In Kuusamo, in the southern parts of Oulanka National Park, lies one of Finland's most well-known and popular day trip destinations. If there's one place you must see in Kuusamo, it's this! This extremely popular route can be walked at any time of the year. You can access the route from Juuma, and you'll easily find the starting point (you can't miss it when you see several hundred meters of car parks along the roadside, if you start your hike in the middle of summer), but you can also get there by bus during the summer. Bus connections run from Kuusamo center, Ruka, or Hautajärvi, and if your destination is the Small Bear Trail, the stop to get off at is Juuma "Retkietappi". The bus stop is right at the starting point of the trail. You can find the bus schedules on the Ruka website; https://www.ruka.fi/ At the starting point, there is a toilet and a cafe, which is open in the summer. At the starting point, there is a map of the Small Bear Trail (I recommend taking a picture of this so you can see where you are right away on your phone, there are information boards along the trail at certain intervals) Cafe, which is open in the summer The Small Bear Trail is a 12-kilometer-long marked circular route, which is quite challenging terrain. However, I saw children and elderly people on this route, so this route is suitable for many. However, it's advisable to have a good basic fitness level to be able to climb stairs and hills. Because there are elevation differences on the route! There are also three suspension bridges on the route, which cause congestion if you happen to be walking during the daytime. When I left around 1 pm, there was already a queue for the suspension bridges. However, the queue moved relatively quickly. Tip 1: I recommend starting your walk early in the morning or late in the evening if you want to walk in peace or, for example, take photos (or hang out on the suspension bridge for a while like I did) I started my journey at 7:00 in the morning and it took several hours before I saw anyone else. I walked clockwise, from Myllykoski when the trail branches off and you have to decide which way to go, I headed towards Harrisuvanto lean-to shelter. This was worth it. Because at Kallioportti, there are very high stairs! Fortunately, I walked down the stairs! Tip 2: I recommend walking the route clockwise, note according to the board at the starting point it is recommended counterclockwise. On the Nature.fi website, the route is recommended according to the season; clockwise during the thaw, counterclockwise in winter! After Myllykoski, there was a campfire site at Pyöreälampi and I saw a few tents there. There were also dry toilets and firewood storage. Great location, nice place to have a snack! Kallioportti viewing platform with amazing views! At Harrisuvanto lean-to shelter, I saw many reindeer. I didn't even notice them right away but took a picture of the lean-to shelter and only later spotted these reindeer in the picture!! There were more reindeer resting in the shelter with a roof. At the lean-to shelter, I ate a reindeer pie, which I had bought from the Oulanka Visitor Centre earlier. Later, I chuckled to myself that I ate reindeer there with the reindeer! Harrisuvanto lean-to shelter (I didn't even notice when taking the picture that there are reindeer lying on the walls of the lean-to shelter!) After the lean-to shelter, I crossed the suspension bridge and continued my journey. These suspension bridges were a new thing for me and I liked them! Even though I suffer from fear of heights. The bridges creaked a bit, but it didn't bother me! The landscape changed to cliffs, high places, and the rapids roared even if you didn't always see them. The next resting place was before the Jyrävä waterfall, where there was a longer row of toilets, a fireplace, and a covered picnic area. A little further from here came Siilastupa, which is a wilderness hut! Very nice-looking, where I would gladly stay overnight! On the terrace of Siilastupa, there is a table and a fireplace in the yard, it also looked like you could go straight to the river from the stairs if you wanted! Perhaps for a dip?! Siilastupa (Wilderness hut) Jyrävä waterfall From Siilastupa, you could see the Jyrävä waterfall, which is one of the largest in Finland and has a height of 9 meters. After this, there was only a short walk back to Myllykoski hut. The whole route took about 5 hours, and I really took it easy. Often I saw many people rushing past me, and it felt like are people coming here just to complete this route? How many stop to admire nature? Listen to the roar of the rapids? The song of the birds? There are plenty of dry toilets on this route! Big thumbs up! Tip 3: Allow enough time. On the Nature.fi website, it says that 4-6 hours is a good time. With a couple of longer breaks, this easily takes time. Tip 4: Bring plenty of snacks and drinks, toilet paper, hand sanitizers, and fire-making equipment. I rewarded myself by enjoying a soup lunch at Basecamp Oulanka, which is located at the beginning of the Small Bear Trail, before Myllykoski. Basecamp seems to have great accommodation and the food was delicious! If you feel like trying white water rafting, you can also do that there. At the starting point, there was some "White Water Rafting" shed and I saw some advertisement about it somewhere. Maybe I'll try this next time! A couple of days later, I saw posts on Instagram about these rafting trips, available are both calmer and 18+ rafting!! Yikes! The nature of Kuusamo, roaring rapids, forests, reindeer, cliffs, waterfalls, and the sounds of nature awakened the Indiana Jones within me. For the rest of the day, the Indiana Jones theme song played in my mind!
