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Könkään keino trail

—•Hiking Trails

6.9 km

Route

P 1

Description

Luontoon.fi – Oulanka hiking and outdoor recreation+

Description

Könkään keino is about 6.9 km on our map as a hiking segment from Oulangan luontokeskus toward the Merenoja end of the river valley in Oulanka National Park. Kuusamo is the home municipality on this side of the park, in North Ostrobothnia. For national-park rules, trail closures, and the wider route network around the visitor centre, start with the Oulanka hiking and outdoor section on Luontoon.fi. You begin beside Oulangan luontokeskus, with parking at Luontokeskus parkkialue. The nature centre is the natural hub for toilets, exhibition space, food service in season, and trip questions before you walk. CAMICUVA drove to Liikasenvaarantie 132, 93900 Kuusamo for a reindeer stew meal and then walked from the same gateway straight onto this hike. Within the first kilometres the path overlaps the busy visitor-centre end of Hiiden hurmos and shares Kiutaköngäs with the very short Könkään kuohu esteetön polku spur for a quick look at the rapids. About 4.3 to 4.7 km along you reach Kiutakönkään taukokatos, Kiutaköngäs taukokatos, Kiutaköngäs taukokatoksen käymälä, Kiutakönkään esteetön tulipaikka, and the Kiutaköngäs esteetön kuivakäymälä beside the river; Oulankajoki, Kiutakönkään vesillelaskupaikka marks the canoe launch on the shore. Kiutakönkään telttailualueen tulentekopaikka 1, Mataraniemen tulentekopaikka 1, and Mataraniemi kompostikäymälä cluster on the same river bend before the line runs on through pine heath toward Merenoja kompostikäymälä and Merenojan tulentekopaikka near kilometre seven. Along Oulankajoki the valley walls and rapids feel much larger than the kilometre count suggests; Retkipaikka describes moving from crowded Kiutaköngäs viewpoints to quieter shoreline mileage and meeting Karhunkierros pack-carrying hikers at Merenojan tulentekopaikka. CAMICUVA contrasts the gentler pace here with the stair-heavy Pieni Karhunkierros loop on the next day, and singles out Loseikko as a viewpoint stop above the winding river. Independent pieces also mention Ala-Kitkan paliskunta reindeer separation fences and a tower for watching corrals—worth expecting as a cultural landscape element, not only as scenery. Canoe travellers can tie the start into Melontareitti Savilampi – Oulangan luontokeskus, which threads Savilampi kanoottiränni, Savilampi autiotupa, and Taivalköngäs landings before returning to the nature-centre docks. From mid-route, Melontareitti Mataraniemi - Jäkälämutka uses the same Kiutaköngäs launches for long river days toward Ansakämppä autiotupa and Jäkälämutkan puolikota if you pack boats.

Length & route

The trail is about 6.9 km end to end as mapped from the visitor centre toward Merenoja. Many visitor-oriented descriptions quote a longer ring of roughly seven to eight kilometres when return legs on other marked connections back to the car park are included, and they often suggest about two hours of walking for that fuller day shape. Expect duckboards, short ups and downs, and some gravel underfoot on dry pine heath between river sections.

Getting there

Drive to Oulangan luontokeskus on Liikasenvaarantie in Kuusamo; CAMICUVA used Liikasenvaarantie 132, 93900 Kuusamo as the yard address before walking. Bus groups and walkers from Ruka and Kuusamo resort areas typically plan this as part of a national-park day from the same visitor-centre gateway. Park at Luontokeskus parkkialue beside the centre. For national-park access rules, parking updates, and any shuttle or seasonal road notes, rely on the Oulanka pages on Luontoon.fi.

Good to know

Treat woodland breaks as mosquito season from early June through late September in northern Finland; CAMICUVA picked a showery day partly to reduce bites but still stopped carefully whenever rain eased. Campfires belong only at designated structures such as Merenojan tulentekopaikka, Kiutakönkään esteetön tulipaikka, Kiutakönkään telttailualueen tulentekopaikka 1, and Mataraniemen tulentekopaikka 1, following park instructions on Luontoon.fi. Many route outlines describe green tree markings and recommend a counter-clockwise circuit when you walk the full ring that returns via other marked links to the visitor centre. If you need the separate short Kiutaköngäs nature trail focused on the rapids boardwalk, open its own Metsähallitus trail page in the same park family rather than assuming identical marking detail.

Managed by

Kuusamo

Official Maintenance

040 860 8365

GPX data from: © Metsähallitus, 2024

Trail info

National Park

Area

River

green paint marks on trees are widely listed for Könkään keino in visitor route outlines

Route Signs

Open / Good Condition

Komoot – Könkään keino Trail

Activities allowed

Hike / Walk

Activity

Terrain & conditions

6.9 km

Distance

about 2–3 hours for the mapped 6.9 km segment; longer when you add return links to make a full visitor-centre ring

Est. Time

Duckboards / Dirt / Gravel

Surface

Point-to-Point, Single Track

Route Type

Light Traffic

Traffic

Partial Shade

Shade

Location

66.36857°N, 29.31339°E

Parking coordinates

FinlandCountry

North OstrobothniaRegion

KuusamoCity

Hiking TrailsCategory

Explore nearby

Oulankajoki, Kiutakönkään vesillelaskupaikka

310 m

Könkään Kuohu demanding accessible route

228 m

Free

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Answers to your questions

Our data was researched from Kuusamo, and other trusted sources, in March 2026. Our route / place GPX data comes from Metsähallitus / Lipas, last updated March 2026. Always check their official website for safety-critical updates.

Finland North Ostrobothnia Kuusamo Hiking TrailsKönkään keino trail