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T6 Packrafting Kuusinkijoki Oulanka National Park

15.7 km with the best rapids in the area

By Packrafting.cat

November 8^th, 2024

Oulanka National Park

See the main post with all the sections and information for Packraft and other activities in the Oulanka National Park in Finland.

https://blog.packrafting.cat/packraft-en-oulanka-national-park-finlandia

Other sections

I will explain in detail the following routes:

T1 Koutajoki - Savinajoki River -> Savilampi Lake. 17.5 km class I-II
T2 Oulankajoki river Upper Part Oulanka - Oulanka National Park visitor center. 22.3 km of class II-IV rapids.
T3 Packrafting Oulankajoki lower part - Oulanka NP visitors center Isokuusikko - Kiutakongas - Paljakka - Russian Border. 25.5 km of endless meanders!
T4 Kitkajoki Upper part. Käylä - Basecamp Oulanka. 14,5 km of Packraft class II-III.
T5 Packrafting Kitkajoki Lower part Juuma - Millikoski rapids - Aallokkokoski rapids
T6 Kuusinkijoki

In this post I will explain the information I have so far about section T6 Kuusinkijoki.

T6 Kuusinkijoki

Kuusinkijoki is a river with a lot of velocity and many rapids. With a discharge of 23 cumecs the rapids were mostly class I-II. It is a fast river with relatively easy and fun rapids and can be done on sight without prior scouting.

It starts from road 18891, near the village of Vuotunki. The route is about 16.7 km long, approximately 3-4 depending on the breaks you take.

Kuusinkijoki is a famous fishing river and there are some fishermen. There are also many sheds (laavus on the map) with fire. The river seems slow at first glance, but often as you go along it gets faster.

The nature is the beautiful Borealis forest and it gets better and better as you paddle downstream.

Above all watch out that the river continues in Russia! Don't miss the starting point!

As always, the topographical maps on the website asiointi.maanmittauslaitos.fi help usWe will be able to get an idea of the route. Remember that the white dotted lines indicate rapids and that the Finnish ending for rapid is Joki. The Kapikoski rapid is just a start. The starting point can be found on the map below:

T6 Packrafting Kuusinkijoki Oulanka National Park

And as you can see there are a lot of Koskis, none of them above class III.

The end point is marked on this map but not before passing through some more rapids and often you will find shelters/laavus. You can see how near the starting point is the track where we will leave the second car or call our transport to return to the starting point.

The river is fed by a power plant, so the flow depends on the discharge from the dam. On Caj Koskinen's blog they indicate that they lowered the river with a flow of 23 m³/s (June 26, 2020) and it was quite perfect for an interesting descent. You can check the flow rate from here.

Two cars or a cab or shuttle are required.

Ruta en wikiloc

All Kuusinkijoki GPS coordinates of the route in wikiloc

My Google Map

Packraft en Oulanka National Park - Finlandia - Karkunhierros Trail

Blog de Caj Koskinen

This stretch is very well explained in Caj Koskinen's blog, the article is:

The river kuusinkijoki.

An inspiration, thanks to Caide78 and his Instagram account, I got to know this wonderful place that is the Oulanka National Park.

T5 Packrafting Kitkajoki Juuma - Millikoski rapids - Aallokkokoski rapids

The best 21.5 km of Packrafting in a river with rapids of all levels and in a dreamlike natural environment.

See you at the river! 🛶🛶🛶🛶🛶.

The river is a living environment, changing and subject to permanent development. The publishers of the river sketches and the creators of this website cannot be held responsible in any case in case of inaccuracy, omission or error in the river sketches. The topos editors and website creators disclaim all liability in case of any accident that may occur on the rivers described in this guide.