Ruka ski resort in Finnish Lapland opened the ski season this week, continuing its 10-year streak as the first resort in Europe to open its slopes for the past 10 years. Located in Northern Finland, within 19 miles from the border with Russia, Ruka is Finland's most popular ski resort, features 23,000 beds and 400,000 skier days available annually and is located near Oulanka National Park. Ruka's summer-skiing slope is normally open until mid-June, after almost 250 days of skiing - only European year-round glaciers can top this length of season.
On November 12, Ruka officially opens the Ruka pedestrian village, envisioned by the Ecosign Mountain Planners of Canada. The Ruka pedestrian village consists of over 1,000 visitor beds in several hotels, 15 restaurants, 10 shops and underground parking for 320 cars.
Ruka is about a 25-minute drive from Kuusamo International Airport. Kuusamo airport is operated daily by Finnair and Blue1 from Helsinki, twice a week by Air Baltic and by charter operations from Brussels, Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Moscow and St. Petersburg.