Is there a national park with mountainous and dense forests in Finland?
What I want
I would like to visit one of the national parks in Finland for ~5 days. I am looking for a location that is
- reasonably far away from cities
- has dense forests
- a slightly mountainous area that would enable 1-day hikes that reward you with a view down onto nature over a wide area*
- is north of the arctic circle to experience the polar summer (not sure if this conflicts with the dense forests)
- has at least one lake for canoeing
(in that order of importance)
What I found
The topological map of Finland shows that there are few tall mountains in general:
And pictures from nationalparks.fi see to indicate that hills are all I can hope for:
Photos from Google Streeview also show rather sparse forests:
Question
Can you recommend a national park or nature spot in Finland that would satisfy all the requirements listed above. Time of travel will be the second half of August. As an alternative I thought about flying to Norway or Sweden as they seem to be much more mountainous, but Finland would be the easier solution. Starting point of travel can be Helsinki or Tallinn and can include all means of travel. Renting a car is also possible.
*I don't have professional equipment such as a lightweight sleeping bag or tent so a multi-day hike would be too expensive, as I would have to buy all the equipment.
Best Answer
@problemofficer I guess you are already over there, and I hope you are enjoying. Anyway in case others interested
Depending on how mountenous and how dense a forest you expect, but as @vlumi mentioned, no high mountains (highest point some 1.3 km), and, while there are lots of dense forests, finding any kind of a forest at altitude above, say 500m is already a challenge...
A logical source to find more about national parks would be
https://www.nationalparks.fi/nationalparks ;-)
p.s. From a global perspective, I think that the uniqueness that the Finnish national parks has to offer is mainly in:
Lakes (Eastern part, e.g. Linnansaari https://www.nationalparks.fi/linnansaarinp )
The archipelago (Southwest, https://www.nationalparks.fi/archipelagonp )
While the distance from Helsinki to "Lakes" is longer than to "Archipelago", the accessibility from Helsinki to both is about is similar (=as it is easier to fly / drive on a bigger road to some city in Eastern Finland than to get yourself into the archipelago), and both mean that a "proper visit" won't be possible on e.g. a day-trip, but better assume 1+1 days for travel + the time to spend there.
Pictures about "Is there a national park with mountainous and dense forests in Finland?"
Are there forests in Finland?
Forests cover more than 75 per cent of the land area of Finland. Measured by the proportional share of forest land, Finland is the most forested country in Europe. A total of 20.3 million hectares is available for wood production, of which 61 per cent is privately owned.What is the biggest national park in Finland?
In Lemmenjoki national park you can experience the true northern wilderness. One of the biggest wilderness areas in Europe takes place in the municipality of Inari in Lapland, right next to the Norwegian border.Where are the forests in Finland?
Teijo National Park, Coast and Archipelago Located on the southwestern coast of the Gulf of Finland, Teijo National Park offers pristine lakes and rivers and beautiful forests, hills, wetlands and swamps.Does Finland have a rainforest?
Of these, 0.8% are endemic, meaning they exist in no other country, and 2.5% are threatened. Finland is home to at least 1102 species of vascular plants....Finland Forest Information and Data.Total Land Area (1000 ha)30409Total Forest Area (1000 ha)22157Percent Forest Cover73Primary Forest Cover (1000 ha)0Primary Forest, % total forest02 more rowsStrange Interaction With A Park Ranger While Searching For A Missing Person
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