Northern lights in Inari

Viewing spots

• Kaunispää fell top Fell top (438 m) just above Saariselkä with a road to the summit; open views in every direction, and it can rise above… Mostly dark skyAbout 36 min from Inari
• Kiilopää fell Bare fell top (546 m) in Urho Kekkonen National Park, about 2 km up a marked trail from the Kiilopää fell centre. A… Dark skyAbout 50 min from Inari
• Lake Inari shore, Inari village Shore of the vast Lake Inari by the small Sámi village of Inari; the lake gives a low, open horizon with very little… Dark skyAbout 50 min from Inari
• Teno riverside, Utsjoki Riverbank in Utsjoki, Finland’s northernmost village, where the Utsjoki river meets the Teno. The fells frame the sky… Dark skyAbout 3 h 22 from Inari
• Toivoniemi mire rest area · E75 Free asphalt rest area beside the Toivoniemi mire on the E75 north of Inari, with a nature trail and a 12 m… Very dark skyAbout 1 h 07 from Inari
• Mielikköjärvi fen bird tower · Veskoniemi An 8 m bird tower at the forest edge looking over a large open fen and pond, a few hundred metres' walk from a… Dark skyAbout 16 min from Inari
• Lake Inari roadside viewpoint · Inarijärventie Small car park with a viewpoint 0.14 km away on Inarijärventie between Ivalo and Inari village: a legal place to stop… Dark skyAbout 23 min from Inari
• Nellim · Lake Inari east shore Tiny lakeside village on a winding road toward the Russian border, where guided aurora tours stop over Lake Inari's… Dark skyAbout 55 min from Inari
• Laanilantulli rest area · E75 south of Saariselkä Large paved rest area on the E75 at Laanila, an easy stop for Saariselkä guests that is out of the village lights. Dark skyAbout 52 min from Inari
• Lemmenjoki National Park trailhead · Njurgulahti National-park trailhead car park at Lemmenjoki, Finland's largest national park; the river bay and village give an… Dark skyAbout 1 h 18 from Inari
• Utsjoki church and church cottages Public car park at the 1850s Utsjoki church and its old church cottages (a protected museum site) on a fell lake… Dark skyAbout 3 h 15 from Inari
• Jäniskoski rest area · Sevettijärvi road Paved rest area with toilets on the Sevettijärvi road through Skolt Sámi country, one of the darkest legal stops in… Very dark skyAbout 2 h 42 from Inari
• Kevo Strict Nature Reserve south car park · Sulaoja Metsähallitus car park at the southern entrance of the Kevo Strict Nature Reserve, on the road from Karigasniemi to… Very dark skyAbout 2 h 23 from Inari
• Karigasniemi rest area · Teno valley Large paved rest area at Karigasniemi on the Finnish side of the Teno border river. Dark skyAbout 2 h 33 from Inari

Drive times are estimates from Inari by straight-line distance, as the app estimates them before it knows your route; ferries and winter closures are not counted.

Good to know in Inari

• Go up when the valley is foggy Cold, still nights often leave fog in the valleys around Saariselkä. The top of Kaunispää can be above it. Source
• Aim for autumn or March Early autumn and early spring tend to have less cloud here; Visit Inari names March as statistically the least cloudy month. The best hours are either side of midnight. Source
• Stay on marked trails in the national park Kiilopää and the fells of Urho Kekkonen National Park are open all year, but at night keep to the marked trails and tell someone where you are going. Source

Nearby destinations

• Karasjok 120 km
• Levi 150 km
• Kirkenes 150 km
• Pyhä-Luosto 170 km
• Tana 170 km
• Varanger 180 km