Winter hike at Auttiköngäs

 

Auttiköngäs in Winter

 

 

When an weekday day off arrived, my body and mind were filled with the urge to escape into nature, to listen to the silence and my own thoughts. So, I quickly prepared a thermos of warm juice, grabbed a piece of weekend-baked mocha cake, strapped a knife to my belt, packed matches in my backpack—and off I went. I pointed my car towards Highway 81 in the direction of Kuusamo. Just over an hour later, I arrived at the parking lot of the Auttiköngäs café, which, unfortunately, seemed to be open only from Wednesday to Sunday. Well, understandable—I was the only one there at around 11 in the morning.

 

Backpack on, I headed towards the main attraction: the waterfall itself. Always impressive, and conveniently located right at the start of the trail, accessible with just a few steps from the car. It’s even wheelchair-friendly. After admiring the waterfall for a moment, I continued on my way.

 

Soon, I realized that I was a bit underdressed for -17°C, particularly when it came to my choice of pants. My thighs and backside were tingling slightly, but it didn’t feel like frostbite was imminent. The trail is short, but in winter, anything can happen. One should never take winter hiking too lightly but instead approach it realistically. If I were a less experienced hiker, I would have advised myself to turn back and put on more layers. But of course, I am so seasoned that I can recognize danger easily (This is irony—cold should always be taken seriously!).

 

The trail winds along the edge of the gorge and at times moves a bit farther from it. At the beginning, it was amazing to observe the river flowing through the large canyon. The path was well-trodden, and regular winter boots were sufficient—no need for snowshoes.

 

About 1.5 km into the hike, I reached the Auttijoki lean-to, where I stopped to make a fire, listen to the crackling flames, sip warm juice, and enjoy a piece of mocha cake. There was plenty of firewood available at the shelter. Words can't do justice to the experience!

The latter part of the trail is quite steep as it ascends to the Könkäänvaara scenic viewpoint. From the observation tower, there’s a stunning view over the river landscapes of Peräpohjola.

 

hen, it was time to descend back to the starting point at the café parking lot. The hike itself (according to my watch, 3.28 km) took me 49 minutes. By the time I returned, more people had arrived—several private cars, a rented camper van, and a 1+8 minibus from a travel company. Perhaps the fire I had left smoldering made their trip a little easier!

Once upon time at Koli

 

In July, we also ended up visiting Koli. It was an extremely hot period, but since there was no better alternative, we had to head to Koli despite the heat. We drove to Koli from the Joensuu side, stopping for lunch at Kolinportti before continuing to the hills. From Koli village, we drove up to the parking areas, planning to have a nice day trip. Despite the heat, many others had the same idea—the parking lots were completely packed, and some had even left their cars in slightly questionable spots. Luckily, we managed to find a spot fairly quickly. So, a quick gear check, toddler in the carrier, sunscreen applied, and off we went.

 

We took the funicular up to the starting point of Koli’s trails. The Sokos Hotels Spa sounded tempting, but this time, we weren’t here to relax in the water—we were here to explore Koli. I had been there once as a child, but my memories were quite vague. We hiked the "Huippujen reitti" (Summit Trail), which takes you around Koli’s main peaks, saving the highlight, Ukko-Koli, for last.

Perhaps the crowds had dispersed onto Koli’s other trails, because even though there were a lot of people, the trail itself wasn’t too congested. Don’t get me wrong—it was probably the busiest nature site I’ve ever visited, but it still wasn’t as packed as the number of cars had suggested.

The trail itself was simple and easy. We had a minor detour when we accidentally climbed straight up Akka-Koli, so we had to adjust our route. We doubled back a little to make sure we passed the Temple of Silence along the way. From there, we continued lightly towards Ukko-Koli, where we took the obligatory social media and photo break. Then, we descended the stairs to the nature center and hotel courtyard, made a quick stop at Järnefelt’s relief and the sacrificial crack. Koli has a rich, almost mystical history, which is well presented on the nature information boards along the route.

 

The views from the summits were breathtaking, and I can understand why Koli’s landscape over Lake Pielinen is considered Finland’s national scenery. Deep green summer forests and the lake view—is there anything more Finnish?

Still, there’s something about Koli that makes it a must-visit for everyone at least once. However, this summit hike didn’t leave me with a strong urge to return. For me, being in nature is about peace, reflection, and taking in the surroundings, not waiting in line with a crowd. Maybe next time I’ll try one of Koli’s lesser-known trails? Or perhaps explore other sights in North Karelia?

A decade ago, I hiked part of Susitaival, and I’ve also spent a weekend in Ruunaa. There’s so much to experience in North Karelia—it might just be an overlooked gem in Finnish hiking culture. The region has huge potential for growing tourism.

 

As for Koli itself, I’d rate it 2/5. I don’t long to go back, but I still recommend everyone to see this national landscape at least once. Would I go there again on purpose? Probably not.

On the way to our accommodation, we stopped at Ahveninen Beach. It’s incredibly well-maintained, with a long sandy shore and shallow water that makes it perfect for families with kids. The beach also has toilets (outhouses?), changing rooms, a beach volleyball court, and a children’s playground. It’s described as Joensuu’s most beautiful beach, and without having seen the others, I can say—it’s a top spot. I highly recommend making the trip here on a warm summer day, even from farther away. Ahveninen Beach is the place to be.

Trip to Ylitornio - Ainiovaara

 

The weather looked absolutely perfect the previous evening, so we decided to head to Ylitornio with K and L—a municipality still missing from our “visit every municipality in Finland” challenge. After some thorough Googling, we chose the Ainiovaara Nature Trail as our route, since the summit of Aavasaksa could be reached by car. Our destination was Ainiovaara Ski Center (see Google Maps).

We drove south from Rovaniemi, turning onto Road 930 toward Aavasaksa after passing Muurola. Just before reaching Aavasaksa, it merges with Road 932. The road was in excellent condition.

 

Once we arrived, we strapped L into the carrier and set off. The trail started as a narrow, overgrown path, and soon we realized—it was July. Mosquitoes were everywhere, and we were wearing shorts and t-shirts. Our nice nature outing quickly turned into an escape mission from the relentless swarm, so the experience wasn’t quite as enjoyable as we had hoped. The trail ascended quickly, but near a lean-to shelter, it became more well-trodden—perhaps more people start their hike from Karemajat. The trail was mostly well-marked with white posts, but in the grassy sections at the beginning (and end), as well as on open rock surfaces, the signage could have been clearer. It was nice that the route passed through various types of landscapes, but with the mosquito situation, we had no desire to stop and read the nature information boards or grill at the shelter. We had even brought our own firewood from home just in case, but the mosquitoes made sure we skipped the sausage break.

 

On the descent from the shelter, we lost the trail briefly but ended up at Ainiovaara’s fitness stairs, which conveniently led us back to the ski center parking lot. According to my Suunto watch, we covered 5.02 km in 1 hour and 34 minutes.

Since we didn’t get to eat our sausages, we headed to Ylitornio’s town center. A quick stop at S-Market for more food for L, an Oshee drink for me, and some ice cream for the adults. We found a place to eat at Ylitornio Pizza & Kebab, which served standard but decent pizza and kebab dishes. Then, a stop at the local pharmacy for some hydrocortisone cream to soothe the mosquito bites, and we were back on the road!

 

We decided to quickly cross the border to Sweden and visit Matarenki (Övertorneå in Swedish), the municipal center at the same latitude as Aavasaksa. Before the Finnish War of 1809, this whole area belonged to the same parish, so the cross-border connections are natural. We stopped at ICA Supermarket, where we picked up gluten-free tortellini and some Swedish sodas. We also drove through Matarenki, which turned out to be a mistake, as we ran straight into a road construction site on Route 99—only noticing it after getting stuck in the queue. Nothing to do but wait it out. A similar thing happened to us on our early summer trip to Norway, but more on that later.

 

We returned to Rovaniemi this time via Road 932, which passes near Raanujärvi before connecting to Pellontie (Highway 83), dropping off our travel companions in Sinetta, and then back home to Rovaniemi.

 

Final rating: mosquito/5—so not a perfect score. If you’re passing through, the trail might be worth checking out, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit again. However, if you’re traveling along Highway 21, heading from Tornio toward Kilpisjärvi, this could be a decent spot to stretch your legs—as long as your boots aren’t already itching for the real fells.

Link to the trail’s website: Aavasaksa.fi