Things to do in Kiruna in winter

7 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Kiruna lies 145 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, and in winter most of what there is to do happens outside the town: at kennels and snowmobile bases along the Torne river, in Jukkasjärvi 17 kilometres to the east, and in Abisko, 93 kilometres up the E10. Almost every guided tour collects you in Kiruna, so a stay without a car works well. The first part of this page sums up the main activities, each of which has its own guide on this site. Further down are the smaller ones, which get more detail here.

The main activities

Husky sledding

Kennels at Kalixforsbron, Kurravaara and Svappavaara run tours in the morning and the evening. You either drive a team yourself, usually sharing the sled with one other guest, or sit in the sled while the musher drives. Our guide to husky sledding in Kiruna sorts the tours by format and age limit.

Northern lights

The aurora appears most often between about 21:00 and 23:00, and cloud cover decides more than anything else. Many tours drive towards Abisko, where a local weather effect often leaves the sky clearer than in the surrounding area. No operator can promise a sighting. The tours are compared on our page about the northern lights in Kiruna and Abisko.

Snowmobiles

Driving a snowmobile needs a car licence. Guests without one ride as passengers or, on some tours, in a sled behind the guide. Rides start in the Torne river valley, at Poikkijärvi and at Kalixforsbron; see snowmobile tours from Kiruna.

The Icehotel

Each winter the hotel in Jukkasjärvi is built again from ice taken out of the Torne river, and its winter season runs from December to April. Guided trips from Kiruna often add the Sámi museum at Nutti Sámi Siida, a short walk away. More on our Icehotel page.

Reindeer and Sámi culture

Kiruna municipality has eight Sámi communities. Reindeer tours range from a short visit to a corral near Jukkasjärvi to a full day at a farm with a sled ride and a meal in a lávvu. Read about the formats under reindeer and Sámi culture.

Abisko and Narvik

Abisko National Park lies about 100 kilometres west of Kiruna, and the Norwegian port of Narvik 178 kilometres away by road. Day tours stop at the Abisko canyon, the frozen lake Torneträsk and a viewpoint over Lapporten; see day trips from Kiruna.

Snowshoeing

Snowshoes let you walk where boots would sink in. The daytime hike by Explore Arctic takes up to eight people by van from Kiruna into the countryside outside the town and heads for a viewpoint. Snowshoes and warm drinks are part of the tour, warm clothes and shoes are lent on request, and the operator describes it as suitable for every fitness level. The whole tour takes three hours.

Ice fishing

Kiruna Husky combines snowshoes with fishing. From its home at Kalixforsbron you walk to a frozen lake, drill the hole yourself with a hand drill and then eat soup and sandwiches in a tipi. Guests mention strong wind, the effort of drilling and days without a single bite. The operator lists the tour as unsuitable for people over 70.

The ice fishing by Camp Caroli is shorter and calmer. You spend two hours on Lake Sautosjärvi near Jukkasjärvi, reaching it by car or snowmobile, sit on reindeer skins and get an overall, boots, gloves and fishing gear. What you catch is grilled over the fire. The operator says families and children especially enjoy it.

Looking for moose

Aurora Rivercamp runs a morning trip to the Nikkaluokta valley. It leaves Aurora River Camp in Poikkijärvi at 08:00, collects guests from hotels in Kiruna and is back by 12:00, with a stop at the church in Nikkaluokta and a sandwich with smoked reindeer. Groups have between two and eight guests. The operator calls wildlife sightings likely but never guaranteed, and some guests would have liked more walking and fewer fixed photo stops. The tour is open to all ages.

Cross-country skiing

A guided ski tour by Scandinavian Sami Photoadventures starts at the tourist office or at Camp Ripan and lasts three hours. Ski equipment is provided, clothing on request, and the tour is meant for every level of experience. It is not open to children under 8 or to guests with back or heart problems. One guest noted that the equipment could be better.

Kiruna town and the mine

Kiruna was founded in 1900 next to the iron ore of Kiirunavaara, where LKAB runs the largest underground iron ore mine in the world. The mine is the reason the town is moving. About a third of Kiruna and around 6,000 residents are affected, and the new centre three kilometres east of the old one opened on 1 September 2022. The wooden church was moved in one piece over two days in August 2025 and is due to reopen in 2027.

A guided town tour of an hour and a half covers this story. It starts with fika at Hjalmar Lundbohmsgården, stops at a viewpoint over the mine, the old town and the subsidence area, and ends in the new centre. Our page on Kiruna town has the background for a walk on your own.

The mine itself can be visited on the public tours that Kiruna Lapland runs all year from the Tourist Center at Malmvägen 9B. A bus drives straight into the mountain and down to LKAB's visitor centre on the 540-metre level, about 300 metres below the surface, while mining currently goes on at 1,365 metres. In winter the tours are mostly in English, usually at 14:00 and often also at 10:00, and they take about three hours. Children from 6 to 15 must be at least 110 cm tall, and places are limited. Photos are not allowed from the bus inside the industrial area, but you may take them in the visitor centre.

The snow festival

Kiruna has held its snow festival on the last weekend of January since 1986, in the town centre and with free entry. The main event is an international snow sculpture competition on Stadshustorget. The 2027 festival takes place at the end of January 2027, and Kiruna Lapland plans to publish the programme around the end of 2026.

Planning a few days

Light shapes the plan more than distance does. From 11 December to 1 January the sun does not rise, and on 21 December there is twilight from 08:56 to 14:18. Daytime activities therefore fit best in the late morning, and the evenings are free for the aurora. A few combinations work well:

• A morning on a husky sled at Kalixforsbron, then an evening drive towards Abisko for the northern lights.
• The Icehotel and Jukkasjärvi in the morning, with ice fishing on Lake Sautosjärvi nearby in the afternoon.
• The town tour with the viewpoint over the mine, followed by the mine tour from the Tourist Center at 14:00.
• A snowshoe walk in daylight, then a snowmobile ride in the dark.

With a hire car, the visitor centre of Esrange Space Center, 45 kilometres north-east of Kiruna, is open daily from 08:00 to 18:00 without booking. The space centre itself is closed to the public, and no public transport goes there. Winter activities usually continue until about mid-April, while the northern lights season ends with the light nights of April.