It’s got hundreds and thousands of islands.
receive to the land of the midnight sun , dwelling house of Santa Clause , and birthplace of the sweat room . It ’s a place where the speech is so complex and lyrical that it enliven J.R.R. Tolkien to make Elvish . Here you ’ll chance cured white Pisces the Fishes with lemony pops of mustard seeds and berry so powerfully honeyed after spending nearly 24 time of day grow in sunlight . And most significantly , Finland is a country of endless forests and lake , like land pockmarked with numerous blasphemous mirror reflecting even more trees and sky .
Nowhere is this more truthful than in the Saimaa lake part . If you were to take a cookie , smash it with a mallet , and besprinkle the bits over milk , you ’d have some idea of what the terrain in this area looks like — if the cooky crumbles had pine Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree growing from them and the milk were a lustrous , deep blue . Zoom in to the state on a Google map , and you ’ll see what we mean . Seemingly impossible roads skirt the water ’s edge to connect the broken bits of land . With about 15,000 island , Lake Saimaa has more shoreline than Spain . And this is no crowded lake town . About 75 % of the country is woods , and a 30 - hour drive from anywhere in Helsinki will get you intosome serious timber washup .
But you ’ll want to keep driving . Really , you could spend days drive through an uninterrupted " scenic stand , " cap one hill just to see mile of more gradient in front of you , seeing one lake evaporate around a twist just to see another lagoon round the corner in front of you . There might be an periodic reddish cottage on a picayune island with its own bridge , but otherwise , nature is largely undisturbed . But after four hour from Helsinki , you ’ll reachLinnansaari National Park . And now it ’s prison term to continue the journeying via boat .
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If you ’ve ever been impressed by the couple island inAcadia National Parkin Maine , overcrowded with true pine shooting up apparently from the weewee itself , get laid that Linnansaari is like that times 50 . A park of over 300 forested island , the only way to get around is by water craft ( unless you come during wintertime and take the air instantly on the thick frappe of the fixed lake to get to the islands , that is ) . During warmer calendar month , many rent kayak , canoes , or motor boats . You could also take ferries , especially sightseeing ones , to consider the 130 protected ring seals playing in the pee . You could spend the night at a private encampment and sense like the rule of your own island , or rest in luxurious , sauna - clad cabins . Here ’s how and what to do in Linnansaari to find your personal island of repose .
Best time of year to visit
" They say Finland ’s one of the happy countries on Earth , but that survey must have been done in summer time , " jokes Riku Nurminen , founding father ofHeltours bike tours of Helsinki .
There is something to be said for all that daylight , which makes for dazzlingly long days full of free energy and optimism . Plus a land with so much water turn exceptionally gullible in the natural spring and summer . Locals in Helsinki often pass their summer in the Saimaa lake area , persist in a quiet cabin with a private sauna . And yes , ride in a hot sauna is something to do even in warm month , since this Nordic country does n’t often get unbearably sweltering ( unlike most of the US these days ) , and because the tradition involves jumping in a inhuman lake , and repeating the invigorate hot - to - cold wheel a couple time . Summer is the pure time for trifle on the water and spending long twenty-four hour period outside . Many locals frequent the region in July , but all of June through August is a peak time to go .
That being said , autumn really should not be overlook . Such a northerly country sees antic Orange River and ruddy hues come gloam , usually in September and a minute into the beginning of October . Autumn is also the mushroom - scrounge season , which is an activity most locals participate in . A Finnish law forebode Every Man ’s Right decrees most state as public , so anyone can camp or scrounge for berries and mushroom-shaped cloud pretty much anywhere . It ’s a beautiful thing to see less genitive ownership of land , since it ’s believe to belong to everyone .
Hotel & Spa Resort Järvisydän
And then , of course , winter is a wondrous realm unto itself . If you wish sparkler skating , snowshoe , mark country skiing ( a.k.a . Nordicskiing ) , there ’s no better plaza to glide with a warmly pump eye past snow - cover landscape painting than Linnansaari National Park . Days might be shorter , but that just means more time for image immature and purple northerly lights ruffle across the sky . Plus with all thearctic cocooning , fire , and saunas , the coziness factor is gamy . And if you were wonder , Finns do still practise the hot - to - cold-blooded sauna cycle in the winter , which means either jump in a part icy lake or roll around in the snow for a bit . We know you ’re just die to give it a go .
It ’s deserving noting December is another gamey - time of year metre of the year . Not only is the winter sparkly and fresh , but the vacation season is a pleasure . This is thehome of Santa Clause , after all . Though the locals swear even Santa has a summertime cottage in Saimaa .
Arctic Cocooning Is the New, Cozy Winter Version of Forest Bathing
Finland’s latest winter activity involves some hardcore tree hugging and a campfire barista.
Get a boat, see a seal, and sleep under the stars
Linnansaari National Park is basically a accumulation of over 300 islands on Lake Saimaa , which is the biggest lake in Finland . Lake Saimaa is so bombastic and thread that you might not agnise the body of pee you ’re calculate at is the same lake you saw a couple hours and 100 mile ago . The national park was made official in 1956 and helps protect one of the rarest and endangered seal species in the world : the ringed seal . Spotting one , though somewhat common here , is a claim - to - fame very few people can make .
These seals have bigger eye than most others , making them cartoonishly cute . The rings on their fur , which is quite downy on young pups when they crawl out of the urine for a bit , imprint a distinct pattern for each one . They ’re think to be as well-informed as dogs . In spring , the seals are often seen on top of rocks , dry out out , and in summer , you may fleck their heads ( about the sizing of a bowling globe ) swimming just above the H2O . In wintertime , voluntary help protect their nests during their breeding season , which are getting hard to assert with a warming planet . Once ice forms on the aerofoil of the lake , the seals swim submersed and dig a hole up into the ice from below with their claw . A thick level of coke sit on top of the ice , so they then burrow under the snow and above the sparkler , creating a warmly isolate den for their pups . The unpaid worker summate more snow on top ( since there ’s less of it these days ) to keep them warm and protect them from foxes , Gulo luscus , and eagles . Camping is strictly prohibited at this clip of twelvemonth for further protective covering — for those of you who were super eager to slumber outside in the Charles Percy Snow .
The national Mungo Park is also home base to osprey and their huge nests up in the tree . you could also spot elk , deer , catamount , and beavers . But other than wildlife , in all probability the best activity in Linnansaari is boat and being on the water in summer or northern Light Within and skiing in winter .
Photo by Mikko Nikkinen, courtesy of Visit Finland
If you ’re interested in a guided excursion , legion vendorstake visitors on sauceboat spell , tramp tours , or foraging . Or head out on your own . you may lease canoe , SUP table , and wintertime sports gear fromNature Hotel & Spa Resort Järvisydänor unlike sauceboat and bivouacking gear fromSaimaaHoliday Oravi .
After taking a boat to the main and biggest island in the park , Linnansaari , you couldhike three different paths , ranging from 20 instant each means to an hour round trip to a couple 60 minutes . One particularly scenic hike is the lookout man on Linnavuori Rock , which takes about 3 - 4 hour and regard climb some stairs . On the same island , you ’ll also determine some old construction maintained from the other 1900s to show how inhabitants used to exist , completely self - sufficiently , on the islands .
If you need to judge a day or two of your own self - sufficiency and being one with nature , 21 archaic campsites are scatter across different islands in the Mungo Park . You ’ll only find one camp website per island , and with a body of H2O this big , you definitely wo n’t be seeing any neighbors . You ’ll have to take a boat to pass them , and the penny-pinching campsite is about two and a half miles or an hour kayaking from the pier and rentals atNature Hotel & Spa Resort Järvisydän . The next closest site is about seven nautical mile from the launching , so likely around three hours in a kayak . Or you could prefer to have a ferrying take you out to an island , such as Linnansaari , and drop off your sauceboat there , so you begin further out . And of row some opt to rend a motor gravy boat . Since some smaller island are easier to strain via kayak or canoe due to rocks , many take kayaks on the motor sauceboat and boat paddle from wherever they anchor .
Photo by Mari Laukkanen, courtesy of Visit Saimaa
Stay at a cabin in the woods
If you ’d rather not exercise for a hard - earned night ’s rest , cabin options burst in Finland and make for relaxing escapes . Since much all of Saimaa itself almost looks like a internal park , finding lodge nearly anywhere in the area is a goody . Some of the best options are wooden cottages or lodge , always lakeside , that are within easy driving length to Linnansaari .
For those of us who are n’t into biscuit - cutter cabin lined up next to each other or pick up your neighbors from the window , Okkola Holiday Cottagesare the idealistic escape into the woods . The 17 cabins are circularise across a wobbly - shaped island ( approachable by a railroad car ferrying ) and each unambiguously built construction feels tuck away ; you ’ll determine one crowning the top of a cliff , another hidden down a leafy itinerary , and some on their own outcropping next to the water with no one else in sight . And of course , each has its own sauna . You ’ll find complete privacy and nature dousing here . Like islands surrounded by water , many Finns notice that they like to give each other place ( local anesthetic even jest that societal distancing is easy here , since they were already used to stand 10 feet aside at bus stops ) ; people are friendly , helpful , and then leave you to your thought , and that ’s the nature of it here at Okkola . you may charter canoes to get out on the weewee or explore the 38 - knot biking course in the area , which has many bike lease along the itinerary .
If you want to be as secretive to Linnansaari National Park as you’re able to get without camping on the islands , Nature Hotel & Spa Resort Järvisydänsits on the shoring of the watery internal park . In fact , many sealskin - watching tours launch from the dock of the hotel . It ’s also right smart more glamourous than camping could ever be . In addition to luxuriously rustic rooms in the main building , Järvisydän also offer a case of wooden yurt where some rampart and a fortune of the ceiling are glass . Pull the curtains on the ceiling unfastened to watch the northerly igniter ripple across the sky , and feel free to light a fire in each yurt ’s wood - burning cooking stove .
The hangout dates back to 1658 and has an onsite restaurant with enormous fireplaces befitting the great lobby of a palace . You ’ll notice a lot of wood and stone covered in moss and fur cam stroke . Yet DoI and redevelopment are passing modern , as certify by a satiny geothermal - power watering place . Wander into six different saunas ( from wood and stone to infrared ) , a saltiness room , and five pocket billiards , which transition from indoors to the outdoor lake itself . You ’ll also find a “ storm room ” that blink downhearted light and massage you with water spouts charge from overhead and from the wall . And do n’t miss activities like aerial yoga , forest yoga , Champagne-Ardenne cruises , cachet watching , or hiking the numerous forest trails stanch from the property .
On the other side of Linnansaari National Park sitsB&B Taipaleenniemi , which is a homey and beautifully designed B&B. Once a milk farm from 1906 , it feels like a comfy family from another time , as if you were stay with friends who were affluent , had impeccable taste , and were ridiculously generous . On the prop , you may take part in yoga , go kayak or canoeing , wage hike in the parks , and of course book a sweat room sitting . If you take nicely , you might also be capable to trifle their lot of Molkky , which is a Finnish lawn game that ’s well-situated , habit-forming , and will either go out you in a fit of giggles or competitively determined to bulge your own conference in the US .
Explore towns, castles, and outdoor feasts
One of the towns any traveler must jaw in the domain is Savonlinna . This city and its museum , restaurants , shops , and cafes are spread across multiple islands . Savolinna is most know byOlavinlinna Castle , dominating a parcel of land connected by a small bridge circuit . The castle is from 1475 and most magnificently hosts an opera house fete every summer . you’re able to go on guided tours , explore on your own , or visit the small museum at bottom .
About 25 minutes parkway from Savonlinna is aWine in the Woodsexperience atHotel Punkaharju , which combines forest washup and a wine tasting with small food for thought pairings . Guests first walk through the forest and along cliff bound omit the lake so as to open up their horse sense and get in touch with their thoughts . The guide even invites participants to take off their shoes and walk on lucullan moss and squishy beds of soft pine needles . Guests are then conduct to a wooden table in the forest put for a fine repast and greeted by a welcome glass of sparkling vino . Over the next 90 second in the tranquil outdoor background , a sommelier run buffet car through five pairings , often play along by chomp of seaweed caviar or other sweet ingredients of the season .
If you ’d rather do more of the drinking and less of the designate driving , considerstaying the night . base in 1845 , the honest-to-goodness plate sprain lodging is the sometime operating hotel in Finland . There may or may not be a spirit sighting or two around the 20 rooms and 15 forest cabins . you could also attend one of the hotel ’s numerous ethnical events like jazz or painting nights , havedinner in the former fire tower , or speculation on a mushroom sail or mushroom excursion . If you bleed into the zippy proprietor , enquire her about mushrooms and you wo n’t regret it .
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To get a real tasting of the nation , try your script at aKarelian pie workshop , which is a common dish in Finland . Often witness at breakfast bedspread , this savory pie is made of rye whiskey dough and rice pudding , then brushed with a dangerously - honorable butter and egg concoction . Though simple-minded to make , it ’s now consider a specialty token that must be sought out . The honor - win 2 - 3 minute workshop is extend at the chef ’s picturesque and cozy menage on ( surprise ) an island — and it ’s quite perchance one of the warmest kitchen environments you could stargaze of . It ’s like going over the river and through the woods to the house of the Finnish grandmother you never have sex you needed . As the owner enunciate , “ This is n’t just for tourists , this is how we populate — tourists can take part in substantial lifespan . ” They also offer berry pie , where , if you choose , you may go berry picking in the forest beforehand .
Dine on reindeer and so much fish
Speaking of food experience , there ’s also an abundance of dining option at eating place . You ’ll quickly learn that Pisces is omnipresent in Finland . In summation to Salmon River sandwiches on rye scratch and freshwater lake fish prepared in legion agency , you ’ll also find lingonberry sauces , a mild and spongy bread called sikke , and roasted reindeer . Out here , many eatery also have room to rent , like old - timey tap house for travelers .
If you want to eat right next to the interior park , treat yourself to a decadent meal atRestaurant Piikatyttöat Järvisydän . The main dishes shine , such as the arctic char in a frothy crabmeat sauce or the roasted duck in blackcurrant , but do n’t overlook the stellar incline like beet oat risotto and caramelized parsnips . You ’ll get an extensive wine list , though if you want a peculiar regional dainty , necessitate for the Chuck Berry wine , which is made not from grapes , but the ever - present Finnish Chuck Berry .
Other excellent meals with even better views are often about an hour ride around the island of Lake Saimaa . In add-on to rainbow trout , lamb , and an overnight barley porridge , Koskivahti restaurantat Sahanlahti Resort also offers the choice of eating outside on a Lord’s Day - drench deck of cards overlooking Lake Saimaa .
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Or head toTertti Manor , where you’re able to be influence by the homey background . dissimilar table are jell up in various rooms throughout the manor , bedeck with picture and trinkets that create a informal atmosphere , and you could take a stroll through their lovely garden . you’re able to either go for the buffet overflowing with choice like smoked Pisces in mustard sauce or carrot pesto , Genista raetam jelly , and citrus lentil salad , or a four - course dinner .
Ravintolaat Hotel Punkaharju is one of the 50 good restaurants in Finland , and one of only a few exterior of Helsinki to make the list . you may either get a three- or five - course menu . The dishes constantly switch with the time of year , but example have included lamb carpaccio , mushroom tartar , sugar - salted salmon , or a vegan algae - caviar .
At the goal of the daytime , check that to lap it all down with a Long Drink , which is a gin beverage that taste similar to a sparkling lemonade , though some are made with Citrus paradisi . They total in cans , so local anesthetic often take them into the sweat room , by nature , for a refreshing manner to relax .
Photo by Mikko Nikkinen, courtesy of Visit Finland
Ready to hit the park? Check out our tool kit to get started:
Photo courtesy of Okkola Holiday Cottages
Hotel & Spa Resort Järvisydän
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Hotelli Punkaharju
Sahanlahti Resort
Hotelli Punkaharju
