Karhunkierros (Finnish for Bear's Round) is a hiking trail that stretches from Salla to Kuusamo in north-eastern Finland.
The route was first marked in 1955, and has since become the most popular hiking trail in Finland, attracting some 15,000 hikers every year, mainly over the high season lasting from mid-July to late September. [1] The trail is approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) long, and runs for the most of its length within the Oulanka National Park.
The trail has two main starting points. The paths starting at Hautajärvi and at Ristikallio converge at Taivalköngäs, from where the trail continues along the Oulanka and Kitka rivers towards Rukatunturi fell. Starting from Hautajärvi makes the total length of the trail 80 kilometres, while the Ristikallio variant is some 9 km shorter. [2] The route is marked with orange paint markings in trees and rocks.
It is also perfectly possible to hike the route in the opposite direction, starting from Rukatunturi, but most people prefer the aforementioned ways.
Also of note is the Pieni Karhunkierros, or Little Bear's Round, a circular day trip trail of 12 km (7.5 mi) that partly shares the route of Karhunkierros proper.
Along the trail there are eight wilderness huts that are open and free to use for every visitor to spend a night in, plus two day trip huts for shorter breaks. In addition there are several campfire sites and lean-to shelters, and a more fully equipped camping ground. [3] Camping near huts and outside the designated areas is mainly permitted under Everyman's right.
The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost 2,200 miles (3,540 km) between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy claims the Appalachian Trail to be the longest hiking-only trail in the world. More than three million people hike segments of the trail each year.
The Oxley Wild Rivers National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia in the Port Macquarie-Hastings City Council and Walcha Shire councils. The 145,223-hectare (358,850-acre) park is situated 445 kilometres (277 mi) north of Sydney and is named in memory of the Australian explorer John Oxley, who passed through the area in 1818 and is one of the largest national parks in New South Wales.
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Religious pilgrimages have existed much longer but they involve walking long distances for a spiritual purpose associated with specific religions.
Kuusamo is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in Koillismaa, the northeastern part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 15,017 and covers an area of 5,808.92 square kilometres (2,242.84 sq mi) of which 830.81 km2 (320.78 sq mi) is water. The population density is 3.02 inhabitants per square kilometre (7.8/sq mi).
Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey and may involve camping outdoors. In North America, tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain huts, widely found in Europe, are rare. In New Zealand, hiking is called tramping, and tents are used alongside a nationwide network of huts. Hill walking is equivalent in Britain, though backpackers make use of a variety of accommodation, in addition to camping. Backpackers use simple huts in South Africa. Trekking and bushwalking are other words used to describe such multi-day trips.
The Routeburn Track is a world-renowned, 32 km tramping (hiking) track found in the South Island of New Zealand. The track can be done in either direction, starting on the Queenstown side of the Southern Alps, at the northern end of Lake Wakatipu or on the Te Anau side, at the Divide, several kilometres from the Homer Tunnel to Milford Sound.
Nuuksio National Park is one of Finland's 40 national parks. Established in 1994, the park spreads over an area of forests and lakes in Espoo, Kirkkonummi and Vihti. North-west from Helsinki, it is the second-closest national park to the capital behind the recently established Sipoonkorpi National Park. The name is derived from the Nuuksio district of Espoo.
Lemmenjoki National Park is situated in area of municipalities of Inari and Kittilä, Lapland, in Northern Finland. It was founded in 1956 and has since been expanded twice. Its total area is 2,850 square kilometres (1,100 sq mi), making it the biggest national park of Finland and one of the largest in Europe.
Oulanka National Park is a national park in the Northern Ostrobothnia and Lapland regions of Finland, covering 270 square kilometres (104 sq mi). The park was established in 1956 and was expanded in 1982 and 1989. It borders the Paanajärvi National Park in Russia. The first inhabitants in the area were Sami people from Lapland who lived here until the end of the 17th century, which was when they had to give way to Finnish settlers. Although hunting, fishing and later farming was the primary occupation of the people who lived there, today the most notable activity in Oulanka is tourism. From the 1930s, the Finnish Tourist Association kept boats on the river and renovated the wooden cabins found across the park for accommodation purposes. These cabins can be used free of charge by any hikers in the area, given that they follow some basic guidelines and rules regarding the state of the cabins, the wood supply, and protecting the surrounding nature.
Urho Kekkonen National Park is a national park in Lapland, Finland, situated in area of municipalities of Savukoski, Sodankylä and Inari. Established in 1983 and covering 2,550 square kilometres (985 sq mi), it is one of Finland's largest protected areas. It is named after Urho Kekkonen, late President and Prime Minister of Finland.
The Tsitsikamma National Park is a protected area on the Garden Route, Western Cape and Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is a coastal reserve well known for its indigenous forests, dramatic coastline, and the Otter Trail. On 6 March 2009 it was amalgamated with the Wilderness National Park and various other areas of land to form the Garden Route National Park.
Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park is Finland's third largest national park and it covers an area of 1,020 square kilometres. The national park is located in Western Lapland in the municipalities of Enontekiö, Kittilä, Kolari and Muonio. The landscape of Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park is dominated by a chain of fells stretching for approximately 100 km and the taiga forests in the boreal forest zone. In terms of visits, Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park is Finland's most popular national park. In 2019, the visitor counters recorded 561,200 visits.
Nordkalottruta or Arctic Trail is a marked hiking trail in the Arctic region of the Nordic countries. It has a total length of 800 km (500 mi) and lies along the border of Norway, Sweden and Finland. It begins at Kautokeino and 380 km (240 mi) of the trail lies in Norway, 350 km (220 mi) in Sweden and 70 km (43 mi) in Finland. The trail crosses international borders 15 times and ends in the south in Sulitjelma (Norway) or alternately Kvikkjokk (Sweden).
A wilderness hut, bothy, backcountry hut, or backcountry shelter is a free, primitive mountain hut for temporary accommodation, usually located in wilderness areas, national parks and along backpacking and hiking routes. They are found in many parts of the world, such as Finland, Sweden, Norway, northern Russia, the Alps, the Pyrenees, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Huts are basic and unmanned, without running water.
The Fay hut was an alpine hut located above Prospectors Valley in Kootenay National Park, British Columbia. Although the higher Neil Colgan hut superseded it as a base for climbs in the Valley of the Ten Peaks area, it still served as a convenient base for hikers and skiers doing day trips in the area, and as an overnight stop for mountaineers continuing on to the Neil Colgan hut. A new hut was built in 2005 to replace the original Fay hut, which was destroyed by a forest fire in 2003. The Fay hut was maintained by the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC).
Rukatunturi is a 492 metres (1,614 ft) high fell and a ski resort in Kuusamo, Finland. Apart from downhill skiing, there are over 500 km of cross-country skiing tracks. Also snowmobiles can be rented to enjoy some of the area's 600 km of snowmobile routes. Ruka is also the southern end of the Karhunkierros hiking trail. The total of trails in Ruka and Kuusamo area is: 160 km of hiking trails, 605 km of biking routes, 350 km of classified paddling routes and 100 km of boating routes.
The E1 European long-distance path, or just E1 path, is one of the European long-distance paths designated by the European Ramblers' Association. It has a total length of some 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi). It begins in Norway at Nordkapp, and crosses the Kattegat between Sweden and Denmark by ferry. It passes through Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland to finish at Capo Passero, Italy. This path was extended southwards to Sicily, in Italy, in 2018.
Korouoma is about 30 kilometres (20 mi) long, few hundred metres wide and up to 130 m (430 ft) deep canyon at Posio, Finland. The entire area is a natural reserve. At the bottom of the canyon there's Korojoki River, which ends up to Kemijoki River. There are plenty of species in varied nature of Korouoma. Some of species found are rare. Korouoma offers great opportunities for hiking, watching the nature, fishing and reviewing the cultural history of usage of nature at the area.
Hautajärvi is a village in southeast Lapland, Finland, near the border with the Republic of Karelia and the Murmansk Oblast of the Russian Federation. Hautajärvi is located in the Salla municipality. It is a trail head for the Bear's Ring hiking trail, and gateway for the Oulanka National Park.
Otsamo fell is located in Inari, Finland. The highest point of the fell is at 418 metres (1,371 ft) above sea level. The fell is situated about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the village of Inari. There is a cabin on top of the fell that is free to use for hikers.
