Chances are you’ll not consider it, however Levi, Finland is not only a ski resort within the winter. Summer season in Lapland is simply as lovely!
The Levitunturi mountain affords breathtaking 360° views of Lapland and slopes in all instructions even in summer time and fall. Better of all, Levi is a real paradise for energetic folks and households within the hotter months as effectively!
Sadly, this isn’t so well-known exterior Finland. However now you understand, and you’ll sit up for an important summer time trip in Levi.
Expertise summer time in Levi with mountain biking and climbing! Uncover the very best routes for learners and superior bikers, expertise the journey of the bike park or hike by breathtaking surroundings. There may be additionally loads to find for households with young children.
In our article you’ll study all concerning the providers within the village, the place to remain and find out how to get to Levi.
So seize your climbing boots or mountain bike and let’s go!
After studying this text, you’ll have all the knowledge it’s good to make your summer time trip in Lapland unforgettable. And who is aware of, you may even meet a reindeer in your approach by the Finnish wilderness.
Our Finland knowledgeable, Hendrik, visited Levi together with his household in the summertime.
Right here is an summary:
Levitunturi – “Fjell of Levi” in Finnish – is an imposing mountain in Southern Lapland, standing alone and proud.
When you climb just a few hundred meters, you’re rewarded with a wide ranging view of the encircling panorama: the spectacular Pallas Mountains to the northwest, the Ylläs Mountains some 35 kilometers to the west, in addition to lakes, small fjells and numerous forests. On the foot of the mountains lies the charming village of Sirkka, which serves as a base for journey and exploration.
Take the gondola up the mountain, the place you’ll be able to both race down the summer time toboggan run or discover the realm on one of many many climbing trails.
A real paradise for nature lovers and explorers!
Mountainbiking in and round Levi
Not solely does Levi have a well-known bike park, which I’ll discuss later, however there’s additionally loads to find for many who aren’t essentially searching for the adrenaline rush of downhill driving.
With a big community of mountain bike trails that permit for adventurous day rides on single trails and thru picturesque forests, much less risk-averse bikers can even discover their cash’s price.
For my check, I attempted the Levi Tunturi Path, a roughly 18km route that circles Mount Levitunturi, and I used to be actually impressed with the superb upkeep of the path. Some might really feel it’s extra like a freeway than a path, however I’ve seen many trails which have destroyed the character round them because of the excessive variety of guests.
From my expertise I can say that effectively maintained trails are a lot better for the surroundings in these conditions.
Particularly for younger mountain biking learners, these trails provide a protected approach to enhance their off-road expertise.
Skilled riders can even have enjoyable doing the loop round Levitunturi Path in competitors model and testing their pace. However there are lots of different trails within the space, reminiscent of a experience to Ylläs and again, or exploring the lesser-known locations round Levi.
You don’t want a automobile in Levi, because the village is kind of small. Nevertheless, if you wish to get round quicker, you’ll be able to change to a bicycle and get round city. We used 4 rental bikes to get to the Levi Bike and Exercise Park, which is just 3 km from our lodging and was simply managed even by our 5 yr outdated.
Levi with small children
Levi Journey Park
Talking of our 5 yr outdated, Levi just isn’t solely a professional at steep descents, but in addition has loads to supply the youthful children!
Have you ever heard concerning the Journey Park at Gondolintie? There are many free issues for toddlers and young children, reminiscent of an superior playground, a small zip line parkour close to the bottom, and pedal automobiles, which our daughter simply cherished.
When the climate is heat and sunny, it is a excellent place to go – however don’t neglect to pack loads of sunscreen, as there’s little or no shade!
For teenagers over 115 cm tall, the large zipline parkour is a fully good exercise – my son and spouse cherished it.
Earlier than you get began, there’s an introductory course the place you study all about climbing and the totally different options. After that, you get to decide on one in all a number of routes – every thing from ziplining for nearly 1,000m to climbing over enjoyable obstacles.
I’m telling you, this seems a lot enjoyable! I’m already excited and might’t look ahead to our daughter to be large enough on her subsequent go to to Levi so we are able to all expertise this adrenaline rush collectively.
Tonttula Elves Village
On the final day of our trip, we visited the elven village of Tonttula, which is situated a bit away from Sirkka. A brief taxi experience took us there.
Right here we had been in a position to take a guided tour, make Christmas decorations and bake gingerbread cookies – our youngsters particularly loved this.
We additionally visited the large cave and obtained to pet some cattle. We ate lunch right here and took a brief hike on the forest path.
Even though it was July and somewhat out of season for us mother and father, the go to was general very good and enjoyable for all of us, particularly our youngsters.
Levi Bike Park
A few years in the past I watched my buddy Kaddi go downhill mountain biking and thought, “Wow, that appears fairly cool!”
Because of Jesper, who I met on my trip in Åre, I obtained to expertise what it was wish to experience down steep hills. It was actually thrilling and I had a number of enjoyable.
Actually, it’s a lot simpler and safer than you may suppose. That’s why I used to be much more excited once I had the possibility to experience downhill with my son at Levi Bike Park, one of many oldest bike parks in Finland.
It was an unforgettable expertise and we each had a good time!
First, we picked up our downhill bikes on the Levi Bike Park retailer and outfitted ourselves with our protecting gear. From POC knee pads to physique harnesses and helmets to gloves and shirts, it was all there.
Then we met our teacher Pieto, who just isn’t solely a path builder in Levi. Our group consisted of six folks with totally different ability ranges, however Pieto was in a position to cater to every of us. Even I, as an skilled rider, was in a position to study one thing.
After an introduction to our bikes, we took the gondola up the mountain and began our tour on the Village Path.
The inexperienced path is ideal for learners and in addition affords nice views and thrilling options. We’re certain this path might be very fashionable sooner or later!
We did the path in levels, taking breaks to follow totally different expertise. For instance, we realized find out how to make turns and experience waves.
After mastering the Village Path on the Levi Exercise Middle, we took the gondola again as much as the Blue Groove Path. This is likely one of the hottest trails in Levi and has numerous thrilling berms and options – all at an straightforward Blue Path degree.
We had a number of enjoyable!
Within the afternoon, my son and I rode the Village Path and the South Route with Pieto. We had the paths to ourselves and will actually put the pedal to the metallic.
Although there have been a number of riders and bikers arising the mountain, the paths had been quiet. Even on the favored Blue Groove we may simply cease and take photos with out anybody getting in our approach.
What a sense!
With greater than ten trails of various levels of issue, the riders had been unfold out very evenly. This additionally signifies that slower riders don’t really feel like they’re holding others again. High!
We had some actually cool days on the Levi Bike Park!
My son and I rode a number of trails and he did all of it with out concern and with nice approach – and that’s after just one lesson! He informed me that he actually loved the expertise and since we’re again dwelling he has been driving his Woom OFF Air on the paths close to us and he’s having a blast.
So cool!
As a aspect notice, many ski resorts all over the world are abandoned in the course of the summer time months. That is after all not very best for the native communities. That’s why I totally help the thought of villages the place you’ll be able to dwell all yr spherical.
Fortuitously, there are providers just like the Levi Bike Park that be sure that resorts, eating places, and even the costly gondola and carry infrastructure don’t should shut down when the ski season is over.
Companies like these and others preserve the small village of Sirkka bustling year-round and permit its residents to make a dwelling from January to December. How cool is that?
Mountain climbing in Levi
Virtually each night I made a brief or longer hike up Levitunturi.
In summer time in Lapland there’s an incomparable golden hour that makes my photographer’s coronary heart beat quicker each time. The good climate and luxurious views make each hike an unforgettable expertise.
Though there are some marked trails main up and across the mountain, I largely simply walked round and explored the environment. I particularly loved visiting Santa’s Cabin, climbing to the highest, and simply following little trails that regarded promising.
If you wish to study extra about how these mountains had been shaped, it’s best to positively go to the Ice Age Path. There are additionally many different trails to discover round Levi – a fast search on Retkikartta will assist you to discover and discover all of them!
Companies within the village
In Sirkka, with its effectively laid out middle, you’ll uncover quite a lot of retailers and providers.
A improbable expertise for the children and me was the summer time toboggan run, the place you’ll be able to experience alone or with a companion on a 2-person sled.
The attraction could be very fashionable and it is strongly recommended to return within the early morning or early afternoon to keep away from lengthy waits. After 4pm it might get very crowded and you’ll count on to attend as much as an hour to stand up and down.
We rented 4 bikes from the Zero Level store down by the slopes in Sirkka and it was an absolute blast!
We informed them our measurement and desires on-line beforehand and once we arrived all we needed to do was attempt the bikes on. What can I say? They match like a glove and we may begin driving immediately. We additionally obtained our rental helmets. It couldn’t have been simpler!
Better of all, the shop has bikes for youths of all ages. Our daughter was thrilled to get her pink Trek bike!
The Vacationer Data Middle makes it straightforward to e-book actions, get carry tickets, and even discover a cozy place to remain. If you happen to lose one thing alongside the best way, no worries – there are a number of sporting items shops close by.
For the small starvation in between there are just a few cafes and a espresso store, however in case you are actually hungry there are a number of eating places to select from. We selected an residence with a kitchen and went procuring on the S-Market grocery store within the middle to organize our personal meals.
I don’t drink alcohol anymore, so I didn’t go to the bars and nightclubs in Levi, however if you happen to really feel like a chilly beer after an action-packed day on the downhill trails, you’ll be able to!
The place to remain
Our spacious residence on the Hullu Poro Resort was our dwelling away from dwelling throughout our keep.
It’s a brief stroll to town middle and the bus stops proper exterior the door, which could be very handy. The small spa with sauna and scorching tub was the right place for the children to chill out after a protracted day.
Our residence accommodated as much as six folks and had three bedrooms, two bogs, a small kitchen, and a pleasant eating and dwelling space. We even had our personal sauna, however the climate was so heat that we didn’t use it.
All in all, it was a really snug keep and the included breakfast was scrumptious.
Easy methods to get to Levi
We began our journey to Levi by practice and bus and spent one evening on the hostel Café Koti. This resolution allowed us to shorten our journey days and discover Rovaniemi a bit.
We particularly favored the Offended Birds playground, which can be free! With our youngsters, we spent a number of hours taking part in on the assorted installations lovingly designed by Lapses.
There was additionally a soccer area and we borrowed balls to play just a few rounds.
Bus and practice
Bus and practice are nice!
We determined to take the practice from Vaasa to Rovaniemi and again and it was actually low-cost – particularly if you happen to e-book early. Our practice tickets value us a complete of solely €75.00.
Granted, the journey takes between 6 and eight hours and you need to change trains twice alongside the best way, however with some cool card video games, audio books or a film in your pill, the journey will be tremendous pleasurable for everybody.
Flying to Kittilä
Alternatively, you’ll be able to fly to Kittilä with Finnair, which is the quickest approach.
Nevertheless, the flights are a bit dearer and there are restricted connections. If you happen to resolve to fly to Levi, you’ll want to e-book effectively prematurely.
There are native buses that take you from the airport in Kittilä to Levi and again – they run concurrently the flights, so it’s tremendous straightforward!
The Gear
As traditional, we traveled mild, utilizing solely the Arc’teryx V110 Duffel and our Eagle Creek Cubes to retailer our 4 outfits and belongings. My digicam gear and MacBook had been safely tucked away in my trusty Peak Design Journey Backpack, whereas I used my HUCKEPACKS Phoenix Lite for climbing and the Vaude TrailSpacer 18 for biking.
However I particularly favored my Luna Sandals OSO Flaco and my Houdini Dawn Shorts, which I all the time wish to put on in the summertime. We obtained our mountain bikes and downhill bikes together with safety gear on the Levi Bike Park Store (for the downhill) and at Zero Level in Sirkka (for the MTBs), so we are able to journey relaxed with out bikes by public transport. 🙂
Do you have to go and go to Levi?
Levi actually wowed us!
There are thrilling and enjoyable actions for youths and adults alike, which we actually loved.
It was particularly nice that there have been numerous free issues to do across the Journey Park and that we may discover the realm on bikes – our youngsters particularly cherished that. So if you happen to’re searching for an energetic trip vacation spot with loads of room to chill out, it’s best to positively try Levi.
With an abundance of various actions, lodging for each funds, and gorgeous views from Levitunturi, it’s positively a vacation spot to place in your checklist in your subsequent summer time or fall trip!
