5°Partly cloudy

Swedish Lapland · between Kiruna and Gällivare

Where the river
meets the northern lights

A small wilderness lodge on the Kalix River, far from artificial light. Eight quiet rooms, sauna, Lapland cooking and the dark Arctic sky above.

Explore experiences

Check availability

8 rooms with private entrance

Aurora season Sept – March

On the Kalix River

Between Kiruna & Gällivare

News & offers

2026-09-13

New owners and new name: Lappeasuando River & Roadhouse

Lappeasuando Lodge has a new owner. Øyvind Mortensen has taken over the place by the Kalix River, and with that comes a new name: Lappeasuando River & Roadhouse. The river, the road and the wilderness around them are the same – and they are what we want to build on. Right now we're working on getting the kitchen ready. The kitchen is therefore closed until it's finished, and we'll open again as soon as everything is in place. Follow along here and on Facebook and Instagram for opening date. The inn is open as usual. The eight rooms with separate entrance can be booked on the website, and the northern lights don't care that the kitchen is being renovated – they're there anyway. Welcome to Lappeasuando – we look forward to seeing you.

Small, calm and deliberately far from everything

Lappeasuando sits between the two mining towns of Swedish Lapland, on a bend of the Kalix River with nothing but forest around it. It's the kind of place you come to for silence, snow and the sky — and stay for the food, the sauna and the dogs.

Experiences

Winter, the way it's meant to be

Northern lights

September – late March

Seen straight from your doorstep, far from any town light.

Husky tours

December – April

Drive your own team of dogs through the winter forest.

Snowmobile safari

December – April

Fresh, deep snow and long open trails.

Ice fishing & river fishing

Winter and summer

Drill a hole, light a fire, wait for the perch.

Sauna

All year

The Swedish way to end an Arctic day.

The inn

Eight rooms, clean Nordic design, your own front door

Every room has a private bathroom, a separate entrance and windows that open straight onto the landscape. Step outside at night and the aurora is right there — no bus, no viewpoint, no crowds.

✓Private bathroom
✓Separate entrance
✓Large windows to the forest
✓Sauna on site
✓Kitchen with Lapland cuisine
✓Free parking & Wi-Fi

See rooms & rates →The inn

The kitchen

Reindeer, moose, river fish — and a very good soup

Our kitchen cooks with what Lapland gives us: reindeer and moose from the region, fish from the rivers, berries from the forest. Vegetarian and vegan options are always available.

Homemade soup lunch · 1 December – 10 April

Three-course dinner every evening

Please reserve in advance by phone. +46 70 341 73 55

The place

Where the river slows – and the road crosses

Lappeasuando means "the flat still water" in Meänkieli – the calm stretch where the Kalix River slows down before the next rapids. Here, halfway between Kiruna and Gällivare, the Kaitum River joins the Kalix, and the river is the border between two municipalities: stand in the middle of the bridge and you have a foot in each. The bridge is the landmark. It was built in 1937, one of some thirty steel arch bridges that tied Norrbotten together in the 1930s, when the road between Gällivare and Kiruna truly came into being. In 1974 a new bridge for heavy traffic was built alongside – but the old one was left standing. Today you cross it on foot, and on winter nights it may be the best place in Lapland to watch the northern lights: the river below, the sky above, not an artificial light in sight. Before the bridge, Lappeasuando was a place to stop: a ford and a resting place on the road north, where horses were changed and travellers found food and a bed. The inn carries that tradition on.

Partners

Good company on the trail

Øyvind and Mats Pettersson go back a long way. Mats runs Kiruna Sleddog Tours and is one of Lapland's most experienced mushers: he started with dogs in 1995, keeps 60–80 Alaskan huskies at his kennel in Kiruna and has finished the Iditarod – the world's longest sled-dog race, 1,000 miles across Alaska – several times. When Øyvind took over Lappeasuando, Mats was among the first to hear about the plans, and today he is adviser, board deputy and tour partner. His dogs and our river belong together: the tours start at the bridge, and after a day on the trail our sauna and kitchen are waiting.

K
Kiruna Sleddog Tours ↗
Mats Pettersson – Iditarod musher, 60–80 huskies in Kiruna

Getting here

Halfway between Kiruna and Gällivare on the E10

Roughly an hour's drive from either town and their airports. Rental cars, taxis and transfers can be arranged — ask us when you book.

Open in Google Maps ↗

Weather at the river now

5°

Partly cloudy · feels like 2° · wind 3 m/s

Thu

10° / 2°

Fri

8° / 4°

Sat

8° / 3°

Sun

10° / 3°

Mon

10° / 3°