Helsinki suffers from lack of snow in recent years, but has been included for completeness of information. If you're there and it has snow, that's great - but don't plan it into your itinerary.
Helsinki is a hub for flights to the rest of Finland. You can get flights with Finnair, KLM, Aeroflot, Lufthansa and a host of others.
Starting at Suomen Latu Paloheinä, Pakilantie 124.
Distances amongst these forest trails range from 1.8K to 7.5K, and the longest trails are the most demanding. In addition there is a 10K trail that crosses the fields. These are popular trails in the region so are usually well groomed.
Start at Talin Puistotie
This 6.5K cross country ski trail covers the golf course so the tracks are quite flat for the most part, making them suitable for beginners, but there are also trails that climb up a hill if you are looking for more of a challenge.
Start at Maunula Recreational Hut, Pirkkolan Metsätie 6 (outside swimming centre)
The Pirkkola Sports Park is an ideal place to head out onto the trails in Central Park (Keskuspuisto). It covering a total area of 66 hectares of forests, and the sports park offers 3K and 5.5K trails. When snow conditions allow, you can ski along connecting trails all the way to Paloheinä, Tali and Laakso. You can access the trail from the Maunula Recreational Hut, which is also popular for its delicious donuts.
Start at Tattariharjunkuja (Malmi Airport) ja Savikiekontie (Kivikko).
This trail circles Malmi Airport, and in Kivikko there is another 3.75K trail. Both trails can be skied in traditional or skating techniques. Best of all, if it’s a bad winter or the snow conditions are just bad, you can ski indoors at the Kivikko Ski Hall. The indoor ski track is around 1000 metres long and the conditions are always perfect!
You will find the Helsinki indoor ski hall at Savikiekontie 4, 00940 Helsinki.
Kivikko is 15 minutes from the centre of Helsinki and Helsinki-Vantaa airport. A basic circuit of the ski track is 850 metres, with the additional loop adding another 200 metres. The width of the tracks is 6-8 metres. The Ski Hall is home to a range of services, including a café in the foyer, gym, a ski rental and other winter hobby opportunities and experiences in Winter World.
The skiing season starts as early as late September to mid winter in the Kivikko Skiing Hall. This indoor hall makes skiing possible during the mild and largely snow-less early winter. The Kivikko Hall will be open for as long as there is no proper winter with heavy snowfall in Helsinki and before outdoor ski tracks can be prepared.