Pieni Karhunkierros, The Small Bear’s Trail, in Kuusamo is probably the most popular short hiking trail in Finland. Thousands of backpackers visit the 12-kilometer (7.5 miles) hiking trail all year round. Most of the famous sights of the legendary Karhunkierros Bear’s Trail in Oulanka National Park are located on the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail.

Pieni Karhunkierros Trail is the longest and most challenging of Oulanka National Park's winter trails, along with Oulanka wilderness track. Other winter routes in Oulanka are Kiutaköngäs and Hiiden Hurmos Trail next to the Oulanka Visitor Centre. On a winter trip to Kuusamo, it is also worth visiting at least Ruka's Valtavaara and Konttainen.

Pieni Karhunkierros Trail runs in the southernmost part of Oulanka National Park. During the daytrip, you can admire incredibly beautiful falls and rapids, listen to silence in dense forests, and enjoy snacks by the campfire. Pieni Karhunkierros Trail in winter is the gem of Kuusamo!

Read also: Pieni Karhunkierros Small Bear's Trail in summer and autumn

Where to start the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail in winter?

The trailhead and gate of Pieni Karhunkierros Trail is in Juuma (address Juumantie road 134, Kuusamo). There is a large parking lot in the area. From the gate, it is about 1.5 kilometers (0.93 miles) to Myllykoski rapids.

Another option is to start the trip from the parking area of Oulanka Basecamp (address: Myllykoskentie road 33, Kuusamo), from where you can hike only 600 meters to Myllykoski. From both starting points, the actual ring route starts from Myllykoski. Parking is free.

Pieni Karhunkierros Trail is marked with green on tree trunks. In addition, there are poles marked with reflector tape and several signposts along the route.

In which direction should you go around the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail?

You can hike Pieni Karhunkierros Trail in either direction. In summer, the recommended travel direction is clockwise. Then you unexpectedly arrive from the forest at the amazing Kallioportti on the top of the cliff, you can have lunch at Harrisuvanto, and dinner at Siilastupa hut next to Jyrävänkoski rapids.

In winter, it is recommended to hike counterclockwise, because the stairs of Kallioportti are possibly easier to climb than to descend when snowy and icy.

The rest stops for Pieni Karhunkierros Trail are in counterclockwise order: Myllykoski, Siilastupa, Harrisuvanto and Pyöreälampi (campfire sites) and a few benches at the scenic viewpoints. There is a dry toilet at the rest areas.

How long does it take to go around the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail?

In summer, it takes about 3-6 hours to hike the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail, in winter you can prepare for a 5-8 hour trip. The duration of the day trip depends on what you do on the trip and what kind of pace you can or want to go. You can also spend the night on Pieni Karhunkierros Trail, and hike the route in two days.

You can stay overnight at the campfire sites of Pieni Karhunkierros Trail: either in the warmth of the open wilderness hut Siilastupa, or by camping at Harrisuvanto or Pyöreälampi campfire sites. You cannot stay overnight at Myllykoski day hut. Camping is allowed in summer as well as in winter, there is more space in the freezing winter.

The hiking trail of Pieni Karhunkierros is so popular even in winter that the path often remains trodden, but not necessarily always. There’s no winter maintenance. Biking is prohibited on the route all year round.

Pieni Karhunkierros Trail in winter – trail description

From the gate, you walk along the snowy path to an intersection, where you can immediately ponder which direction to go. Turn right. After a while, you descend and ascend the first short stairs, which are probably covered in snow and ice. You can go around the stairs from the side.

A hanging bridge leads across the steaming Niskakoski stream. At -30 °C (-22 °F), the hanging bridge clicks and bangs, as if to hurry the hiker. After the bridge, the first trail sign says that the distance to Myllykoski is 1.5 kilometers (0.93 miles).

In the frosty forest, you walk about a kilometer to the Oulanka Basecamp, where you can find a map of the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail and an information board. At the end of an easy path awaits perhaps Finland's most photographed rapids and cabin, Kuusamo’s Myllykoski.

Kuusamo's Myllykoski in winter

Myllykoski hut is a mill built in 1926, which was in operation until 1948. The town of Kuusamo has renovated the mill into a day hut, where you can visit inside. In the yard there is a campfire site and a couple of benches, as well as a wood storage and a dry toilet.

Stairs to the right and up lead to a platform from which you can photograph Myllykoski from the hanging bridge. Along the hanging bridge, you go around Pieni Karhunkierros Trail clockwise. The route continues counter-clockwise in the direction of Jyrävä signposts. The stream is crossed at the end of the journey.

On a sunny morning, the most dazzling landscape of Myllykoski in winter opens up to a bay bordered by a steep cliff, on the opposite shore stands a small cute cottage. The stairs leading from Myllykoski to Jyrävä are long and steep, first sliding down, then climbing up.

The trail continues easy and flat in the snowy forest. After Myllykoski, the next attraction is the scenic 900-meter Aallokkokoski rapids, which is only partially visible from behind the tall trees. The rapids roar tirelessly, even in freezing temperatures. The wildest go rafting in the waves.

On the way to Jyrävä, trodden paths carved into the deep snow lead at short intervals to the edge of the cliff. Magnificent landscapes open up to the Jyrävä falls and bay already from the top of the cliff. The long stairs down to the waterfall have turned into a sledding hill in the winter.

Jyrävä and Siilastupa

Jyrävä's nine metres steep waterfall is impressive as it boasts in the middle of snow and ice. Jyrävä is a natural waterfall and the greates fall in River Kitkajoki. I recommend to those who hike the entire 82-kilometer Karhunkierros Bear’s Trail to go around the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail just on the southern path, if there is not enough time to go around the whole circuit.

Siilastupa hut is the only open wilderness hut along the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail. The small 10-person wilderness hut is heated by a stove, heating takes time in severe frosts. There is a woodshed and a dry toilet in the yard. From Siilastupa's terrace you can see directly into the bubbling waters of Jyrävä fall.

The route continues in a dense forest. The Siilastupa cooking shelter is passed a couple of hundred meters away. You can also camp by the shelter.

Kalliosaari island

From Siilastupa, you hike in 15-20 minutes to one of the most beautiful viewpoints, Kalliosaari island. The sign says that the island has tenaciously remained in place in the middle of the river for tens of thousands of years. The distance to Lake Paanajärvi on the Russian side would be only 20 kilometers from the cliffs.

There is a wooden bench at the viewpoint of Kalliosaari island where you can rest while watching the stream flow. Kalliosaari would be insanely gorgeous in the evening sun, but the treetops above the river bathing in winter afternoon sun look great too.

The journey continues along the River Kitkajoki up on the cliffs. After a while, there will be a bench for a rest at a scenic spot again. Next, at Vattumutka, you walk in a dense forest.

Harrisuvanto hanging bridge and shelter

A steep slope descends to the shore of River Kitkajoki and turns suddenly to the left. Judging by the tracks, someone has continued their journey across the ice. River ice can be really dangerous, you shouldn't go on it. The narrow isthmus leads towards the hanging bridge of Harrisuvanto, which rattles and sways under the steps of the hikers. It would be easiest to go down the stairs of the hanging bridge by sliding on your bottom.

Harrisuvanto's cooking shelter is hidden in the shadows of the forest. The shelter has a fireplace in the middle and several tables with benches on the sides. There are large logs in the woodshed, which can be easily chopped with a good axe. There are also dry toilets in the yard.

From Harrisuvanto, the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail reaches the intersection of the big Bear’s Trail, where you have to choose whether to go to Ruka on the south or north side of the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail. It takes 15-20 minutes to walk from the cooking shelter on a flat path to the stairs of Kallioportti cliff.

Kallioportti lookout point and stairs

There are endless stairs leading to the lookout point, and the stairs are steep, snowy and icy. There is a rope in the lower part that you can use to pull yourself up. After that, you can use wooden railings. Only in some places you can walk on the side of the stairs, mostly you have to take interesting postures, trying to find some kind of foothold and grip for the toes of your shoes.

Kallioportti lookout point rewards the hard scrambling on the stairs. From the viewing platform, stunning forest views open over the River Kitkajoki valley. If you've been slow on the way, most of the landscape is already out of reach of the sun's rays.

From Kallioportti, you first continue through a small forest, then you descend again for a short distance down the icy stairs. The trail runs next to a snow-covered pond, the duckboards leading over the bog and marshes are deep under the snow.

The next stop is Pyöreälampi campfire site on a low cliff. There is a fireplace without a roof, a group of tables and benches, a wooden shed and a dry toilet with views to a forest pond.

From Pyöreälampi, the journey continues along a long straight path in a dense forest and turns onto the bridge to Putaansaari. From here, it's only a few minutes' walk back to the hanging bridge and Myllykoski rapids, gusting at dusk. Even if you have admired Myllykoski scenery enough in the morning, the inky blue evening landscape also invites you to stop for a while.

Pieni Karhunkierros Trail in winter – my experiences in a nutshell

• I hiked the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail counterclockwise in mid-February. When I set off in the morning, the temperature was -30 °C (-22 °F), the day was mostly sunny.
• There was enough daylight in February for a nice walk, eating snacks and warming up both in the wilderness hut and in the shelter, and taking about six hundred pictures. The duration of my hike was 7.5 hours, of which about 2.5 hours on the move. With quick math, that means that I spent five hours admiring and photographing the rapids, sitting by the fire, eating and hanging from the railings on the icy stairs.
• Most hikers that day hiked the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail clockwise, although the winter recommendation is counterclockwise. For photography, the sun in February was always in an almost perfect position hiking counterclockwise, so I recommend this direction of hiking.
• The Kallioportti stairs are by far the most challenging part of the Pieni Karhunkierros Trail winter hike, both up and down. I carried snowshoes in my backpack for most of the trip, even small snowshoes are not useful on the stairs. Studs on the soles of the shoes would work best, but with a very special Spiderman-ish technique, you can climb the stairs in about 15 minutes even with normal winter shoes. The stretch between Harrisuvanto and Kallioportti is the slowest trail leg in winter.
• Stairs at Myllykoski were in good condition, except for the stairs going in the direction of Jyrävä. Usually, you could ascend and descend the hills next to the stairs, it was a bit difficult though.
• If you don't want to go around the entire hiking trail of Pieni Karhunkierros Trail, Myllykoski can be reached in ten minutes from the parking lot of Oulanka Basecamp. Kuusamo's Myllykoski is a popular campfire spot next to one of Finland's most photographed landscapes. The site was not crowded in the morning frost yet, when the evening got dark you even had to queue for the lookout point.
• Oulanka Basecamp has a restaurant (and a bar or maybe a cafe).
• Although Pieni Karhunkierros Trail has plenty of hikers even in winter, compared to Ruka's Valtavaara and Pyhävaara and Konttainen winter routes, the peace and quiet was amazing, and the rest places were not too crowded either.
• The winter route of Pieni Karhunkierros Trail is especially challenging because of the icy stairs, but the 12-kilometer distance also requires some fitness, although a large part of the path is relatively easy. A freezing cold temperature may increase the difficulty level. If you are an inexperienced winter hiker, read first my guide on winter hiking equipment and preparing for snow and frost.
• When the weather is nice, I definitely recommend Pieni Karhunkierros Trail in winter - when hiking, you will find out why Pieni Karhunkierros Trail is so popular!

More great winter trails:

Konttainen in Winter: Fairytale Landscapes in Kuusamo
Valtavaara Winter Trail - The Most Beautiful Scenery in Ruka Kuusamo
Pyhän Jyssäys Winter Trail near Ruka - also for fat biking
Pyhä-Luosto winter routes: Pyhä's peak, Soutaja fell and Karhunjuomalampi