Best places to run in Finland

A historic English-style forest park with a hilltop lookout tower over a classic Finnish lake-and-forest national landscape.

Finland's highest fell at 1324 m, reached only by a demanding multi-day wilderness trek across the Käsivarsi backcountry.

At 172 m the highest point in South Karelia, a short climb rewarded with expansive views over surrounding wilderness lakes.

A park of lakes and ancient bedrock fissures, best known for the dramatic narrow Helvetinkolu gorge trail.

A spectacular 38 m-deep cleft in the rock just 2 metres wide, the highlight of Helvetinjärvi's hiking trails.

A clear-water park of eskers, pine ridges and turquoise lakes with easy waymarked trails and ancient rock paintings.

Finland's oldest tourist attraction, a famed Vuoksi-river rapids beside the historic Kruununpuisto park, dramatic during water releases.

Helsinki's historic seaside park with rocky hills and waterfront promenades looking out over the Baltic archipelago.

The 82 km Bear's Trail, widely called Finland's finest long-distance hike, through gorges, roaring rapids and old pine forest.

Helsinki's long central forest park, a continuous green corridor of running, walking and forest paths from the sea inland.

A rugged 40 km-long, up to 80 m-deep canyon whose long summer trail follows the river past waterfalls through remote tundra.

A 600+ hectare reserve north-east of Tampere with 18 km of trails over duckboards, cliffs and around forest lakes.

Free-flowing rapids on the Kiiminki river 25 km from Oulu, ringed by islands and footbridges for easy scenic walking.

A chain of rocky hills delivering Finland's most celebrated view, with trails climbing through forest to the heights above the lake.

A 30 km fracture valley up to 130 m deep with cliffs, rapids and spectacular waterfalls that freeze into ice columns in winter.

Finland's largest national park, a vast goldfields wilderness with long riverside trails to roaring falls and old prospector huts.

A tranquil lakeland park of old forest, heritage farmland and a long footbridge, with calm waymarked trails near Helsinki.

An island wilderness in Lake Haukivesi, home to the rare Saimaa ringed seal, with cliff-top viewpoints over the maze of waters.

Finland's only natural UNESCO World Heritage site, where land still rises from the sea, with nature trails over smooth rocky shores.

Helsinki's nearby wilderness of lakes, cliffs and bogs, with loop trails from the easy Haukkalampi to the tough 17 km Klassarinkierros.

Finland's premier hiking park of canyons, rapids and suspension bridges, home to the legendary Karhunkierros long trail.

A forested ridge above Rovaniemi with trails and a lookout tower over the city and the wide Kemijoki river.

A chain of open fells boasting Finland's cleanest air and 350 km of trails, including the classic 50 km Hetta-Pallas route.

Finland's fourth-largest lake, its rocky skerry-filled shores beneath Koli making for memorable lakeside walking.

A 12 km loop in Oulanka, Finland's most popular day hike, linking famous rapids, suspension bridges and viewpoints.

A renowned narrow pine esker threading between lakes, one of Finland's national landscapes and a classic gentle walking route.

Southernmost fells of Lapland with dramatic quartzite ridges, deep gorges and silent old-growth forest on the Pyhätunturi hike.

A 4 km nature trail along the world's highest gravel esker, climbing pine ridges between two lakes to a stone lookout tower.

A rugged park of cliffs and lakes crossed by suspension bridges and a hand ferry, with a steep stair climb up Katajavuori cliff.

A high-fell park famous for crown-snow forests, with a 6.5 km circular trail climbing to panoramic views over frozen lakes.

A wilderness hiking area along a chain of thundering rapids with riverside trails and long suspension bridges.

An iconic 1029 m table-topped fell above Lake Tsahkaljärvi, climbed by a steep step-stair and loop trail with sweeping arctic views.

The Archipelago Trail ring route weaving by road, path and ferry across the rocky islands of the Turku archipelago.

A gentle park of old-growth forest, esker ponds and restored bogs with easy duckboard trails and forest reindeer.

A forest park just 20 km from central Helsinki, with the Kalkinpolttajanpolku trail climbing Högberget for views over the east.

A coastal park blending forest, lakes and sea bays with varied loop trails and an old ironworks village trailhead.

A nature trail along Finland's southernmost cape past meadows, cliffs and beaches with open Baltic Sea views.

The famous quartzite summit reached by the Ukko-Koli trail, giving Finland's iconic panorama over island-studded Lake Pielinen.

One of Finland's biggest wildernesses with 200+ km of marked fell-and-valley trails ranging from day walks to multi-day treks.

Finland's finest sand-dune beach, with flat trails through century-old spruces and along the wide Baltic shore.