Lake Aakenus, where the single track continued over a little fell and then just a little longer to wide smooth forest roads, visiting some pretty wilderness shelters and then continuing to the Levi’s alpine-style downtown.

A path made out of wood crossing a swamp in Lapland
forest trail
Wilderness shelter in the forest
Forest roads along the route
  • Crossing the old-growth forests of the southernmost part of the Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park between the high fells of the Fjell Lapland area.
  • Partly flowy, party technical single tracks at the Ylläs area, balanced by traffic-free forest roads and smooth quad tracks on the Levi side of the route.
  • Night at one of the wilderness shelters, either in the Ylläs-Pallastunturi National Park or further down along the route.
  • A wide spectrum of arctic nature, from fells to swamps, from taiga to treeless fell top boulder gardens, and from forest spring to clear-water Lake of Pyhäjärvi.
  • High-quality services with multiple lodging options, restaurants, bike services, pubs, and cafés on both ends of the route.
  • Northern lights can be seen multiple times a week in autumn, if the sky is clear at night.
  • The route is open the full season from late June to till first snow (usually in October), with no restrictions created by the working schedule of the local reindeer herding community
  • The infamous Lappish räkkä (the high population  of mosquitos, black flies, biting midges and horse flies) starts usually by late June and lasts usually till mid August, making mid-August till October ideal time to ride the route.
  • The route is ideally ridden with a mountain bike, as the route has 22km of partly technical, rocky, and rooty single track. To connect Ylläs and Levi without a gravel bike, their route variation of Ylläs-Levi Gravel Route, which avoids the partly techy single track section on the paved back road across the National park.
  • The route is doable with an e-Bike as well as the distance can be covered with most of the e-Bikes nowadays. 
  • The route is not Easy access so no trailers or wider rigs on this one.
  • The route is ideally ridden with with 2.2-2.4” mountain bike tires, to make the 6km of natural single track easier, but apart from that riding is technically easy and doable with any bike with a minimum of 40mm tires, as well.
  • Temperatures during the snowless season a lot and week-to-week but expect the spot-on daytime temperatures of 15-23 Celsius from mid-June to late August with nights in the range of 0-10 Celsius. Early June could be warm too but could be significantly colder as well. In late August and September, the temperatures start to drop significantly week by week and the first snow is not uncommon in late September. Especially late in the season, in late September and early October, be prepared for daytime temperatures of 5-10 Celsius and nights getting already below freezing.
  • When choosing a sleeping bag, you should assume that the night temperatures can drop to 0 Celsius even during the mid-summer months and then even colder later the season gets. The classic -7 C/ 20 F sleeping bag works like a charm in Lapland, too, with the lower limit low enough for the late-season exploits.
  • The midnight sun or “the nightless night” lasts from around 6 weeks in Southern Lapland to up to 3 months in Northern Norway. Getting used to the 24h sun can take a while to get used to…
  • The best time to see the northern lights is roughly starting from September and as the nights get darker and longer towards the end of the season, chances are getting better week by week. It’s not uncommon to see the auroras multiple times a week at the end of the season, given that the weather gods are on your side and the sky is clear.
  • The route has only digital navigation; for instructions and tips for successful navigation, see here. 
  • Always stay on the routes and aim to only use the recommended spots marked on the route map.
  • The mobile phone network does not cover the whole route area: in case of an emergency, call 112 or use the 112 app, which automatically shares your location to the emergency services as well. It might be wise to carry a personal emergency beacon, especially when traveling alone. 
  • The route is located in a traditional reindeer herding area, please read more about the etiquette of traveling in the reindeer herding land here. Please respect any guidelines given for the route use or the use of reindeer herder’s cabins in the route description or on the map. Cooperation and respect for their needs and culture make having these routes publicly available possible.
  • Bears, wolfs and wolverines are not an issue at all when wild camping as the arctic predators avoid human contact to all cost. There are practically no encounters, ever. Therefore, there is no need to have a bear bell on handlebars, bear safe food containers or hand your food in a tree for the night. 
  • The worst of the mosquito season lasts usually from around mid-June to late August, though luckily cycling speed is usually fast enough to keep them away when on the move. During the peak times, a net hat and long sleeve shirt and pants are recommended, if the temperatures allow. As the temperatures drop, the mosquitos disappear, making September (if not also early June, if the roads are dry enough) an ideal time for touring.
  • Various high-quality lodging options both in Ylläs and Levi
  • There are 8 wilderness shelters on the route, which also are the official recommended camping sites as well. Pyhäjärvi open wilderness hut is one of our favorites by the lake but can be busy during the summer months.
  • Open wilderness huts and other wilderness shelters are a treat, but the rules of use are strict to make the system work. The last to arrive has the priority to stay overnight, so make space for people arriving after you. All the near-by-surroundings of the wilderness shelters operate as official camping grounds, to make the huts serve the most, and those the most in need, it's best to camp and use the hut only for cooking, socializing, and drying wet gear.
  • All the camp spots are next to a high-quality water source unless stated otherwise.
  • There are full services in Ylläs and Levi, but nothing in between the villages, so you need to carry all you need on the route. That is easy though as the route is short.
  • There is a restaurant(s) available in the villages of Pello, Kolari, Äkäslompolo, Ylläsjärvi, Lohiniva and Meltaus.
  • Sources of water are plentiful, so you’ll get away with carrying just 1-2 liters of water. The best spots for refills are marked on the route map.
  • Water is most of the time drinkable straight from streams, ponds, and lakes, but you never know if there is a reindeer carcass upstream, so better to be safe than sorry: water treatment is recommended.
  • All the camp spots are next to a high-quality water source unless stated otherwise.
  • Tap water is always drinkable in Finland and locals are more than happy to fill your bottles, if necessary
  • When cooking in the camp, know that making a fire is strictly prohibited during the forest fire warming period. See the local restrictions here
  • The two villages are not yet connected by a bus connection, making riding back on the Ylläs-Levi Gravel Route and catching a taxi (most equipped with bike racks) your only options to return to the starting point
  • There is an overnight train connection to Kolari (16 hours from Helsinki) multiple times a week, with often a bus connection to Ylläs and Levi matched with the arrival time. You can book train tickets from vr.fi
  • Flying in is easy too, with airports in Rovaniemi and Kittilä with multiple flights a day from Helsinki
  • Route connects to Arctic Post Road MTB and Grave Route as well as Central Lapland Gravel Loop
The Ylläs-Levi MTB Route started finding its form in 2014 and 2015 as a venue for a mountain biking event connecting the two major tourist villages of the area. During the years, the route has been improved from a bushy and swampy wilderness crossing into a rideable and mostly pleasant connection on the single track, quad service tracks, and back roads. The first half of it, coming from Ylläs is mostly single track and double track of easy or moderate difficulty, which requires a mountain bike to be ridden comfortably, but then the second half to Levi is mostly rideable with nearly any bike with a minimum of 40mm tires.

You can do it as a little standalone overnighter or a long mountain bike day ride, or as a route variation on a longer Western Lapland tour.
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