Oulanka National Park

Oulanka National Park sits at the transition between the coniferous forests of northern Finland and the more boreal mountain birch zone that borders Russia. The park is centred on the Kitka River and its tributaries, which over millennia have cut deep gorges through the ancient land surface that was shaped but not covered by the last glaciation. The gorges are the geological centrepiece: the Oulanka Canyon section drops 50-70 metres to the river below, and the river's power is always present, in the sound of rapids, in the mist off waterfalls, and in the smooth rounded boulders that fill the river channel.

The Karhunkierros (Bear's Circle) is Finland's most celebrated long-distance hiking trail, an 82-kilometre route that traverses the most dramatic terrain in the park: river gorges, pine forests on well-drained esker ridges, marshy depressions full of cross-country ski trails in winter, and open areas where the tree line opens to wide views of the surrounding lakeland. The most photographed section is the canyon crossing with its suspension footbridges: a series of high-level footbridges that take you above the gorge and give vertiginous views of the canyon walls and the river in the depths below.

The park's flora is unusually varied for its latitude because the underlying geology includes calcium-rich rocks that base the soils and allow herb-rich plant communities normally found much further south. In May and early June the forest floor in the birch zone is carpeted with spring flowers: hepaticas, anemones, wood anemones and the distinctive Arctic Finnish cloudberry bogs that produce the famous Lapland berry. The area is also one of the best places in Finland for brown trout fishing in the Kitka River, and the river supports a population of Eurasian otters that are occasionally seen on river bends at dusk.

Oulanka was established in 1956 and expanded significantly in 1982 and 1989, largely as a result of growing recreational pressure from southern Finland as car ownership expanded. The park now receives around 200,000 visitors annually, making it one of the most visited national parks in Finland. The infrastructure reflects this: well-marked trails, backcountry shelters at regular intervals, campfire sites, and a network of day-use trailheads with car parks. The Oulanka Visitor Centre in Kuusamo provides pre-visit information and guided tour programmes.

The border position of the park is part of its character: the park borders Paanajärvi National Park in Russia, and the border zone itself is a managed wilderness area where the international boundary runs through open forest with minimal artificial markers. The border area is accessible on foot with normal border crossing documentation, and some long-distance routes cross into Russia — the possibility of crossing from Finland into Russia on foot adds a historical and geographical layer to the wilderness experience that few other European national parks can offer.

The Oulanka Canyon section with its suspension bridges is one of the most dramatic short wilderness hiking experiences in Northern Europe, accessible to day hikers with a moderate fitness level.

The Karhunkierros trail is Finland's premier long-distance hike, offering a multi-day wilderness route through the most varied terrain in the park, with excellent backcountry hut infrastructure for overnight stops.

The park's position at the convergence of the southern boreal forest and the northern birch zone creates unusually varied flora and birdlife for a sub-Arctic park, with spring flowers in May-June and autumn colour in September.