Sininen polku
Sininen polku is particularly suitable for snowshoeing or as a skiing destination for more experienced forest skiers. The area offers more challenging trail sections along ridges, as well as easier routes across marshes below the ridges and on the frozen lake. In winter, you can follow a marked route—indicated by blue paint markings—stretching up to 16 kilometres at its longest, or alternatively navigate on your own, choosing easier terrain. The area also offers opportunities for ice fishing and enjoying campfires at several fire and lean-to sites. The Liminsärkät parking area for the Blue Trail is ploughed from the winter holiday weeks onwards in 2023. You can check the parking situation with Metsähallitus.
Lauttavaara
The Lauttavaara nature trail is an excellent, easy, and beautiful nearby destination of about two kilometres, best suited for snowshoeing due to its length and terrain. The Lauttavaara nature trail is quite a popular local excursion spot, so the path is often packed down, making it walkable even for families with children. You can check the winter ploughing of the parking area with Metsähallitus.
Teeri-Lososuo
The Teeri-Lososuo mire protection area is an excellent destination for forest skiing and sliding snowshoeing. The approximately 11-kilometre summer hiking trail can be skied in winter by following the trail’s painted markings on trees. Along the route, you will encounter both mires and untouched old-growth forest. A lean-to shelter is located halfway along the trail. At Teeri-Lososuo, it’s also worth leaving the marked trail to travel across open, more easily passable mires. The parking area is ploughed in winter by the City of Kuhmo.
Syväjärvi
The Syväjärvi trail is about 7.5 kilometres long and passes through a variety of ridge and mire landscapes. Along the route, there are several campfire sites and four rental cabins. The destination is easily accessible in winter, even for families with young children. The Syväjärvi parking area is ploughed in winter.
Harakkasaari
The Harakkasaari route, part of the Lentua Nature Reserve, is an excellent destination for snowshoeing, hiking, cross-country skiing, or kicksledding. The island has a campfire site, and snowshoers can enjoy a pleasant challenge on the island’s ridges. The services of the Kalevala area, parking, and Hotel Kalevala are nearby. The Harakkasaari loop is about 2.5 kilometres when starting from Hotel Kalevala. There are several parking areas in the Kalevala area.
Jauhovaara
The Jauhovaara hiking trail, about 5 kilometres long, is a diverse route with clear elevation changes, making it especially suitable for snowshoeing. Jauhovaara features an impressive viewing platform located 253.2 metres above sea level, as well as a nature trail presenting exotic conifer species planted in the area in the 1930s–40s, along with the significance of native tree species for people and nature. The nature trail also provides information on the area’s history and the work of the forest ranger at Jauhovaara. Along the route, there is a lean-to shelter, a campfire site, and a rental cabin located in the former forest ranger’s yard. The parking area is ploughed in winter.
Lentuankoski
In winter, a walkable path often forms to Lentuankoski and the Välisuvanto lean-to shelter. This is also an excellent spot to visit with snowshoes or sliding snowshoes. Lentuankoski is a popular nature and photography destination, where in winter you can see white-throated dippers diving into icy waters. When ice and snow conditions allow, you can travel longer distances on the ice and along the shores, for example with snowshoes or forest skis. Less than a kilometre from the Lentuankoski upper parking area, you will find the Kallioniemi lean-to shelter and campfire site, while about 7 kilometres away is the Lentosaaren open wilderness hut and sauna. The parking area is ploughed in winter, and nearby there is an atmospheric rentalhut.
Lumikenkäilyä Lentuankoskella. Kuva: Kuhmon kaupunki, Risto Takala
Juortanansalo, Iso-Palonen – Maariansärkkä, and Elimyssalo
Juortanansalo, Iso-Palonen – Maariansärkkä, and Elimyssalo are excellent destinations for winter hikers. Juortanansalo can be reached from Liekinvaara Road, Iso-Palonen – Maariansärkkä from Viiksimontie, and the Elimyssalo Nature Reserve from Hukkajärventie / Juntintie. These destinations’ parking areas are not cleared, so bringing your own shovel to clear a parking spot is necessary to avoid blocking other road users.
These locations are also well suited for trips lasting a couple of days. You can find a suitable cabin, hut, or lean-to in the area to use as a base for hikes lasting up to a week. If you plan to make longer journeys, traveling with forest skis is a traditional and excellent way to move through the snow. The snow in Kainuu tends to be deep and soft, so longer and more supportive forest skis are practical.
For winter overnight trips, you need knowledge, experience, navigation skills and equipment, sufficient gear, and provisions. The forests of Kuhmo provide more shelter from freezing temperatures and wind than Lapland’s fell landscapes, but cold and darkness can still surprise you here as well. Please note that the hiking trails are not specifically marked for winter conditions.
