Ounasvaara Nature Trail

Ounasvaara, or Ounas Hill, is a famous sports centre and also a year-round recreation area near the city centre, with marked and maintained trails and several great vantage points. The Ounasvaara Nature Trail goes around the southern edge of the hill eastward to a lean-to. At the start, the trail passes through herb-rich forests and a wetland area. After the lean-to, it climbs over outcrops and dry pine forests to the northern side of the hill, where there is a vantage point with fantastic views over Saarenkylä and the River Kemijoki. The trail continues along the shore of an ancient lake. Then it turns downwards via dry pine forests to the starting point. Traces of the previous ice age are clearly visible in the grooves on the rocks and outcrops along the trail and in the shore rocks of the ancient lake. Information boards introduce northern forest and bog types, wood species, plants, bedrock and ground, as well as the history of Rovaniemi.