The mid-morning sun is already shining at full strength, but the thermometer reads only about ten degrees of crisp warmth. The air drifting over the bog smells of autumn. The forest floor around us is blanketed in blueberry and bog bilberry shrubs turned red, and the pale lichen coat covering the rocks is cold and […]
If you want to know whether the Finnish blueberry season has started, you don’t even have to go into the forest. Just look down: bird droppings have turned purple. Birds love blueberries as much as people do, and by late July their droppings give away the fact that it’s time to head into the woods. […]
The sky was grey and the air rich with oxygen when my husband, our friend, and I set out on a weekday in July to walk the Värikallio Loop trail in Hossa National Park, in Suomussalmi, Kainuu. The forecast promised heavy rain all day, but we’d decided in advance not to let it ruin the […]
Pirunkurun ponnistus When I arrive in Ă„käslompolo, a beautiful summer day that started sunny, but windy, turns rainy. The rain continues when I park my car in the carpark of Kesänkijärvi. So, I decide to eat my lunch in the car, while staring at the raindrops running down the windscreen. While enjoying a tasty baguette, […]
It was a cold, dry morning in Lauhanvuori national park without the same dusting of snow that coated the forest on the previous morning. While tucking into my porridge, cheerful birdsong tingled my ears. What bird is entertaining me so sweetly? Not long after I finish my porridge, I see the singer in a small […]
Late winter in Finland is perhaps the most mysterious of all seasons. As the sun finally begins to warm, yet the ground remains covered in snow and ice, nature seems to hold its breath. We wanted to make the most of this exact atmosphere when we headed to Latokartanonkoski trail in Salo. I was accompanied […]
This year, our Finland, Naturally team is taking part in the “Sleep Outdoors Every Month” challenge, and for February the turn was claimed by Marja Lahti, who works at the Koli Nature Centre Ukko. At Ukko, you can find Marja providing customer service, guiding visitors through exhibitions, or outdoors in the terrain of Koli. She […]
Although Haukkalampi is the most popular gateway to Nuuksio National Park, it is still possible to experience peace and quiet there – as long as you time your visit right. If you have the chance to head to Nuuksio on a winter weekday outside the holiday season, it’s well worth taking. About a week ago, […]
Here in the heart of Nuuksio, at the Finnish Nature Centre Haltia, our staff are completely enchanted! During their breaks, Finland, Naturally team members make snow angels in front of Haltia, and even the office dogs get to enjoy the sparkling snowdrifts in the forest. Right now, Nuuksio National Park looks as if it has […]
The Christmas holidays, a grey sky, the lack of snow, and daylight lasting only a few short hours had wrapped Liesjärvi National Park in complete stillness when we arrived at the courtyard of the Korteniemi heritage farm on Christmas Day. The drive from Helsinki takes only about an hour and a half. We first walked […]
