Open vs bookable huts
A guide to Finland's wilderness hut network and the difference between reservable huts, rental huts, rental cabins, open huts, day trip huts, turf huts and Lapp pole tents.
Finland's wilderness hut network is among the best in the world, state supported and kept immaculate by regular maintenance and considerate hikers. It regularly astounds our British clients, and it inspires visitors to treat the huts with the same care the Finns do.
- Reservable huts - bunks, cookware, stove, mattresses, blankets, firewood, book ahead for a key
- Rental huts/cabins - locked and reserved as a whole, rental cabins suit week-long group stays
- Open wilderness huts - free, unlocked, one or two nights, fewer facilities, last to arrive has overnight priority
- Day trip huts - daytime resting only (usually no sleeping bunks)
- Turf huts & Lapp pole tents - very basic, partly-underground turf roofs / benches around a fireplace
- Paid tours/groups must use reservable or rentable huts, not open huts, for overnight stays (permission from Metsähallitus)
General Notes
The best-known free huts are open wilderness huts, meant for one-night stays in the roadless backwoods of northern and eastern Finland. Day trip huts, open turf huts and Lapp pole tents are daytime resting places, not overnight shelters.
Tour companies may use huts as resting places only with permission from Metsähallitus, and overnighting in open wilderness huts is forbidden on any paid tour or hike. Paid groups should use reservable or rentable huts, hotels or lodges.
Reservable Wilderness Huts
Reservable huts serve hikers, skiers and paddlers, often with the open hut next door. A fee paid in advance buys a key and a certain bed, so you can carry less: expect bunks, table, benches, cookware, a stove and often a gas cooker, usually with mattresses, blankets, pillows, firewood, an axe and a saw. You need only a sleeping bag liner and your food. We encourage our own guides to use them, since the marginal fee sustains a remarkable service.
Smoking and pets are not allowed in most of these huts. Before leaving, sign the guestbook, leave chopped firewood, tidy up, empty the water container, take out the ashes and close doors and windows properly.
Rental Huts and Rental Cabins
Rental huts, in nature reserves or wilderness areas, are locked, and the individual or party that reserves one has the whole hut for the fee. Locked rental cabins suit groups wanting their own base, perhaps for a week, and come in many sizes and standards. See the Wild North website (wildnorth.net).
Open Huts, Day Trip Huts, Turf Huts and Lapp Pole Tents
Open wilderness huts are simple unlocked buildings for a rest or a stay of one or two nights, no reservation needed, with fewer facilities. The last to arrive has the primary right to stay overnight. Day trip huts, near tourist centres or well-worn trails, are resting places only. Turf huts are small partly-underground buildings with a turf roof and very basic facilities, and Lapp pole tents offer benches around a central fireplace, with firewood, an axe and a saw to hand.
Good to know
- Pets in open huts
- Allowed in some if other visitors agree
- Rental cabin info
- Wild North (wildnorth.net), tel. +358 203 44 122
Ready when you are
Real wilderness, 200+ huskies, eighteen winters in.