Table of contents
Autumn hiking in Finnish Lapland
Autumn is the highlight of the year for many travelers, as this is the main season for hiking and trekking in Lapland. Many of the insects bothering us in the summer have now completely disappeared from the picture, and instead the wanderer is now greeted in the wilderness with many beautiful colors of the fall foliage, which can be seen both in trees and bushes as well as in the ground.
There are many hiking trails for many levels in Finnish Lapland and we have actually written a separate and very comprehensive blog post about the 10 best hiking routes and trails in Lapland. Ranua also has numerous easily accessible hiking and camping destinations that are suitable for both day trip destinations and longer hiking trips. You can visit the hiking trails and excursion sites in Ranua and the surrounding areas, as well as the maps, through the blog post we published last autumn.
Guided hiking trips in Ranua and the surrounding municipalities can be booked through Lapland Adventure & Hunting.
In addition to the traditional hiking by foot, it is also possible to explore the nature in Ranua with fat bikes. Bikes can be rented from Arctic Guesthouse & Igloos courtyard, as well as from Ranua Zoo and Ranuanjärvi Camping.
Northern lights reappear in August
The darkening nights also mean the appearance of northern lights in the northern sky. Contrary to many misconceptions, the northern lights season in Lapland starts already in August, when the nights start to be dark enough to detect the light phenomenon in the sky.
From the point of view of the northern lights, the best huntings times are during the autumn and the spring equinox, which means that in practice the best opportunity to see the northern lights is e.g. when many domestic travelers want to hike in the beautiful colourful landscapes of Lapland. Autumn indeed offers great opportunities to admire a wide range of natural colors.
You can find more information about the Northern Lights in a blog post that we published last autumn.
Berry and mushroom picking
The harvest season in Lapland lasts well into the autumn. Autumn brings along with it the picking season for lingonberry that thrives on dry parts of the forests and cranberry that is now able to be picked from the marshes.
For lingonberries, the picking period usually starts in early September and lasts until mid-October. Among Finnish wild berries, lingonberries are the most abundant of all, and we pick them the most for both household and industrial use. Lingonberry grows throughout the country in dry canopy forests, but it also occurs in bogs and raven forests.
Cranberries, on the other hand, do not ripen until the turn of September-October, and berries can be collected until the snow arrives. The best time to pick cranberries is after the first frosty nights, as the frost will take away some of the berry bitterness. Cranberries contain a lot of citric and benzoic acid, which also makes them easy to preserve.
The autumn forest also hides many delicious mushrooms, the most popular of which are ceps and chanterelles. Mushroom picking is an interesting thing to do because the years vary greatly and the mushrooms always grow a little differently between different years. Finding mushrooms is always a joyful experience even for an experienced mushroom groomer.
Like berry picking, mushroom picking is also allowed in Finland under the every man’s right. However, in some nature parks, mushroom picking is only allowed in certain areas and it is smart to know the rules and restrictions of certain areas in advance. When going mushroom picking, it is also worth noting that some of the mushrooms found in our nature are inedible and even toxic. You should only pick mushrooms from nature that you know for sure.
You can find a good guide for mushroom picking on National Parks’ website.
Fishing concentrates to lakes and ponds
Fishing focuses mainly on lakes and ponds during autumn. In the river, fishing is restricted, especially for salmon related fish. There are now fallen leaves in the water, which make grayling especially act more cautious than normally. For the brown trout, autumn is the spawning period and the close season for trout is on from the beginning of September to the end of November. At this point it is actually wiser to skip fishing completely in the streams that fall to lake Simojärvi. Those in pursuit of grayling should head to either Ranuanjoki or Luiminka while in Ranua.
Autumn is a great time, especially for chasing the nordic pike. In the fall, the activity of the pike increases and as the waters cool down, they also move to more shallow waters in the lakes to prey. Pike fishing in the fall can be very rewarding and even easy to do. In Ranua, you don’t have to go for pike to go very far, as you can also find great places in Lake Ranuanjärvi, which can be found in the center of our village. From Ranuanjärvi, you can even catch really big pikes.
You can also book fishing trips guided by Lapland Adventure & Hunting at lake Ranuanjärvi. Trolling trips are organized by Simojärvi Trolling, which operates in both Simojärvi and Ranuanjärvi.
Hunting season starts in autumn
The hunting season in Finnish Lapland will get underway in August, when, for example, waterfowl and bear hunting will begin. Later in the autumn, hunting of grouse and moose also start.
Permits for hunting on state owned land in Ranua can be obtained from Metsähallitus. Metsähallitus’ areas and batch permits also guarantee hunting opportunities for those hunters who do not have the opportunity to hunt, for example, in areas owned by hunting clubs.
In the municipality of Ranua, small game permits (poultry, waterfowl and hare permits and small predator permits) can be purchased from Metsähallitus’ Eräluvat online store and Metsähallitus’ customer points, which can be found in Pilke in Rovaniemi and the Syöte Nature Center for example.
Up-to-date information on hunting times can be found on the Finnish Riistakeskus website and restrictions on permit areas on Metsähallitus’ Wildlife Permits pages.
Welcome to Ranua
In Ranua, the possibilities of autumn are not limited to the activities mentioned in the text, but there is guaranteed to be much more to do for the whole family. If you need additional tips for an autumn holiday in Ranua, you can always contact us by phone or e-mail. You can also easily send inquiries via the contact form below.
We all warmly welcome you to your autumn vacation in Ranua.
