Skiing, hiking, reindeer, husy safari, snowmobile rides, Northern lights, … you find this winter wonderland in Levi. In full coronacrisis and after watching a TV broadcast on Lapland, I went looking for our next winter holiday … up north. And ended up with booking flight tickets and an apartment in Levi, in the north of Lapland. We loved it so much that we went back in February 2025. Both trips turned out to be pure winter magic. Levi really is a winter wonderland. My top 5 of fantastic things to do during a Lap winter holiday with teenagers.
You can read more practical stuff on accommodation and booking activities in another blog.
For a Dutch version of this blogpost, read here.
Go skiing in Levi
Levi is Lapland’s most popular ski resort. For good reason! With around 38 km of slopes and 27 lifts, it’s perfect for beginners and intermediate skiers. All the details about slopes, lifts, and passes are neatly bundled on a dedicated website and app. So it’s easy to plan your ski adventure.
There are a lot of blue and red slopes and some black ones for the experts. The red slopes are in general easier then the ones in the Alps, the blue ones – mainly at the south slope – offer broad, pleasant ski experiences.
Modern lifts take you up to explore the slopes. The Levi Express at the front slopes takes you to Levi Summit and Hotel Panorama. The Glacier Express brings you to the transition route to other skiing areas. And the Gondolo2000 cabins runs with convenient speed
Overall, skiing here is comfortable and fun, with well-maintained slopes. We experienced surprisingly few lift queues, even during peak season. If you’re looking for a relaxed but exciting ski getaway in Lapland, Levi is definitely worth adding to your list.
Read here for more information on this ski paradise.
Visit a reindeer farm
You haven’t experienced Santa’s land without visiting a reindeer farm or take a reindeer ride. There are plenty of options, mostly run by family-owned farms with small groups, sometimes including pick-up from your accommodation.. We took a 6 kilometer reindeer ride in an open sleigh near Köngäs on a small family-owned reindeer farm. There were only four sleighs in total, with two passengers in each, so it felt really intimate and peaceful.
YAll you do is sit back and enjoy—the reindeer does all the work while you’re snuggled under a warm blanket. Our route took us across a frozen lake and through a quiet forest under a perfectly clear blue sky. After the ride, we visited the farm itself and helped feed the reindeer, a surprisingly fun experience for everyone.
The whole tour took about 3 hours. Our children described the tour and visit as ‘really cool’ … Honestly, it’s one of those magical experiences that makes you feel like you’ve stepped straight into a Lapland winter wonderland.
Go on a husky safari
No Lapland without a real husky safari either. Here too, the possibilities are endless. You can choose a short 2 kilometer ride. Alternatively, opt for up to 20 kilometers or more. A kennel visit is always included.
This can be done with or without pick-up. We did a 5 kilometer tour with the children (Levisafari Co) and later in the week, my husband and me took a 10 kilometer one. Both were worth the money.
Here’s how it works: usually, one person sits down while the other stands on the sleigh, helping balance the weight, steer a little, and, most importantly, manage the speed. Huskies can run up to 20 km/h. So as you can imagine, it’s an exhilarating ride, especially at the start and downhill stretches.
It takes some strength to keep the sleigh stable, but our children of 17, 15 and 13 could manage perfectly. Our youngest of 11 was too young to steer himself.
All sleighs follow each other with safe distances. On the shorter ride, a snowmobile led the way. An experienced musher guided the lead sled on the longer 10-kilometer tour. An electric snowmobile brought up the rear. After each ride, we visited the kennel. We met the dogs. They are friendly, eager, and beautiful animals. These animals make the whole experience unforgettable.
Both rides went through Laplandic wilderness. But the 10-kilometer ride was my favorite. This one was organized by Maglelin Experience, a small family-owned company with 44 long-distance racing huskies. The safari took us, under a clear blue sky, into the wilderness at the edge of Finland’s oldest National Park. The track was on fairly flat terrain of frozen and snowy marshland and forest and easy to drive.
Afterward, we warmed up in a traditional Lapp hut with hot berry juice and a snack around an open fire. The owner shared fascinating stories about life in a husky kennel. and racing dogs. Absolutely worth every minute.
Read some tips and experiences in a separate blog.
Watch the sky for the Northern Lights
The cherry on your stay is of course watching the Aurora Borealis, the so-called Northern Lights. Since Levi is in the far north of Finland, about 150 km above the Arctic Circle, it’has a great potential to actually see the lights between August and end of April. On average, the auroras can be seen 111 times a year. So if all the odds are in your favor ….
It’s not so obvious to see the lights during your stay. A bit of luck doesn’t harm. You need full darkness, a clear, open sky, a bit of wind, and cold. We stayed 7 nights and could only enjoy one evening this wonderful spectacle.
So, how do you know when your odds are good? Check the weather conditions daily, install some Aurora apps on your mobile phone or ask the local tourist information center. We installed 2 apps (My Aurora Forecast & Alerts and Northern Lights Alert). Both are for free and give an indication of the aurora activity and the cloud cover. They update every 30 minutes. It’s best to check after full darkness, after 7 pm. The Levi tourist center also shares these forecasts but still, this is no guarantee. Weather conditions may change during the day. It might be clear sky during the day and clouds in the evening or vice versa.
On the night we saw the lights, our app indicated only a 17% chance! On another day, the alert went off when enjoying dinner. So I hurried out, to the nearby lake to the wonderful green spectacle dancing in the sky.
Where did we go? You best see the lights in a place where it’s fully dark and no ‘contamination’ of city, hotel, … lights. There are several places around Levi. In the village, the best options are to go up the ski slopes or to the Immeljärvi lake. We went at both places. In 2022, we had a very good view high up the ski slopes.
We took the Levi Express to the Panorama hotel and then walked higher up, to restaurant Horizon. You can go as far or high as you want, but be careful, there are no artificial lights up the slopes! Also, check the timetable of the Levi Express. Beginning of March, it closed at 9 pm, so we had to walk down via the stairs next to the Panorama hotel. This was feasible but sometimes they might be slippery.
In february 2025 we went to the top of the fell, where there were some clouds. The lake also offers good views and is very easy to reach. Immeljärvi lake also offers good views. It’s is closeby, dark, and easy to find. I went several times in 2025, very convenient.
If you have a car, you can drive up to the hotel via the main road. You can also drive around Levi or take a taxi. Of course, you can always go Aurora Hunting. A professional company can take you out to more remote areas.
What to take? Flashlights for sure. And dress in warm clothes, it’s freezing cold up there (-11°C). And some patience. You don’t know whether this magnificent spectacle will cross your eyes. If it does, you might have to wait pretty long. And even then, the light show may only take a couple of minutes.
The Levi tourist center advised us to watch out as of full darkness. This was during our stay around 7 pm. The likelihood to see the lights was between 8 pm to 1 am. One evening, the Northern Lights appeared around 9.30 pm and we enjoyed the spectacle for about 30 minutes with clear green and violet shaded. Another night, they appeared around 8.30. But always, the aurora’s marvelous dance is definitely worth seeing!
It’s one of those magical experiences that makes a winter holiday in Levi unforgettable.
Enjoy winter wonderland nature
There are a lot of other winter activities in and around Levi. You can do these activities on your own or with a company. There are about 200 kilometer cross-country skiing trails and excellent hiking trails.
I went for a walk on snowshoes up to Kätlä. It is a small hill (503 m) in front of the ski slopes and next to the Immeljärvi lake. From the top, the views of the surrounding forests and frozen lakes were gorgeous.
The hike is about 9 kilometers and took me roughly 3 hours. Walking through deep snow was harder than I expected, even on a clearly visible path (though it wasn’t marked).
Near the top, snow started falling. It covered the track. It took me a little longer to make my way down and get ‘off’ the hill. But the snowshoes worked perfectly and made the hike much easier.
IIt was a beautiful hike, so really worth doing. You can go by yourself, but just have to be careful in walking down. Also, I wouldn’t do this in really cloudy weather. It’s very hard then to find your way back. Snowshoes are a must, you can also rent them at the Zero Point.
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