Can You Pet a Reindeer? Here's How to Befriend One

In Northern Finland, there are several reindeer parks where visitors can meet and feed adorable domesticated reindeer.

One of these parks, called Kopara Reindeer Park, is located in the Luosto area in the heart of Lapland. One day, I visited Kopara with my husband and his daughter.

I must confess—I’m crazy about reindeer. I was far more excited about meeting these animals than the six-year-old was. She was born and raised in Lapland, so to her, reindeer aren’t that exotic. I, however, come from Southern Finland, where there are no reindeer at all.

In Lapland, you can see reindeer herds roaming freely almost anywhere. These animals are quite shy—they are only semi-domesticated. There are over 200,000 reindeer in Finland, and each one has an owner somewhere.

In reindeer parks, the animals are much braver as they’re used to receiving treats from reindeer-loving tourists. That’s why they often come running toward you to see if you have something tasty to offer.

At Kopara, there’s a large chest filled with reindeer food in front of the fence. After paying just a few euros, you can go in and feed the reindeer. Simply take some food and hand it over—they won’t bite.

Reindeer don’t particularly enjoy being petted. They tend to withdraw as soon as you run out of food pellets. Luckily, you can always grab more treats from the chest. We spent about 15 minutes feeding these reindeer before we got too cold (remember to wear really warm clothing!).

In addition to feeding reindeer, Kopara has a café and a souvenir shop. They also offer various reindeer-related experiences and even have a few celebrity reindeer. Read more here: Kopara homepage.

This reindeer park is located right next to Pyhä-Luosto National Park.

Learn more about Finnish reindeer here.