On the 16th of December, Anna and I went to Repovesi National Park with a friend of ours. At the beginning of the day, a few centimeters of fresh snow had fallen. When we left the park, about 10 centimeters of fresh snow accumulated. Read here about this beautiful winter’s day with continuous snowfall in Repovesi National Park.
In the middle of December, the time of the day during which it is light outside is very limited in Finland. Even more so in Repovesi, which is located 150 kilometers to the northeast of Helsinki, as the crow flies. For this reason, we departed early in the morning so we could arrive a little before sunrise, at 9:15. We drove from a town close to Lahti, since we stayed the night at our friend’s place who lives there.
This day was a great day to start the Christmas holidays. When we arrived at the Saarijärvi parking spot it was still snowing. It is such a peaceful feeling to walk in the Finnish forests while snow is falling.
From the Saarijärvi parking place, we walked to Olhava where we had lunch next to a lake. After lunch, on the way back, we went by the Mustanlamminvuori observation tower. Make sure to check out the photos further down in this article, so you can enjoy the special, wintry views.
Varied landscape: rocks, (frozen) lakes and lots of forest
While hiking through Repovesi, we noticed how varied this national park is. Lots of forest is alternated with viewing points over the many beautiful lakes. Due to the time of year and the thick clouds, it was relatively dark in the park, but the snow cover over the frozen lake made everything seem a bit lighter (and extra pretty!).
We had lunch at a fireplace close to Olhava, and this fireplace was located next to Repovesi’s most characteristic feature: the cliffs of Olhavanvuori. Anyone who has been to Repovesi will immediately know what I’m talking about. If you google photos of Repovesi, an image of these beautiful rocks will come up. These rocks, the variability in the landscape and the calmness, are what makes Repovesi stand out compared to for example Nuuksio National Park. If you have the time, it is completely worth the drive from Helsinki, as you will not see the same in Nuuksio – despite the fact that Nuuksio is a versatile and wonderful national park too.
While our lunch was warming up on the grill, we enjoyed the view of the lake and cliffs. Unfortunately, the snow seemed to turn into sleet and rain.
Sleet turned back into big snowflakes – snowfall in Repovesi continued
Luckily, right after the lunch, the precipitation intensified, which caused the sleet to turn back to snow again. Big snowflakes started falling and kept falling for the rest of our hike: it was a very snowy day in Repovesi National Park. If you enjoy big snowflakes as much as I do, check out the video below, which is a compilation of the snowfall in Repovesi in slow motion.
Mustanlamminvuori observation tower and hurrying out of the park
Halfway through the video posted above, you will also see the views from the Mustanlamminvuori observation tower. On top of the tower, it was very windy; the snow was almost ‘falling’ horizontally. Due to the harsh weather and consequently the limited sight, the view was mystical. Due to the cold wind on top of the tower and the fact that it was getting dark already, we quickly went down again.
It was 14 o’clock, and while the sun would set ‘only’ around 14:50, we had to hurry out of the park. The thick clouds caused the daylight to disappear rapidly, especially in the forest.
For a big snow lover like me, the last part of the hike was perfect. A thick layer of snow covered the trees and branches while we walked out of the park. The feeling can’t be much Christmasier than this – see the end of the video above or some of the photo’s in the gallery below.
A bit before sunset, we arrived back at the parking area again. We couldn’t not make a snowman when there is such a nice, fresh layer of sticky snow. The snowman we built perfectly concluded our day.
Want to read more experiences in Finland’s National Parks? Click here. More about travelling in general you can find here.
