Arctic by Cycle: Pyhä-Luosto National Park MTB Loop
Finnish Lapland
Located in Reindeer Herding Area
Längd
135 kmVaraktighet
2-3 daysHöjdmetrar
1681mHögsta punkten
357m% Oasfalterad
67 %% Stigar
27 %Svarighetsgrad
3% Körbar
100 %The Pyhä-Luosto National Park MTB Loop is a versatile 2-3 day and 135km mixed terrain route on mostly smooth single track and gravel backroads. The route traverses the line of fells of the Pyhä-Luosto National park on a roller coaster-like easy single from hut to hut and laavu to laavu, before diving into the arctic taiga and returning to the starting point on remote feeling back roads of the Pelkosenniemi area. It’s a versatile little stand-alone tour or can be added to the plan as a part of a longer all-terrain-bicycle tour in the arctic.
The Pyhä-Luosto National MTB Loop connects the holiday centers of the national park, local villages, and sights on mostly easy single-track and traffic-free gravel backroads. The national park’s old-growth forest on the sides of the line of fells is some of the prettiest anywhere and the wilderness shelters are numerous and of high quality. Though the Pyhä-Luosto National Park is one of the more visited ones in Finland and therefore the trail is always shared with other hikers and cyclists as well – except possibly very late in the season. This, however, is balanced out by empty, remote forest roads after the national park, which are rarely visited by anyone at all.
The route makes a great overnighter by spending the first night in the national park and then doubling the kilometers the next day on mostly smooth and fast gravel roads, and a section of asphalt on the way back to the starting point. The riding in the national park is mostly non-technical, as the single tracks are mostly gravel-covered, apart from the 6km of natural single track, which pushes the grading of the route into the mountain biking category. With some mountain biking skills, the route is doable with beefy tired gravel bike as well, at least if you don’t mind a little hike-a-bike when the single track gets too rooty and rocky. Though riding the route with a mountain bike makes the natural single-track sections faster and easier. If not technical, the roller coaster-like trails of the national park can be physically demanding.
Overall, the route offers a fantastic way to explore the Pyhä-Luosto National Park, with splendid camping and overnight options on the way, with a bonus of seeing a larger part of the area on gravel roads as well. Read more about what the route has to offer and suggested, a fairly relaxed-paced daily plan in the Trail notes below.
Photos: Taneli Roininen
Photos: Taneli Roininen
- The rollercoaster-like gravel single tracks of the Pyhä-Luosto National Park.
- Camping in the old-growth forest by one of the wilderness shelters of the national park.
- Remote forest roads and gravel roads, leading back to Pelkosenniemi.
- Keino-oja open wilderness hut, is a little off-route, but is one of the best-kept in the whole Lapland and has great camping in the area as well.
- High-quality services in the holiday villages of Pyhä and Luosto.
- Northern lights can be seen multiple times a week in autumn, if the sky is clear at night.
- Most of the MTB routes are dry enough to dry by early July, but this one dries quicker. HPyhä-Luosto route can be ridden usually from mid-June onwards. However, the climate crisis makes seasons more unpredictable than before so the season start and end can vary year to year by a couple of weeks.
- 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 or at least 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.
- The route is rideable with an e-Bike if your rig can handle the 70km stretch of gravel roads and easy single track from Luosto to Pelkosenniemi.
- The route is not Easy access as it has 6km of natural narrow single track in the national park. Otherwise the gravel trails of the park would be doable, though.
- 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 lodging options available in the holiday villages of Pyhä and Luosto
- Numerous wilderness shelters along the way serve as camping areas of the route and there are a couple of huts for overnight use as well
- Expect many other campers at the wilderness shelters of the Pyhä-Luosto national park due to the popularity of the national park. Though after the park, you’re likely to have the shelters just for yourself.
- Camping is allowed and free of charge along the route outside the national park by All Man’s Rights in Finland, however, due to the fragile and slow-growing arctic flora, you should always aim to use only the campsites marked on the route map.
- All the camp spots are next to a high-quality water source unless stated otherwise.
- Grocery stores are available at the end/starting point of Pelkosenniemi and the holiday villages of Pyhä and Luosto
- Not much is needed to be carried, you get away with half a day’s food in your bags
- Restaurants available in Pyhä and Luosto, a gas station restaurant, and a health center canteen in Pelkosenniemi as well
- Suvanto summer café on a yard of an old Lappish farmhouse is nicely located on the second ray of the route and nothing else around there
- Sources of water are plentiful, so you’ll get away with carrying just 1 liter 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 - which is rare.
- Tap water is always drinkable in Finland and the locals are more than happy to fill your bottles
- When cooking in the camp, know that making a fire is strictly prohibited during the forest fire warming period. See the local restrictions here
- Traveling to Pelkosenniemi from Helsinki can be done by first taking a train to either Rovaniemi (multiple times a day, 8.5 hours) or Kemijärvi (night train multiple times a week, 14 hours) and then taking a bus to Pelkosenniemi. You can book train tickets from vr.fi
- Rovaniemi airport is located a 3-hour bus ride away from Pelkosenniemi, making international arrival by flying (via Helsinki) easy. You can book bus tickets from matkahuolto.fi
- In-advance booking of bicycles for the bus rides is likely to be necessary to ensure the bike fits in the cargo hold.
- The route is connected to the Savukoski-Pelkosenniemi Gravel Loop and the Central Lapland Gravel Loop, so riding this as a part of a longer tour makes the logistics straightforward, having Rovaniemi or Kemijärvi as a tour starting point.
The route can be ridden to both directions, but we scouted it clockwise, doing the national park first and then looping back to the starting point on gravel & pavement. Note that if starting from the village of Pyhätunturi, instead of Pelkosenniemi, it’s easy to shorten the loop back to the starting point by taking the shortcut road from Suvanto back to Pyhä. Below though we are doing the whole thing, starting and ending at Pelkosenniemi, split into three riding days, with a detour for the second night at the Keino-oja open wilderness hut, making the route around 20km longer than the original version.
Day 1, Pelkosenniemi to Ukko lean-to & campfire hut (55.5km, 775m of climbing)
The route starts with a paved connection to the Pyhä-Luosto National Park, which is the core of the route with its old-growth forests and highest fells of the Southern Lapland. Single track to the fells finally starts at 30kms and progress slows down as the roller-coaster-like trail fast gravel trail zigzags from fell to fell. There are plenty of wilderness shelters along the way, though expect to camp during the summer months as the route is used by many hikers as well and thus the high season could be busy.
Ukko lean-to and campfire hut are some of the last shelters in the park along the route and offer a scenic spot to camp, but some of the earlier spots are equally good to spend the night as well - unless you pedal your way through all the way to the Luosto holiday village, which has hotels, spa, and restaurants. The trail continues to Ukko lean-to on mostly gravel, but there is around 5km of natural single track as well, slowing down the progress, but still fully rideable even with a fully loaded mountain bike.
The spot for water in the camp is on the edge of the swamp, the POI on the map should be precise enough to find it. The campfire hut is a luxury to dry some wet gear and get shelter when the elements are not on your side.
Day 2, Ukko lean-to to Keino-oja open wilderness hut (49km, 470m of climbing)
The start of the day continues a while longer on the easy gravel-surfaced trails of the Pyhä-Luosto National Park, before reaching the services of the Luosto holiday village. From there the route follows some wintertime ski routes and single-track to the shore of the River Kitinen, from where two gravel roads are connected by a short stretch of single track. Multiple lean-tos on the way offer nice spots for a mid-day break with a campfire.
Quiet gravel roads lead to the village of Suvanto on the other side of the river, which has a nice summer café in the yard of an old Lappish farmhouse.
From here the quickest way forward would be to continue along the route, but the Keino-oja open wilderness hut is a gem not-to-miss, at least if you're looking for a place for the night. It’s located by the lake next to an old refurbished mill and a rental hut (with sauna!), and serves travelers full year-round. If the small hut is full, there is also plenty of grassy flat area to camp.
Day 3, Keino-oja open wilderness hut to Pelkosenniemi (50km, 483m of climbing)
The last day on the route is straightforward on gravel and pavement. The 10km route back to the Suvanto village and then along the banks of the Kitinen reservoir are great smallish gravel roads and a great start to the day, followed by backroads partly on gravel and partly on tarmac, back to the Pelkosenniemi village.
There are some great wilderness shelters for a break on the way, though Nikittäjä lean-to is one of the prettiest on the route, and therefore a great place for the night, if you skipped the detour to Keino-oja.
Day 1, Pelkosenniemi to Ukko lean-to & campfire hut (55.5km, 775m of climbing)
The route starts with a paved connection to the Pyhä-Luosto National Park, which is the core of the route with its old-growth forests and highest fells of the Southern Lapland. Single track to the fells finally starts at 30kms and progress slows down as the roller-coaster-like trail fast gravel trail zigzags from fell to fell. There are plenty of wilderness shelters along the way, though expect to camp during the summer months as the route is used by many hikers as well and thus the high season could be busy.
Ukko lean-to and campfire hut are some of the last shelters in the park along the route and offer a scenic spot to camp, but some of the earlier spots are equally good to spend the night as well - unless you pedal your way through all the way to the Luosto holiday village, which has hotels, spa, and restaurants. The trail continues to Ukko lean-to on mostly gravel, but there is around 5km of natural single track as well, slowing down the progress, but still fully rideable even with a fully loaded mountain bike.
The spot for water in the camp is on the edge of the swamp, the POI on the map should be precise enough to find it. The campfire hut is a luxury to dry some wet gear and get shelter when the elements are not on your side.
Day 2, Ukko lean-to to Keino-oja open wilderness hut (49km, 470m of climbing)
The start of the day continues a while longer on the easy gravel-surfaced trails of the Pyhä-Luosto National Park, before reaching the services of the Luosto holiday village. From there the route follows some wintertime ski routes and single-track to the shore of the River Kitinen, from where two gravel roads are connected by a short stretch of single track. Multiple lean-tos on the way offer nice spots for a mid-day break with a campfire.
Quiet gravel roads lead to the village of Suvanto on the other side of the river, which has a nice summer café in the yard of an old Lappish farmhouse.
From here the quickest way forward would be to continue along the route, but the Keino-oja open wilderness hut is a gem not-to-miss, at least if you're looking for a place for the night. It’s located by the lake next to an old refurbished mill and a rental hut (with sauna!), and serves travelers full year-round. If the small hut is full, there is also plenty of grassy flat area to camp.
Day 3, Keino-oja open wilderness hut to Pelkosenniemi (50km, 483m of climbing)
The last day on the route is straightforward on gravel and pavement. The 10km route back to the Suvanto village and then along the banks of the Kitinen reservoir are great smallish gravel roads and a great start to the day, followed by backroads partly on gravel and partly on tarmac, back to the Pelkosenniemi village.
There are some great wilderness shelters for a break on the way, though Nikittäjä lean-to is one of the prettiest on the route, and therefore a great place for the night, if you skipped the detour to Keino-oja.