Snowshoe Hiking from Tromsø: Which Guided Hike Fits – and How Hard Is It?

For most visitors, book the Snowshoeing Hike with Picnic Lunch and Photos: €104.82 per person, four hours, a drive of about an hour to Kvaløya, a sandwich and hot drinks on the trail, rated 4.9 by 930 reviewers. If you want dogs: the Guided Husky Snowshoe Hike and Husky Camp Visit costs €167.53. If you do not want to spend the half-day on a van: the Street to Wilderness hike starts beside the Fjellheisen cable car, takes two hours and costs €102.86.

Snowshoeing here is walking on soft snow with a guide, not a sport. The tours differ in how long you travel to reach the snow, how many people walk with you and how steep the hill is.

Tour	Duration	Start and transfer	Group	Food	From	Rating
Snowshoeing Hike with Picnic Lunch and Photos	4 hours	Kvaløya, about 1 hour by van	not stated	sandwich, biscuits, hot drinks	€104.82	4.9 (930)
Guided Husky Snowshoe Hike and Husky Camp Visit	5 hours	husky camp, transfer included	runs from 2 guests	chocolate cake, coffee or tea	€167.53	4.9 (794)
Snowshoe Hike in the Arctic	4 hours	Ersfjordbotn, 30 minutes by van	up to 8	snack and hot drink	€140.39	4.9 (560)
Husky Hike and Puppy Visit with Traditional Lunch	4.5 hours	husky centre, transfer included	runs from 2 guests	lunch in a Sámi lavvu	€153.49	5.0 (222)
Street to Wilderness: Guided Snowshoe Hike	2 hours	starts at the Fjellheisen station, no transfer	up to 4	lefse and a warm drink	€102.86	4.9 (53)
Snowshoe Hike with Local Guides	4.5 hours	outside a city-centre hotel, 30 minutes by van	up to 8	Norwegian snacks, hot drinks	€119.42	4.9 (41)
Guided snowshoe hill hike	5 hours	Tromsø Outdoor, 40-minute drive, summit just under 400 m	up to 8	hot drink and lefse	€139.45	4.9 (28)
Guided snowshoe trip on Tromsøya	2.5 hours	Tromsø Outdoor, 10-minute drive, easy terrain	not stated	hot drink and lefse	€108.10	5.0 (22)

Do you need to be fit?

Not much, on most of them. The Street to Wilderness listing says no experience is needed and describes the route as mostly flat, and adds that a more challenging route may be possible if you ask in advance. The husky snowshoe hike calls its course easy terrain for beginners. The Tromsøya trip is flat to slightly hilly through birch and spruce forest.

The hill hike is different. The listing gives the climb as just under 400 m in snowy mountain terrain, asks for a moderate level of fitness and lists people with a heart condition or low fitness as not suitable. There is also a guided hike up Fjellheisen at €93.40 whose listing says in capitals that it is a steep hike: it takes one to two hours to the top, and the guide lends ice grips for your shoes instead of snowshoes. The cable car appears there as an optional stop.

No snow, no snowshoes

Check the month before you book. The listing for the €104.82 hike says it runs in all weather and becomes a plain hike when there is little or no snow, and that in October and November you see the countryside before it is covered. The Snowshoe Hike with Local Guides says that without snow you can join as a winter hike without snowshoes or take a full refund. Neither promises a date when the snow arrives, so if snowshoes are the point, aim for the depth of winter rather than the edges of the season.

Clothing is not the same everywhere

The husky snowshoe hike lists winter overalls and boots as included. On the €104.82 hike a thermal suit and boots are available only on request and if there is stock, so ask when you book. The two Tromsø Outdoor tours, the hill hike and the Tromsøya trip, expect you to wear your own warm, windproof clothes and winter boots above the ankle, with snowshoes provided, and they rent clothing separately if arranged in advance. Poles come with most of these tours.

Who the listings turn away

• Children: under 6 on the €104.82 hike and the Local Guides hike, under 8 on the Tromsøya trip (which names families with children from 8), under 10 on Street to Wilderness and under 12 on the hill hike.
• Mobility and health: people with mobility impairments are listed as not suitable on four of the eight, wheelchair users on the two Tromsø Outdoor tours, pregnant women on the husky snowshoe hike. The husky lunch tour asks for a normal level of fitness and wants the age and weight of children in the booking notes.
• Where nothing is listed: the Snowshoe Hike in the Arctic names no age or health restrictions on its page. Ask the operator.

Small groups and the husky question

If group size matters, the tours with a stated cap are Street to Wilderness (four), the Arctic hike, the Local Guides hike and the hill hike (eight each). The husky tours are the only ones where dogs are part of the walk: the snowshoe version has a husky or two accompanying you and a visit to the camp, with about 200 dogs and puppies. The husky lunch tour is a hike with huskies and does not mention snowshoes; it ends with lunch in a lavvu. For the dogs pulling a sled, see our guide to dog sledding from Tromsø.

Two hikes that are not snowshoeing

The Blue Lake guided hike at €130.56 is an eight-hour day with a ferry into the Lyngen Alps and a walk to a lake, and it excludes children under 15, people over 75, people with high blood pressure and people with altitude sickness. The night version, the Aurora Snowshoe Hike, is four hours at €140.39 and gives you a chance of the lights, not a promise; for a proper chase, see Northern Lights tours by bus, minibus or small group.

How to choose

Book the €104.82 hike if you want one proven option. Book the €102.86 Street to Wilderness hike if you have two hours, want to start from town and are happy with a group of four. Book a husky version if the dogs are the reason you came. Book the Tromsøya trip with children from 8. All of them are listed under snowshoe and hiking tours from Tromsø, which start at €93.40.