Saariselkä is small enough to walk end to end in 15 minutes. Most hotels, restaurants, and ski lifts sit along or just off the main street, Honkapolku.
For trips into the national park, the Kiilopää side, or the surrounding kennels and reindeer farms, you will need a car, a snowmobile tour, or a shuttle. Several activity operators include transfers in their tour price. Local taxis exist but are few and not cheap.
In winter, walking outside in the dark needs a head torch and reflectors — drivers cannot see pedestrians at -25 °C in the polar night.