Snowsure: 4.8
- Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
- Is often closed due to a lack of snow
- Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
- Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
- Ruka is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Ruka Ski Resort
Click here to submit your own review of Ruka
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
January 08, 2022
Steve Jackson from
United Kingdom
Steve Jackson from
United Kingdom
Just heading out for second visit to Ruka. Absolutely love it. Accommodation is just fine with private saunas, log burners and so on in self-catering apartment. Skiing is great for anyone up to expert with a wide variety of shortish but fun piste. As the wind blows quite well all day there is never a shortage of soft lederhosen in the runs, nor is there a shortage of cafes around the mountain to warm up with a nice hot chocolate or whatever. Sun comes up about 10am and is gone again by 2pm so lots of spot-lit skiing which is surprisingly good fun and not difficult. You need to pack your big girls pants because it gets really, really cold. Not surprisingly that close to the Arctic Circle. For a break from the slopes I would recommend the snowmobile safari though there is loads of other stuff to do. Overall, a fantastic winter holiday.
March 16, 2021
Chris van den Heuvel from
Finland
Chris van den Heuvel from
Finland
Amazing, fantastic holiday for the whole family if you enjoy skiing but are a beginner/intermediate skier with a little something for advanced skiers. Lovely kids area for the absolute beginner and a very well-staffed ski-school and rental facility on either side of the mountain. We will be definitely be going back!
Went with the family to Ruka over the Finnish winter holidays from 19 Feb 2021 to 26 Feb 2021. The best is to fly into Kuusamo, where an airport bus is waiting to take you to Ruka. Bus ticket prices start at €8 p/p. No stress, very easy. We arrived the Friday morning and had the mountains nearly to ourselves till Monday afternoon. Not sure if it is because the Finns chose to drive up or what, but it got jam-packed from Monday onwards. Not surprising, though, during this Covid time, it probably was not as busy as it can get. I would recommend, if possible, try and visit outside of the silly season. (Better accommodation prices too)
Apart from that, a very nicely sorted out little ski resort. It is quite small (when compared to the French Alps) but big for Finland. Word of warning, it can get freezing, so pack super warm! We enjoyed an average temperature of minus 20 degrees celsius for the week. That said, we also enjoyed 4 blue sky days out of 7, skied with lovely views of Lapland as far as the eyes can see. A lovely feature is that all the pistes have nighttime floodlighting which light the runs as if it were a blue sky day. Very Cool! Skiing enthusiasts can enjoy a full 10 hour ski day plus 1 hour for lunch (8:00 to 19:00 over winter holiday but otherwise 9:30 to 19:00).
A couple of nicely groomed black runs keep the advanced skiers happy for the week with lots of rest and bar areas (even with the Covid restrictions) at the bottom of every major slope.
Hotel accommodation is aplenty. We stayed at the Scandic Hotel, situated on the piste and a stone's throw from the gondola. Nice hotel and exactly what one has come to expect from Scandic for those who regularly frequent. The break buffet is a bonus to carbo-load yourself and the kids before the long day ski. However, there are many apartments available that are more luxurious if you prefer the self-catering route or have deep pockets to eat out breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Regular after-ski activities are a bit limited. There are snowmobiles, river swimming, and many other things I was frankly not interested in doing, but that's me. I would say, though, that there is not much to do at Ruka apart from ski, eat out and shop ski-souvenirs if you are on a budget. But we came to ski so all good. Covid did put a damper on things, with the restaurants basically empty at night. I will say the Ruka community really took Covid seriously. There was social distancing everywhere, ski lifts (one seat space between strangers), restaurants. Even the hotel staggered the breakfast times so that there was no overcrowding.
In conclusion, if you live in Finland/Europe and want to try something different to the Alps, give Ruka a try. The guaranteed snow is always a plus. Also, for a family of 5, you would probably save 1 000 to 2 000 € compared to a ski holiday in the Alps.
December 28, 2018
Jo from
United Kingdom
Jo from
United Kingdom
We're just about to visit Ruka for our fifth consecutive year! Each time we say we'll go somewhere else, but we keep getting drawn back. And each year our group gets bigger as everyone we take loves it too!
We always book with Crystal Ski as they seem to be the only UK airline that flies directly to Kuusamo. And if you time it right, you can get flights and accommodation for about £300. You just have to check the website very regularly! For this bargain price, the accommodation is second to none. Spotlessly clean and spacious. We book a 4-6 bed apartment for two of us as there is only about £10 difference in price (again, you have to time it right). Soooooo much more space for your money than in the Alps. And every apartment has its own private sauna and log fire. Bliss!
The village is small but there are plenty of places to eat, the food is really good and portions are big. The Finnish locals are super friendly and the service is amazing. There is a small supermarket in the village centre, and a bigger one a bit further out.
The ski resort is also small, a keen skier/boarder could do all the runs in a day, but there are loads of off-piste runs through the trees, a half pipe, and a good park, all of which keep us entertained for the week. The other good thing about a small resort is that if you're with a mixed-ability group, or if you all head out at different times in the morning, it's very easy to go and do your own thing then find each other again.
We always visit mid-January and therefore the resort is dead (having never visited in half-term, I can't advise on how busy it gets). We have never queued for a lift and sometimes we can have a whole run to ourselves! However, they are currently expanding the resort and building a whole new village, so the above might not be true in a couple of years! Daylight hours are short, but all pistes are floodlit really well.
With the temperature continually staying below zero, the snow never thaws and therefore there aren't any icy patches. One year we visited, it hadn't snowed for almost a month before we arrived, but the snow on the pistes was still abundant and powdery. They also have excellent snow-making facilities. As the resort is small, piste management is really efficient, with nearly all pistes being groomed every other day. With regards to snowboarding and flat sections, I've only found one area of about 70 m that I have to unclip and walk. No matter if I point my board straight and go as fast as I can, I still can never quite make it without walking or borrowing a ski pole to row along.
Overall, Ruka is beautiful and should definitely be experienced at least once. Another perk is the random fire huts and fire pits dotted around the fell. Perfect when you need a break to thaw out and toast a marshmallow.
For the sake of a balanced review, here are some negatives:
- Ruka is no mountain range, it's very much a hill. After 4 years there, I have found myself craving long Alpine runs, proper off-piste, and views of mountains. However, we manage to get it so cheap, we can also book another budget week in the Alps as well.
- Cold! In our first year we went early Jan and the temperature got down to -30C. Folks, I got frostbite on my nose!!! Luckily, only in the very top layers of skin so no lasting damage! We now go later in Jan, but it still frequently gets to -20C and below.
- Quiet apres-ski scene. There is a bar that stays open until the small hours and does karaoke, but in general, it's not a party resort.
Tips:
- If you book an apartment, go for the bigger one where possible. The small ones do feel a bit cramped. This year (2018, booking for 2019), it was actually cheaper to book the bigger apartment!
- If you want to go to the village in the evenings for food, avoid accommodation that isn't within walking distance as the bus stops running at about 19:30 and taxis are expensive.
- Layers! Lots of layers!
October 24, 2018
Dean from
United Kingdom
Dean from
United Kingdom
Visited mid January 2018 and was blown away by the resort.
Few things to note, English tour companies don't tend to do holidays there from early to mid Feb onwards due to the resort becoming too popular for them to secure competitive prices, as well as the resort being too busy for them to want people to visit.
We visited mid Jan and there were no queues at all which really helped with the pistes being relatively short, so we never had to worry about queues at the bottom, so weren't left wanting longer pistes. We were surprised at the variety of terrain and fun off-piste wooded areas kept us busy for the whole week. The whole resort, including the pistes, were almost like a ghost town, so don't go expecting a lively atmosphere. The short daylight hours meant the whole resort needed to be lit up, so plenty of 'night skiing' opportunities which was great, especially with their lengthy lift opening hours.
Only downsides were they didn't make an effort to open the half pipe early which left a whole piste closed next to it for the duration of the trip. We found out they didn't open it until the peak season for them in Feb onwards, which is something to be aware of. They also don't operate all lifts every day, which can become a bit of an inconvenience, but generally all the terrain is still accessible, just more likely to be on a T-bar in some areas where there is both.
Everything else about the whole trip was just perfect, and we've booked to return this coming season!
February 19, 2015
Cheryl from
Finland
Cheryl from
Finland
Ruka is a beautiful village. Ski runs are short but well groomed. We booked Finland as all reviews said no lift queues. Absolute rubbish the queues are as bad as the Alps so be prepared to queue at February half-term in cold temps. The lifts are old, mostly drag lifts and often break down. There are masses of people on the slopes during half-term and be prepared for beginners trying to plough down red and black routes! We will come back here but not during February half-term. The Finnish people are all friendly and the slopes are kept in excellent condition.
November 28, 2012
Leigh from
United Kingdom
Leigh from
United Kingdom
The context of our ski holiday was for early turns at a ski resort that was guaranteed snow cover. As established skiers, we expected little in terms of skiing but were looking forward to the adventure of heading close to the Arctic Circle for our first trip into Finland. Arriving to Kuusamo we were surprised at how easy it was to then get to Ruka. Arriving late into the night was no problem as we had been given the keycode to the apartment by text several day before. Communication with the head-office was easy and all questions were answered. Self-catering accommodation was top-notch which included wood-buring fire and an awesome sauna. For the price, have never stayed in such great self-catering accommodation.
First day skiing we had to hire equipment which was extremely easy and well-thought out. Including lift-pass for five days hire for two people the price was under £200. Considering the equipment and service we got we thought this was pretty good value. Weather-wise we were told it was mild and the temperature was hovering around zero degrees. Due to the early season only half the mountain was open but the main part of the mountain was open including the park and mogul area. There seemed to be an extensive snow-making area and a few of the locals apologised for it being too icy; if this was icy, we had died and gone to heaven from our Scottish skiing background. Although very short days, all runs were lit. And although early into the season lifts ran from 9.30 AM to 6 PM and beyond the official closing time which was something we certainly were not expecting.
Piste conditions were excellent and well-maintained. The ski area itself was limited but considering what else is on offer at this time of year (glacier skiing), the terrain was more than suitable for what we had expected. It would be a great place to take beginners and those wanting something different for their first ski of the year.
After the mild start temperatures plummeted to minus 14 which resulted in excessive use of snow-making.
Overall, would I ski here again? Most certainly at the start of the season. Having to only share the piste with established national ski teams and ridiculously talented juniors, it could be said we were easily the worst skiers on the hill which was a small price to pay for never once having to queue.
It would be an awesome place for those who like adventure, new to skiing, or those just looking for something a bit different.
Leigh.
February 13, 2012
Doug from
United Kingdom
Doug from
United Kingdom
Be prepared for the cold. Started at -36 but warmed up to -5 although with significant wind chill. A face mask is a good addition to your kit.
Positives: if you time your visit before mid Feb and the national holiday period, slopes can be almost empty and queuing non existent. Even though the slopes are all groomed daily, it is still possible to get powder on a piste if you are really lucky making for a fantastic start to the day. Plenty of off-piste and wooded area's to play in and children are well catered for.
Negatives: very few chair lifts, all of which appear to be non heated, although 1 is covered. Some long T-Bars which can be painful when shared with children. Little or no indication of which lifts are open in main resort, although typically at least the T-bars will be available.
Resort is costly compared to most European resorts.
January 01, 2010
Malcolm from
United Kingdom
Malcolm from
United Kingdom
As an experienced cross country skier I really enjoyed Ruka in January.
The skiing was limited to about 70km of tracks, but these took you over three beautiful fells, so I was quite happy to ski them all in both directions.
The tracks were well groomed for both classic and skating, but too demanding for the not-quite-novices in our group.
(complete novices are well looked after by the ski school - but once you've got the basics you want to get out there exploring, and this was quite hard, with most routes including red or black sections).
The countryside at Ruka is beautiful and the colours of the arctic sky inspiring.
The downhill slopes were very well groomed, and I was able to ski some of the blue runs on my cross country gear.
February 01, 2008
jason from
Finland
jason from
Finland
Just got back from Ruka and had a great time. Loads of snow and could not ask for better conditions but a bit cold at times. Stayed in the Ruka apartments which were very nice and clean and only about 100m away from the lifts. The kids loved it all. The ski-hire was free and really good for beginners. Fantastic place.
January 26, 2008
paul bennett from
United Kingdom
paul bennett from
United Kingdom
Just got back from Ruka on Jan 20th 2008, I have never seen snow like it, constant snow 24 hours a day and for the 7 days we were there. I think we were lucky with the temp too, coldest it got was -10.
Perfectly groomed pistes, quite varied for beginners and intermediates. Only issue, certain lifts would often be closed for no apparent reason other than energy saving as we were told.
Fantastic place, will book again for next year!!
Nearest