The map

The concept

Hitchball 4000 is the largest hitchhiking race in Northern Europe. It’s a weekend-long adventure during which teams of two people hitchhike all around Finland and neighbouring countries. Its goal is to promote hitchhiking as a legitimate and ecological means of transportation and to spread values such as trust, sustainability and open-mindedness, as well as to demonstrate the safety of the Northern European societies.

The sixth edition of the race will take place in 2019 between June 14th and 16th. Competing teams will leave Helsinki on Friday 14th and hitchhike to a secret destination located in Northern Finland through selected checkpoints of varying difficulty and value (all located in Finland). Participants are otherwise free to travel on the route of their choice. The winners will be determined based on their time of arrival and difficulty of checkpoints selected. We have arranged camping and sauna facilities at the secret location for the night between Saturday 15 and Sunday 16. On Sunday, participants are free to hitchhike home (or to the amazing Sodankylä Film Festival for instance) or to use public transportation.

Each team is equipped with a GPS tracker, which enables their progress to be followed in real-time on this website. Their pictures and updates from the road are also published on this very website.

Registration for the race is open here and closes at latest on May 31st, so be quick and secure your place for the road trip of the century!

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Comments from participants

  • “Hitchhiking as an experience is one of a kind. Our eyes were opened, the faith in humankind was restored and our goal was reached by being totally at the mercy of strangers, and the resulting feeling is, as said by so many others after the experience, awesome.”

  • “We do not exaggerate in the least when we say that this was the most eye-opening experience in years for both of us.”

  • “One of the best competitions I have joined. I enjoyed the weekend a lot!”

  • “Last year I took part in one of the coolest adventures I’ve had so far. A weekend-long hitchhiking competition was in part super intense and tiring, but most of all very eye-opening and exciting, not to mention enriching thanks to the great experience and the stories that resulted from it.”

  • “We were new to hitchhiking, so we didn’t know the best tips and tricks, nor did we have any experience that could’ve given us an advantage. We didn’t know what to expect but our minds were blown once we learnt the game!”

  • “This journey has changed our view of Finland and its citizens forever for the better and it’s been just so damn fun!”

  • “The competition made me get over my suspicions and prejudices and realize that hitch hiking is not as dangerous as I thought. Thank you for the experience!”

Organizers

Hitchball 4000 is organized by HitchPro ry, a non-profit association.

Partners

We are looking for partners for the possibly organized upcoming edition of the race. Are you interested in giving your organization a fresher image and a positive reputation? Join the race with your company’s own team or host a checkpoint! Get in touch with the organizers!
Ⓒ HitchPro ry. All Rights Reserved.