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Where the road ends, the wilderness experience begins! For lands owned by the Finnish state, permits for off-road traffic are granted by Metsähallitus.

As a term, off-road traffic denotes the use of motor-driven vehicles in the terrain. Terrain is defined here as areas of land that do not have official snowmobile routes or roads intended for motor vehicles. Off-road traffic always requires the premission of the landowner. The off-road traffic permit for state-owned lands in one's municipality of residence is free of charge (Act on Metsähallitus 234/2016, Section 24, Clause 2).

Metsähallitus maintains snowmobile tracks for snowmobile drivers on state-owned lands. These tracks are unofficial routes and their use is subject to charge. To drive on these tracks, you will need either a personal or a family snow mobile track permit issued by Metsähallitus. This permit allows you to drive your snowmobile on all the tracks you can find on the Metsähallitus track charts.

Driving a snowmobile outside of the tracks or driving other motor vehicles on state-owned wilderness areas is generally prohibited. There are exceptions for which you can apply for a separate off-road traffic permit from Metsähallitus. These permit applications are always handled on an individual basis.

Freeride, i.e. snowmobiling in deep snow, is allowed in specific state-owned areas. Information about freeride possibilites is available in metsa.fi (unfortunately only in Finnish).

Off-road traffic news

Maintenance break in the Excursionmap.fi map service 7 Novemebr

03.11.2023

Maintenance will be done in the Excursionmap.fi on Tuesday morning 7th of November 2023 from 07:00 to 10:00. During this period, there may be service interruptions in the Excursionmap.fi.

We have updated the Terms of Use and Privacy Statement

09.05.2023

The Terms of Use and Privacy Statement of the Eräluvat.fi online service were updated on 9 May 2023.

Reservation of Metsähallitus huts for 2024 will open on Tuesday 2 May at 12:00 noon

27.04.2023

As of Tuesday 2 May 2023 at 12 noon, the public can book reservable huts and rental huts maintained by Metsähallitus Parks & Wildlife Finland for 2024. Reservations can be made in the Eräluvat webshop. A small proportion of the huts can be booked at the local nature centre or through our partners.

Maintenance break in Eräluvat.fi website and webshop on 4 April 6–10 AM

31.03.2023

Maintenance work will be carried out in the Eräluvat.fi website and webshop on Tuesday 4 April, starting at 6:00 AM. During this time, you won’t be able to visit the site or make purchases in the webshop or via Eräluvat customer service or mobile application. The maintenance break will take approximately four hours.

Off-road terrain or road?

Roads constructed by Metsähallitus can be used by vehicles, but driving cross-country is prohibited without a special off-road traffic licence. It is for the driver to recognise the difference between a built road and a cross-country track.

Read more about differences between off-road terrain and road.