Hiking & outdoor recreationLength5.1 km
Duration(2-3 h)
Degree of difficultyEasy
Rytikönkään reissu Trail provides a window on the history and unique vegetation in Oulanka National Park. Along the trail, you can see a lumberjack’s cabin, a lean-to shelter roofed with bark and an old bear trap that has survived for over a hundred years. The clear waters of Rytilampi Pond are home to nine-spined sticklebacks (Pungitius pungitius) that grow into the world’s largest individuals of that species. This easy trail is available when there is no snow on the ground. Oulanka National Park Camping Ground is located near the trail. There is no campfire site on the trail. The nearest toilets are 1 km away at Oulanka Visitor Centre. Use the QR code at the starting point to download a guide booklet to your phone. This will provide information on the numbered main sights along the route. The old name of the trail was Rytisuon luontopolku Trail.
Circle trailThe recommended direction of travel is counterclockwise.
The trail can only be used during the snow-free season
Camping permittedCamping is only permitted in the immediate vicinity of marked rest areas and campfire sites and huts.
No dry toiletThe nearest toilets are 1 km away at Oulanka Visitor Centre.
Remember to bring a trash bagThere are no waste bins on the trail. Bring along your own trash bag and take your waste out with you when leaving.The trail has a waste recycling point intended for hikers on the long Karhunkierros Trail.
No water pointThe nearest water supply point is located 1 km away at Oulanka Visitor Centre.
No winter maintenance
Contact information
Starting pointOulanka Camping Ground Liikasenvaarantie 137, 93900 Kuusamo
The trail has green trail markings.
When the camping ground is closed (from about mid-September until May), the starting point is at Oulanka Visitor Centre (Liikasenvaarantie 132). From the Visitor Centre, walk 1 km along the Karhunkierros hiking trail marked with orange paint to the starting point of the Rytikönkään reissu Trail.
Use the QR code at the starting point to download a guide booklet to your phone. This will provide information on the numbered main sights along the route.
The early part of the trail passes through an open pine forest, where tree trunks charred by a forest fire that ravaged the area in the early 1900s are still visible.
The trail occasionally passes through lush herb-rich forests with vegetation that may surprise observant hikers.
After a walk of 1.7 km, the trail comes to Rytilampi Pond. If you look into the clear waters of the pond, you might catch a glimpse of the nine-spined sticklebacks that live in this pond in greater numbers than anywhere else in the world.
From the pond, the trail continues for another 500 metres before crossing an old mire meadow.
The trail comes to Rytiköngäs Waterfall, which flows through lush forest vegetation.
The trail continues from Rykiköngäs past a lumberjack’s cabin that is over 100 years old and on to Ruusuniity Meadow, where you can see an old hay barn.
The last 1.4 km of the trail follows the same route as the Karhunkierros hiking trail marked with orange paint.
The last trail section runs along a high esker past Talvilampi Lake with a view of Kiutavaara Hill behind the lake.
End pointOulanka Camping Ground Liikasenvaarantie 137, 93900 Kuusamo