Activities in Hossa National Park

The forests and waters of Hossa are easily accessible to visitors. There are a wide range of hiking and biking trails, and the waters invite you to go canoeing and fishing. On your trip, you will travel along the same routes as the area's first inhabitants did 10,000 years ago.

In the national park, you may also travel outside the trails, but it is advisable to move along the paths in order to avoid eroding the terrain. Please adhere to the national park's rules and the principles of litter-free hiking.

Cross-country Skiing and Winter Trails

• winter trails in 2019-2020 (pdf, 2.6 MB, julkaisut.metsa.fi)

Trekking

There are about 90 km of trails in the national park. The trails, most of which are easy to walk on, run through the handsome esker and lake scenery in Hossa. You can set off for a long hike by combining circle trails and by using the connecting trails.

Mountain Biking

Hossa National Park boasts four marked mountain biking trails, which run through the most handsome esker and lake scenery in Hossa. By using alternative trails and local roads, bikers can tailor a suitable route for themselves.

Canoeing

Experience the roar of the rapids, the gently flowing rivers and the wide open stretches of lake. Three free-flowing bodies of water meet in the Hossa area: the rivers Somerjoki and Peranganjoki, and the Iikoski Rapids. From Hossa, the watercourses continue south via Lake Kiantajärvi to Lake Oulujärvi and then continue all the way to the Bothnian Bay. The rivers of Hossa are easy to canoe. Only the Lounatkoski Rapids must be bypassed by dragging the canoe. You can embark on a day's canoeing excursion or a longer trip.

Fishing

Hossa boasts a large number of ponds and lakes whose varied fish population provide ample challenges for recreational fishermen. There are suitable spots for rapids fishing as well as for trolling, ice-fishing and fly fishing. Two ponds that are located very close to the national park are stocked with rainbow trout.

The Hossa angling permit 5502 (eraluvat.fi) entitles you to fish in the Hossa National Park at Kirkasvetinen, Umpi-Valkeainen, Iso-Valkeainen, Keski-Valkeainen, Ala-Valkeainen and at Pitkä-Hoilua‒Kokalmus as well as at rapids and flowing waters, and outside the national park at Huosiuslampi, Keihäslampi and River Hossanjoki.   

At the other waters of the national park, everyone has the right to go hook and line fishing and ice fishing free of charge and those who have paid the fisheries management fee are entitled to go lure fishing at ponds and lakes.

At the lakes and ponds which are located outside the Hossa National Park and which are managed by Metsähallitus, you are allowed to go angling and ice fishing free of charge and you are allowed to fish there with one rod, under the lure fishing right that is included in the fisheries management fee. Fishing with more than one rod is possible with the North Ostrobothnia-Kainuu angling permit 5411 (eraluvat.fi).

Fishers need to check the restrictions on fishing sites at kalastusrajoitus.fi (In Finnish).

Further Information on the Hossa Fishing Permits:

• Fisheries management fee (eraluvat.fi)
• Hossa angling permit 5502 (eraluvat.fi)
• North Ostrobothnia‒Kainuu angling permit 5411 (eraluvat.fi)

Other Activities

• Birdwatching: On your snack break, you may be accompanied by a friendly Siberian jay that has come to look for breadcrumbs. Listen to the knocking of a great spotted woodpecker, the slurping sound of a brambling and the melancholic "kwee-kow" call of a black-throated diver. 
• Berry and mushroom picking: You can pick healthy delicacies on the heaths and mires of the national park, as you may freely pick berries and edible mushrooms. The amount of berries varies, but every year, pickers get at least some berries. The amount of mushrooms is more difficult to forecast.
• Diving: The clear waters of Hossa are ideal for diving. The almost 40-m-deep kettle-hole pond of Öllöri is particularly popular with divers. There is a diving centre at the Karhunkainalo Camping Ground on the shore of Öllöri Pond. The diving centre provides a great setting for sports divers. Elsewhere, a permit is required for scuba diving.
• Guided group tours: Please book in advance. Information from the Hossa Visitor Centre.
• Sights and the views: The most valuable sight in the area is the Värikallio rock paintings depicting human figures, elk and a bear with a crooked back. The rugged Julma-Ölkky canyon lake is an impressive sight. The structures in the national park are signs of livelihoods from different periods of time: the logging sites, the meadow culture, reindeer husbandry and fishing.
• Snowmobiling: Some snowmobile tracks run in the northern and northwestern part of the national park. On the eastern side of the national park, a snowmobile track runs by the park and from there, there is a connection to the visitor centre's parking area. Use of the snowmobile tracks requires a track permit. Information on the required permits is available on eräluvat.fi. Snowmobiling outside the track is forbidden. In some cases, Metsähallitus may grant a separate permit for snowmobiling outside the tracks.
• Swimming: You can have a spa holiday on the shallow beaches of the crystal-clear lakes of Hossa. Many ponds and lakes have sandy areas that are suitable for swimming. You will find good beaches at Lake Hypäsjärvi, Iikoski, as well as at Öllöri Pond, Karhunkainalo Camping Ground. Both of them have changing rooms. There are also sandy beaches at Kokalmus and Seipiniemi. There are no restrictions on swimming. You'll swim in the lakes and ponds of the national park at your own risk.
• Visitor centre: At the visitor centre, you will obtain tips, maps and brochures for your trip. A café-restaurant, equipment rental, the reception of the camping ground and hut keys.