Ruka finland
Review of snowboarding and skiing in Ruka Finland.
Ruka Ski Holiday Facts
Established in 1954 the Finnish ski resort Ruka lies at 492 metres altitude in the Kuusamo region of the Finnish ?. With the highest lifts and ski slopes below 2500m Ruka ski area is not snow sure. Over 100 snow cannons ensure artificial Ruka snow making covers 19km of ski trails, which equates to around 90 of the ski slopes. The nearest airport transfer to Ruka (Finland) is Kuusamo at a distance of 20km or approximately 30 minutes driving time. Ruka ski season runs from October to May.
SNO-man says
Located 25km north of the small town of Kuusamo, (with an international airport) Ruka is one of Finland's largest and most modern resorts. Facilities include dog sledding, snowmobiling and a huge indoor tropical pool complex nearby. 100% snow making and floodlit, with a very long snow-sure season from mid-October to mid-May.
alpine downhill runs to ski in Ruka Finland
Beginner Trails
 8 runs 5km |
27% |
Intermediate Trails
 10 runs 10km |
34% |
Advanced Trails
 9 runs 6km |
31% |
Expert Trails
 2 runs 2km |
6% |
Ruka Resort & Holiday Info
| Beginners learning to ski |  |
| Intermediate Skiers | |
| Expert Skiers | |
| Snowboarders | |
| Apres Ski | |
| Family friendly | |
| Snowsure | |
| Ambience | |
| Value for money | |
| Ski Pass Prices (adult 6 day) | €139 - €154.5 |
Traditional Ski Village / Purpose Built Ski Resort |
| Ski Resort Opens | Oct 2011 |
| Ski Resort Closes | May 2012 |
| (snow conditions often influence resort opening & closing) |
Ski Area Ruka Mountain
| Downhill Ski Runs | 20km |
| total length of Ruka trails |
| Longest lift serve Run | 1.3km |
| longest piste or trail reachable by ski lift |
| Ski Slope Orientation | N S E W |
| direction Ruka ski areas face |
| Top Altitude | 492m |
| top station of highest ski lift |
| Bottom Altitude | 291m |
| bottom of lowest ski run |
| Resort Altitude | 291m |
| centre of Ruka ski resort |
| Vertical Drop | 201m |
| total descent from top lift to bottom piste |
| Skiable Vertical | ^v 201m |
| can include extra hike up which may be possible above top lift - stat used by some resorts to con us about true "vertical drop" which is lift-served |
Skiing in Ruka
Skiing Ruka you'll enjoy 29 pistes and trails and that means approximately 20km of ski runs. Ruka lifts number 20 with the capacity to uplift 23600 skiers up the mountain per hour. The longest ski run in the Finnish ski resort of Ruka is over 1.3km long.
Ruka Ski Area
Ruka ski area has 27% beginner ski runs or nursery slopes, 34% intermediate, 31% advanced ski slopes and 6% for expert skiers - the most difficult Ruka piste is the 0.225km Battery Run run, with a steepness/slope angle of 53%. You can ski Ruka after dark as there is night skiing on ?km of illuminated piste.
Ruka for skiing gets 4 stars out of 5 overall
Snowboarding in Ruka
If you snowboard Ruka you'll want to know that, of the 20 ski lifts in total, 13 are surface lifts or "drag lifts" - this gives a good indication of how modern the lift system is and well set up Ruka snowboarding is - especially for beginners learning to snowboard. Ruka snowboard facilities include 2 terrain parks and 1 half pipe (longest half pipe length is 130 metres), 0 quarter pipe and 1 boardercross courses.
Ruka for snowboarding gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
Ruka Apres Ski
The apres ski Ruka scene and off-slope or "non-skier" activities include:
10 apres ski bars 28 restaurants 1 bowling 2 night club 1 cinema 2 billiards / pool 0 games room 1 concert 2 indoor swimming 0 outdoor heated pools 7 saunas 1 hot tubs 2 solariums 5 masseurs 1 indoor ice skating 1 outdoor ice skating 3 indoor sports centre 2 indoor tennis 2 squash racquetball 1 sleigh rides 0 ballooning 2 horse riding 1 prepare winter walks 1 climbing 1 golf 1 fishing 1 museum 1 library Plus these additional apres ski facilities Ski Touring, Reindeer Safari, Ice Fishing, Badminton, Fitness Centre, Ice Hockey.
SNO-man says
It may not be cool, but whilst you're hear you may as well pop over to Santa's year round retreat and get a snap of yourself waving a thumbs up with the jolly chap. Just make sure no one but your Mum ever sees the pics.
If you need something more credible to brag about in the bar though, grab a snowmobile James Bond style and whizz over to the Russian border through spectacular scenery. No need to let slip it's an organised activity when recounting your adventure later.
The resort opened a new Congress Centre in 2003 in association with Hotel Rantasipi Rukahovi. This has space for organizing congresses, meetings and events up to 260 persons and incorporates seven separate meeting spaces of different floor areas.
Ruka for apres ski gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
More Ruka Snow Ski Area and Resort Information
Ruka resort - ski Ruka by any other name
The Finnish ski resort of Ruka ski resort is also known as Ruka Ruka and has the following common misspellings:
Ruka ski area has ski slopes which face N S E W
The direction which the various Ruka ski slopes face can make or break your skiing or snowboarding holiday. If you want to guarantee good snow and ski conditions, you should choose a resort with ski slopes which face the right way for the time of year you're travelling.
- In the coldest winter months of January and February you need a ski resort with some sunny south facing ski slopes, so your days on the snow doesn't feel like a polar expedition. Conversely, in the warmest spring skiing months of March and especially April, a ski resort with some cool and shady north facing slopes will ensure you're not skiing on slush, but benefitting from best late season snow. The best ski resorts have ski areas and slopes which face in all directions so that you're guaranteed greating skiing whatever the weather. Ruka ski resort has ski slopes facing N S E W.
Ruka for snow gets 5 stars out of 5 overall