If You’ve Ever Wanted To Experience A Winter Wonderland Like No Other, Finland’s Nuuksio National Park Will Make Your Dreams Come True. There is Nothing Better Than Visiting Nuuksio National Park in Winter!
Traversing across ice and snow in a National Park in Northern Europe wasn’t something I thought I could access easily. It was only by chance that in my research for something off the beaten track to do whilst we were in Finland did I stumble across this marvellous opportunity. Visiting Nuuksio National Park in the winter is honestly the best time to go. It is located only 45 minutes outside of Helsinki and we decided to commission a private tour guide to take us out for the day.
As we had no idea how difficult a trek this would be, getting a private guide gave us the flexibility to explore Nuuksio at our leisure. I explained to the guide that we had an 8-year-old with us who had never really done anything of the kind and he was extremely accommodating. It turns out the hike was by no means difficult and the ability to start and stop as required enabled us to enjoy the day immensely. I will preface this by saying that we were very well equipped in terms of winter hiking boots and clothing. It is imperative that you’re properly dressed as on some days the park dips below -20 degrees celsius.
Here are our 8 reasons why you must go to Nuuksio National Park in winter. Well actually, we insist. This is a winter wonderland at its best!
TRAVEL TIPS YOU WILL FIND:
- #01 – NUUKSIO NATIONAL PARK IN WINTER IS BREATHTAKING
- #02 – HAVE NUUKSIO NATIONAL PARK ALL TO YOURSELF
- #03 – WALK ACROSS FROZEN HAUKKALAMPI LAKE
- #04 – HOW TO GET TO NUUKSIO NATIONAL PARK
- #05 – NUUKSIO NATIONAL PARK WALKING TRAILS
- #06 – GET A SLED!
- #07 – LUNCH BY A CAMPFIRE
- #08 – VISIT A REINDEER FARM
- BONUS TIP #1 – RELATED ARTICLES
#01 – NUUKSIO NATIONAL PARK IN WINTER IS BREATHTAKING
Considered unsuitable for farming or development, Nuuksio’s rocky and wet terrain was only transformed into a National Park in 1994. It’s pristine wilderness of over 40 lakes, swamps, quintessential Finnish conifer and birch forests and ponds within the 45 square kilometre area is truly stunning when its covered in snow.
Traversing Across Frozen Lake Haukkalampi With No One in Sight!
#02 – HAVE NUUKSIO NATIONAL PARK ALL TO YOURSELF
As the National Park was only such a short distance south of Helsinki and touted as a popular spot for the locals to get away from the city, I naturally assumed that it would fairly busy. As we drove away from the main highway and entered the park, I was immediately struck by how quiet it was. There were hardly any cars in the vicinity and there were certainly not many people around. As we approached the trail where we would start our walk that day, we were officially the only people in sight.
I soon came to the realisation that we had travelled 9452 miles / 15,211 km to be faced with the prospect that we were going to have 45 square kilometres of nature all to ourselves, devoid of not only tourists but even locals. It was bliss.
#03 – WALK ACROSS FROZEN HAUKKALAMPI LAKE
For the first time in my life, I walked on frozen water. Armed with our emergency ice picks around our necks, we started our 8km Korpinkierros trail at Haukkalampi lake. As I stood on the edge of the lake, I was struck by how big it was and when I told Hannah we were going to walk across the lake, her reaction was priceless.
As I’m not a local or a person who is experienced in determining if the ice was safe to walk on, I felt relieved that we had engaged an expert. I mean, I have no idea how to read the appearance of the ice in terms of colour, texture or features, how to calculate the thickness of the ice, understanding the depth of the water underneath nor could I have told you whether the temperature fluctuations would affect the safety levels of the ice!
Hannah Fascinated By Frozen Haukkalampi Lake. Is It Safe??
#04 – HOW TO GET TO NUUKSIO NATIONAL PARK
Nuuksio National Park is so easy to get to. As per Finnish National Park website, here is how you can get to Nuuksio:
How to Get to Nuuksio National Park by Car
- Going to the eastern or northern parts of the Park, drive on the Nupurintie Road (road number 110, old Turku road), and then turn to Brobackantie Road towards north in Nupuri. Later Brobackantie road changes to Nuuksiontie road.
- Drive Nuuksiontie road past Solvalla a couple of kilometres. Turn left at the National Park sign, if going to Haukkalampi. If going to Kattila, in the northern part of the Park, stay on the Nuuksiontie road (also called Kattilantie) until it ends.
- To get to the southern part of the Park, from Brobackantie Road follow the signs to Siikajärvi.
- To the western parts, drive via Veikkola.
How to Get to Nuuksio National Park by Public Transportation
- To the eastern or northern parts of the park, take the bus 245(A) (reittiopas.fi) from Espoo Centre (Espoon keskus). In the summer it gets you to Kattila in Nuuksio, but in the winter it terminates at Nuuksionpää. Trains (S, U, L and E) run to Espoo Centre from for example Helsinki. The regional ticket (‘seutulippu’) is valid on local trains.
- If going to Haukkalampi, the nearest bus stop is about 2 km away, at the fork of the road to Haukkalampi.
- To the southern part of the Park, take the bus 238 (reittiopas.fi) from Leppävaara in Espoo. Trains run to Leppävaara from for example Helsinki. The regional ticket (‘seutulippu’) is valid on local trains.
- To the western side of the park, to Tervalampi, take a coach from Helsinki. The coaches are operated by Pohjolan liikenne (liput.matkahuolto.fi). From Tervalampi it is about 2 km walk to the park.
#05 – NUUKSIO NATIONAL PARK WALKING TRAILS
If you’re great at the outdoors, you don’t need a guide at all as the walking trails are easily identified with very comprehensive maps and markings. Here are some of the trails you can select from:
Nahkiaispolku Nature Trail, 2 km Circle Trail
Starting Point: Haukkalampi Nature Information Hut.
The Nahkiaispolku Nature Trail, 2 km, begins at Haukkalampi Nature Information Hut. Along the trail you find information on habitat restoration. The interesting trail in quite difficult terrain is marked with cone signs.
Kaarniaispolku Nature Trail, 2,7 km Circle Trail
Starting Point: Parking place in Veikkola industrial area, at the end of the Soidentaantie Road
The Kaarniaispolku Nature Trail, is located in the South West corner of Nuuksio National Park. The trail designed for school group use. The starting point for the trail is a parking place in Veikkola industrial area, at the end of the Soidentaantie Road. The trail is marked with brown cone signs. Along the trail the terrain varies from mossy spruce forests to beautiful Haaversopakko bog, and from spectacular rocky forests to an old disposal site.
Haukankierros Trail, 4 km Circle Trail
The quickest way to get a general impression of the Nuuksio National Park is to walk the Haukankierros Trail.
The trail goes up to high rocks, where you have the great scenery towards Haukkalampi and Brook Myllypuro valley. The trail is marked with blue signs. At the halfway of the trail, west side of Haukkalampi lake there are about 30 meters long steel stairs. It is possible for a dog to walk beside the stairs. Sights include the scenery to Brook Myllypuro valley, and the turf floats of Lake Mustalampi. At the halfway of the trail, west side of Haukkalampi lake there are about 30 meters long steel stairs.
Korpinkierros, 8 km Circle Trail.
Starting Point: Haukkalampi. This is the trail we did.
Korpinkierros, 8 km, crosses Rajakallio Rock with a long uphill climb. Along the trail you can see many small lakes and ponds. The trail is marked with yellow signs. Services include Haukkalampi Nature Information Hut at starting and ending points, water available at the Guide Hut, camping site, campfire site and cooking shelter at Lake Mustalampi, reservable camping site at Lake Kolmoislampi, two campfire sites/ camping sites and a lean-to shelter at Lake Holma-Saarijärvi.
Traverse across a frozen lake, feed some reindeers and try traditional Finnish berry tea. Here are 8 Reasons You Should Visit Finland's Nuuksio National Park In Winter. #wintertravel Click To Tweet#06 – GET A SLED!
The guide brought along a small sled/toboggan for Hannah just in case she got tired along the walk. Which of course she then “claimed” she was! Hahaha! The sled turned out to be a great idea as Andrew dragged her across the lake as she decided to vlog her way through on the Go Pro. We managed to also sneak in some tobogganing which of course was just good wholesome fun.
Hannah Of Course Loved Being Carted Around!
#07 – LUNCH BY A CAMPFIRE
We stopped at one of the campfire sites for a small lunch. We were treated to hot lingonberry tea and local bread and pastries. After walking for a few hours in the freezing cold weather, that tea was nothing short of heaven. And whilst we were sipping on that sweet liquid, the pastries were being toasted over the fire. And that heat was just bliss as we sat down for a rest whilst the little one got straight onto roasting some marshmallows.
But we were eager to get going again because we were freezing! The walk was keeping us nice and warm. Oh and we were hopeless on the ice surrounding the campfire. Slipping and sliding away as we watched our guide expertly manoeuvring around. At one point I just sat down and bum shuffled my way back down to the lake. I had this fear I would fall and crack my head open!
Awesome Campfire Break for Lunch. Lingonberry Tea, Finnish Pastries and Roasted Marshmallows!
#08 – VISIT A REINDEER FARM
On the way back, we stopped by at a Reindeer farm for the feeding session. We got to feed them lichen, their favourite thing in the world. We also got to meet Oscar, the grouchy alpha male with magnificent antlers. He was however a bit of a bully as he wouldn’t allow us to feed the females and would chase them away whenever we tried. So we had to feed the ladies in stealth decoy mode as we distracted Oscar on the other end of the feeding platform.
Feeding Grouchy Oscar!
I do highly recommend going with a guide and Olli from Feel The Nature was fantastic. Transport is covered to and from the park, he had all the necessary equipment such as walk poles, snow shoes if required and emergency paraphernalia and we didn’t have to think (no maps or having to identify trail markings) throughout the whole day and was just led by him. Olli’s tour also incorporates learning about nature and so he taught us a little bit about Scandinavian flora and fauna and the animals that inhabited the area.
All of us had an incredible day. One we will never forget. And the fact that we got to experience this all on our own with no one else in sight was a real highlight. We didn’t at any point feel tired and Hannah did the 8km with ease. In fact, it didn’t even feel like 8km because we were just having so much fun. Please, please visit Nuuksio National Park in winter. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
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31 comments
[…] Thank you so much! Finland was an incredible experience and I’m so glad that was available for us to do because we didn’t like Helsinki very much. Nuuksio National Park is so gorgeous and at the time, there was no one around so we pretty much had the whole National Park to ourselves! You can check out more in this article: http://familyglobetrotters.com/8-reasons-go-nuuksio-national-park-finland-winter-2/ […]
The first thing that stood out was fire in snow ! This does look amazing in winter and snow. I would love to visit the reindeer farm and see the northern lights too. I like the fact that at nuuksio national park there is a sled and it is accessible. Hopefully some day soon
Wow Finland in winter looks like a snowy fairy tale tour. I love snow and I wanted to see those Northern lights too and so Finland is on my bucket list since long. To reach Nuuksio national park, I would opt car and you have given detail information about reaching here.
Looks like a beautiful place to visit! I think I’d be terrified walking on a frozen lake but definitely sounds fun to do. Chilling out by the campfire and roasting marshmallows sounds like the perfect way to chill out afterwards.
I was terrified too which is why we hired a guide because I wouldn’t know if it was safe to walk across it. And luckily we did because if we relied on watching someone walk across as an indication of whether we could, we would have had to wait for days because there was no one there! LOL.
I have never heard about the Nuuksio National Park but number 7 and 8 have convinced me to put this park on the list! Who knows next winter 😉
Oh if you get the chance to visit Helsinki in the winter, you really must go. Its so close to the city you can even just take a bus and then go for a walk. The national park is covered in maps so not easy to get lost.
I hadn’t really heard of the Nuuksio National Park but I want to go now! So cool that you were able to explore with hardly anyone else around. The pictures look great!
I hadn’t heard of it until I did some research of things to do around Helsinki. So glad we found it because not only was it an amazing place, we didn’t enjoy Helsinki as much. Yeah, super cool hardly anyone around. We had the whole place to ourselves!
What a wonderful trip <3 I bet Hannah loved being pulled around, think I would too haha! The reindeer look so lovely and I bet it was nice to warm up with marshmallows around a camp fire 🙂
It was and I am grateful we did this. Can’t belive it was so close to Helsinki and there was harldy anyone there! The reindeer was an eye opener. I had never seen one before and they were HUNGRY! Feeding them was a whole heap of fun:)
OMG talk about a winter wonderland for sure, this trip looks like a dream!!
I still pinch myself when I think about this place. Every corner of this place was a winter wonderland of epic proporitons. I would be quite happy to go back again and again.
The emergency ice pick may have freaked me out, but this place sounds magical.
Hahahah! That was the first thing he told us when we were about to start on our hike and it freaked ME out! I looked at Andrew and was like “you got that dude?” I think if I really fell in the water, I would be so cold my brain wouldn’t function let alone try and pry that ice pick open!
This is an amazing experience. My kids would love this and im pretty sure they would claim they were tired to score a ride in the toboggan as well!
This is the best place for kids! So much sapce, being outdoors, running across forzen lakes…. couldn’t ask for more. And yup….. that sled sure came in handy for Hannah!
What a lovely experience! Nuuksio National Park looks beautiful with a sparkling sheet of snow and the tall green trees – such a magical landscape. Your pictures are amazing! Looks like you guys had a lot of fun in the snow. The lunch of hot lingonberry tea, Finnish Pastries and roasted marshmallows – wow! Sounds mouthwatering.
Thanks Shaily. It sure was an experience we will never forget. Just trekking through untouched snow and watching my daughter do snow angels was such a blessing. And that afternoon tea by the fire was seriously good. I had never heard of lingonberries before but believe it is in abundance in Scandinavia. That was some yummy tea!
You have convinced me to visit Finland and that too in winter! I am national parks lover and currently have the target to finish all in India. I would love to explore the same for other parts of world.
That’s a lot of national parks in India Ketki! How many have you done? Nuuksio is beautiful and if you’re ever in Helsinki, you really must go!
Looks absolutely freezing but also sounds like you guys had a good time! The reindeer farm seems so fascinating!
Hahahah! Yup it was pretty cold but there was no wind and was completely still. We rugged up pretty well though and all that hiking kept us warm. We absolutely loved this place. Reindeer farm was a first for me. Man they love their moss…. gobbled it up like they hadn’t eaten for days!
I am sold! I love nature and incredible views. It is even better when no-one else is around too. This sounds like my kinda place. Thanks for providing some great travel inspiration!
You welcome Katie. We were very lucy no one was aorund although I didn’t ascertain whether we just had a lucky day or that it was a super quiet day. Either way, it was BLISS. Still one of my greatest travel highlights ever.
This looks like an amazing adventure but to be honest- I’m such a baby when it comes to cold temps!
Hahaha! I have to admit we were too but we researched before we went and made sure we had everything we needed. And we did pretty well! We didn’t feel uncomfortable and the hike definitely kept us warm. My daughter loves the cold so she was in her element!
Do you know why the farm was keeping reindeers?
I truly believe that Finland is one of the most underrated countries in Northern Europe. I have never been to this place but I’ve been to Helsinki and Lapland and I’m impressed how Finnish people take care of their environment. I’m planning to go again for the winter and will definitely check this place out!
I would love to go to Lapland in the winter! That is on my bucket list for sure. I didn’t have time to go so we had to miss out. Oh yes, please do go to Nuuksio. It is so close to Helsinki too. you can either just take the bus from Helsinki and explore it yourself or commission a tour guide.
[…] Why You Have To Go To Nuuksio National Park, Finland, In Winter. Check out our Estonian blog post: 10 Reasons Why You Should Go To Old Town Tallinn From Helsinki. Check out our Danish blog post: 10 Reasons Why I Loved Exploring Copenhagen On A Cargo […]