When is the best time to visit Lapland? Lapland has everchanging seasons and pretty much every week looks slightly different from the previous. In fact, we have 8 seasons to choose from. Here’s a brief run through of all of them – you decide what description suits your needs the best:
1. Cold winter – the best time for Lapland photos (January-February)
The polar night is just ending but the day length is not very long. It is usually very cold, easily -20 degrees Celsius, also -30 C is common. This is a beautiful season in terms of sky: there are stunning hues of pastels in day time and often aurora borealis at night time. Trees are covered in tykkylumi, the frosty thick layer of snow. You get the prettiest winter pictures this time of year. Just remember to pack many layers of warm clothing and proper winter boots!
2. Sunny Spring – the best time for skiing (March-April)
There’s still lots of snow in Lapland and for us Finns, this is the best time of the year for all kinds of snow activities: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, backcountry skiing, ski trekking, you name it – we are on it! In Ylläs area we often have one meter of snow until the end of April. In terms of temperature this is super nice time to visit as it’s not that cold anymore, normally -10 C to 0 C. It’s easy to hang out with kids and play in the snow – you don’t need to worry about getting frost bite in the face or getting frozen toes. This is the time of year we at Pihka Outdoors love to do our ski treks. Days are getting long at this point, meaning it won’t get dark until very late. The chances of seeing Northern Lights get slimmer in April due to light.
3. From ice to water – the best time for fast and fun water sports (May)
This is the actual spring time in Lapland, when ice finally melts and water underneath breaks free. The thick layer of snow melts, causing massive floods. This overflow of water is super fun though, if you like water sports like kayaking, canoeing, rafting and packrafting. You just need to know what you’re doing or book a pro guide! Hiking is difficult this time of year as everywhere is more or less wet. By the end of May it’s lovely, land is dry again, the weather is warm and there are no mosquitoes. Temperatures can range from +5 to +25 Celsius. Check out what we offer.
4. Midsummer – the best time to see the midnight sun (June-July)
This is a magical time as you really get full on sunshine even in the middle of the night. All flowers are blooming and nature practically explodes after the long winter. There is a diverse wildlife to be seen in Lapland this time of year – especially all the arctic birds and special plant species. The vast wilderness areas of Lapland are all free for you to roam and with everyman’s right you can set up your tent for wild camping wherever. The downside of this magnificent arctic summer is räkkä – the invasion of flying bugs that want your blood. The silver lining is, it’s very easy to see reindeers this time of year as they escape mosquitoes to roads where there is more wind. Just remember to slow down when driving, there might be a reindeer standing in the middle of the road around any corner.
5. End of Summer – the best time to harvest berries, mushrooms (August)
By the end of Summer, the vast amounts of bugs are gone and it’s easier to walk in the forest again. This time of year most of us Finns head out to bogs and forests to gather the free food of Mother Nature. Forests in Lapland are so clean you can eat berries straight off the ground. First cloudberries ripen on bogs and marshlands at the end of July. They are followed by bilberries (our delicious forest blueberries) in August and later on lingonberries. We gather berries and store them in the freezer to give us vitamins during the long dark winter period. I personally get a “berry stress” this time of year as I want to spend all my time in the forest with my harvesting equipment and buckets. Also the forests are full of yummy edible mushrooms such as the delicious procini (Boletus edulis). Hunting mushrooms is really fun as it takes some effort to find the best spots. We store mushrooms by drying and freezing them. By the end of August the evenings get darker again, making it very possible to see Aurora Borealis dancing in the sky.
6. Ruska – the best time for hiking and seeing the Autumn colours (September)
My personal favourite time of year. The weather is often warm and nice, no bugs, and the nature is just astonishingly beautiful in its autumn colours, “ruska”. Plants and trees change their green clothing to shiny shades of yellow, red and orange. Usually the best time to see ruska phenomenon is the second week of September. But it’s happening all month really, until towards the end of September when the leaves are falling off. Best time to go hiking in the remote wilderness of Lapland, take a look at our rad multiday all-inclusive hikes. Aurora Borealis are very common from this time onwards as the days get shorter and shorter.
7. First frost and snow – the best time to see nobody (October-November)
This is still a fun time for hiking – as the ground starts to freeze it’s easy to walk anywhere! Temperatures get chillier and you do need to start layering up. Can be -5 Celsius to +10. You might need snowshoes for walking already, or then not – you never know! It is an off season and many places are closed in Lapland after the summer season. The winter season starts at the end of November and restaurants and hotels are open again then. We get first snow in October. Sometimes it sticks around until May, sometimes it melts and comes back later. Permanent snow cover usually falls by November. Cranberries ripen around early October and can be found on bogs. Cranberry is often forgotten though, as the first snow covers the poor berries.
8. Polar night – the best time to do Santa stuff (December-early January)
Christmas time is cold and dark, make no mistake. It is also the most beautiful time of year with the sky vibrating in pink, violet and orange hues during the few hours of light that we have. Roughly you see well without a headlamp from around 10am to 2pm. During the polar night, “kaamos”, the sun doesn’t rise at all. So the daylight hours look like sunrise and sunset at the same time – very pretty! Although you need to carry a headlamp with you all the time, once your eyes get used to the dark you notice it’s actually not dark at all. The snow creates so much light it helps you move around even in a dark forest. Just dare to give it a try! December is the most popular time for families to visit Lapland, as Santa Claus lives here. There are many places where you can see Santa and elves, as well as reindeers. Temperatures can be very cold, -20 Celsius, so dress your kids in proper winter clothing with lots of wool for insulation.
Good luck with planning your Holiday!
-Minttu
