Feb 2026 – Okay!!! So this one was in the workings for a long long time and I was extremely excited for the opportunity to follow through. If you’ve browsed this stupid blog for any length of time, you may have spotted my helmet in a photo or two and noticed that I slap stickers of every country I snowboard on it. On the front of my helmet are the wonderful stickers of Norway 🇳🇴 and Sweden 🇸🇪. The only thing that I felt missing from my helmet was that beautiful blue and white flag from Finland which had eluded me up to this point.
Well, the opportunity finally came to take my little ones and lady all the way up to Lapland and allow them the chance to ski and snowboard. The only Finnish friend I ever made in my travels was the man of the hour that made it not only possible but affordable. Thanks for everything Mikko 🫡.
The primary purpose for this visit was not skiing or snowboarding. It was the only Scandinavian country I had not been to, my family has never gone to Scandinavia, and my spouse was hoping to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights. Through both my friend Mikko and some recommended planning, we flew to a place called Kittilä high above the arctic circle in Finland’s Lapland.
Coincidently, Kittilä was just around the corner from one of the more well-known ski slopes in Finland called Levi. We naturally knew we were going to spend some time on the pistes but we definitely had other things and notable experiences we wanted to do for the kids. However, first and foremost…
The Levi ski area is unlike any place I’ve seen before. It has a special combination of wide spaces, trees absolutely everywhere, and basically no roped or fenced off areas (few exceptions) allowing for near total freedom on the mountain. There is seemingly absolutely no chance of not having everything covered in snow in winter time so, if you can get there, you’ll never experience a day of avoiding grass patches on the side of or in the slope since everything is wintered over.
The slopes had a great design to them all and never really felt repetitive. Not to mention the fact that there were endless off/side-piste opportunities to chase which would be even better had we been with someone who knew all the little terrain secrets to chase. That’s all in addition to the 45 kilometers of actual groomed slopes!
My son has really taken to bounding through trees when he’s on his skis and he basically found small forests to dart through, constantly. He was really in his element.
The girls of the family stuck to the really wide areas and just cruised for most of the day. Whenever they met me at the bottom, all I saw were big smiles (after they removed their face coverings). The freedom of Levi really struck a chord with them and I fully understood why.
We all fell in love with the place for our own reasons, but we fell in love, nonetheless.
One of the cool things about the slopes is that they rise up from several directions to a central area at the top. So you’re able to park and gain access from the base in several different places depending on where you prefer 👍.
We chose to hop on the lifts at the actual village of Levi since we knew there would be some amenities that the other parts of the base may not have had (nice restaurants, more rental options, grocery store). Since I didn’t want to pay both a fortune to bring our stuff along nor did I want to lug it to/from an airport, we left most of it behind and decided to rent gear.
We ended up hitting Kelo Rentals and Safaris and ended up being pretty happy with all the gear. My daughter said her boots felt way more comfy than the ones at home 😢😢 and I thought the board that I had felt pretty solid as far as a rental went. The process was really quick too which meant less time out of our day wasted on waiting. The guys there were great and had us taken care of quickly. We didn’t even have to book ahead of time, although I’d recommend in case your size of whatever item is rented out early in the day.
Kelo wasn’t the cheapest and it wasn’t the most expensive. I felt the quality of gear we got for the cost was right on point. I even grabbed a set of super worn-in Thirtytwo boots that fit like a glove 👍.
The only pain point I can say about Levi is that there are definitely some connecting runs that work much better for skiers with poles and less so for snowboarders who have to scoot over flat trails. We really only experienced this once but it was enough of a pain for me to remember it 😂.
Levi’s ski passes were definitely on the lower cost side of what I’m normally used to for an entire day. To my memory, I think for one full day (which includes night skiing) was under €200. The value increased if you ski or ride for a several day period. This was a good relief to experience after I’d experienced what some of the restaurants were charging 😂
Since we really only hit the slopes for a single day, I can’t say a lot more about taking the kids out there and what the pros and cons are. What I will say is that you need to ensure you’ve got heavier duty gloves and socks than what you might be used to in order to make sure your little ones aren’t miserable. Levi is 170 kilometers above the arctic circle and you should prepare as such. Anything wool-lined is usually a winner 👍.
So speaking of that, the village of Levi has no shortage of places to eat and they’ve got a great variety of cuisines to choose from. Anything from American style BBQ, tacos, and seafood can be found. We opted for the latter for one of our more memorable meals. Since this isn’t a food blog I’ll leave it at that…but I’ll just include this photo to illustrate how absolutely legitimate this seafood restaurant was…
Having mentioned food, the only other thing I’ll say is that eating out in Lapland felt almost like eating out in Norway in terms of the cost. It wasn’t insane but it did feel a bit expensive compared to what we normally experience back home.
Treat Levi like you would treat Switzerland: get a place with a kitchen and pack snacks to reduce the hurt on your wallet…but you should still go out and experience one or two times over a week what the local restaurants have to offer 👍.
My only other bit of info to share about our stay lies in where we lived for the week.
I mentioned my good friend Mikko in the post’s opening. Well he was awesome enough to put us in touch with the owner of a glass roof house near Kittilä who made sure we had the week booked on his recommendation even though it was during the busy season.
The Glass Roof Lodge is where we called home for a week and it didn’t disappoint. A fully equipped house with its own sauna AND an outdoor jacuzzi was an absolute winner. Not to mention the fact that when the skies clear at night, you really could lie in bed and look up at the aurora borealis under the warmth of your own me bedding. It was an experience for sure and one that I was extremely thankful for as a result of the kindness from a few Finns 🇫🇮.
Sadly the lodge has since changed ownership.
Levi’s slopes are one of a kind and not like anything I’ve come across in the Alps, so far. We absolutely could not have enjoyed our time up there more and we hit all the checkmarks that we intended to hit when I planned the trip. We even discovered a few things we had not previously planned on experiencing.
I wish we could have spent more time on Levi’s slopes, but we were there for other things, as well. If you have the means and time to do so, I think it’s worth a visit. There are reindeer, forest ice skating, arctic horseback riding, the aurora, and so many other things to enjoy.
You won’t be disappointed if you go. It may be my Norwegian 🇳🇴 grandmother speaking through me, but Scandinavia never disappoints and has some of the best humans you’ll ever find.
Bis zum näschtes mal!
THE SNOWBOARD DAD IN EUROPE
