OUR STORY
From a sandpit to a caravan park
"Shell Muonio", our location, is originally a gas station founded by my grandfather along Highway 21, about a kilometer from the center of Muonio towards Kolari.
The gas station, which once employed the entire family, has since had tenants operating both a repair shop and a restaurant.
In the yard of the service station there was an empty sand field where a hall for the tow trucks of my father's towing service company was once being built. However, the plans for the hall changed and the space remained empty for years as a parking lot.
During the corona years, as domestic tourism and caravans increased, the idea of a caravan park arose. An automated, self-service caravan area where customers are welcome exactly when it suits them best. As we have been involved in caravanning ourselves, we knew roughly what such a place should include and the location would also be great for a caravan park, along the busy highway leading to Kilpisjärvi and Norway.
After thinking about it for a while, my father and I decided to implement the idea. We received investment support for the project from Leader, competed, compared and finally ordered a maintenance building container, fences and a gate from the operator we judged to be the best and started the groundwork for the area at a fast pace.
The area was supposed to open in the summer of 2021. However, the delivery of the maintenance building was delayed and despite the supplier's big promises, the container was not delivered to Muonio during the entire summer. Nor during the winter. In early summer 2022, we finally brought the building to our area in Muonio, unfinished, and my father and his helpers completed the construction work. On Midsummer 2022, we finally opened the gates to our first customers.
Our name, Friija, is from the Sámi language and means freedom. The name also stems from the love for the freedom of entrepreneurship, living and traveling, as well as my Sámi roots.
Friija is still looking for its direction. At the moment, the only thing that is involved is the camping site, but there are plans and dreams for expansion. Time will tell what the future has to offer.
Welcome to follow our journey and stop by our camping site.
With love,
Heidi