Services in Hossa National Park

A corridor inside a nature center, with a customer service desk, a cafe and a sofa area.

Customer Service and Guidance

Hossa Visitor Centre

  • Information, guided outdoor excursions.
  • Café and restaurant, kiosk and souvenirs.
  • Reception desk for Karhunkainalo Camping Ground.
  • Permits for fishing. 
  • Rental services for cabins, boats, canoes, kayaks, bicycles and fishing and hiking equipment.

Services offered by enterprises and other organisations in Hossa National Park 

Following enterprises and other organisations offer services in the Hossa National Park. They have a cooperation agreement with Metsähallitus and they follow the principles of sustainable nature tourism when operating in the national park.

Meals, Cooking and Snacks

Café and Restaurant

  • There is a café-restaurant at the Hossa Visitor Centre. 
  • You can prepare food at cabins, huts and rest spots.

Campfire Sites

  • Hossa National Park boasts 14 lean-to shelters and 5 open wilderness huts, next to which there is a campfire site.
  • Campfires are only allowed at designated campfire sites.

Making an open fire is forbidden when a wildfire warning is in effect. 

  • This prohibition does not apply to cooking shelters or other fireplaces with a flue.

Evening at a windbreak, with a campfire and moonlight.

Drinking Water

  • The water in the area is usually drinkable, but the quality of the water has not been tested. You can obtain tap water from the visitor centre.

Waste Management

The main principle is that hikers take their own litter away with them. Hossa National Park adheres to the principles of litter-free hiking. Biodegradable waste should be placed in a dry toilet or composter, and small amounts of clean paper and cardboard can be used as kindling in a campfire.

  • There are recycling points at the visitor centre's parking area and at the Jatkonjärvi camping site.
  • You can find a recycling point, as well as a collection system for chemical toilet waste and liquid waste, at the Karhunkainalo camping ground.

Toilets

  • There is a toilet or a dry toilet at the visitor centre, at the huts, the cabins and at almost all rest spots.
  • There are toilets or dry toilets which are accessible at the visitor centre, the Karhunkainalo Camping Ground, Jatkonjärvi tent site, the parking areas of Julma-Ölkky, Lihapyörre and Hossalaislammet, the lean-to shelters Lihapyörre and Muikkupuro, the fishing sites on the shores of Lake Pitkä-Hoilua and Huosiuslampi Pond, the Iikoski rest spot and on the shores of Nurmiselkä. 
  • There is no toilet paper provided in the dry toilets. Visitors are adviced to bring their own toilet paper.

Overnight Stays

Hiker at a table outside a cabin.

In Hossa, you can stay overnight at a large or small hut, in a campervan or caravan, at an open wilderness hut, in a tent, or at a lean-to shelter. Some of the accommodation in the national park can only be booked online, the other accommodation only from the visitor centre.

There are several tourism enterprises that provide versatile accommodation in areas surrounding the national park. Further information is available on the hossa.fi web pages.

Lean-to Shelters and Campfire Sites

There are several lean-to shelters in the national park and in the surrounding areas. They provide shelter against rain, and you can eat meals and stay overnight at these lean-to shelters. There are campfire sites and chopped firewood next to each lean-to shelter. You are not allowed to pitch a tent by the Huosilampi lean-to shelter or fireplaces, Keihäslampi fireplace or by the Iikoski rest spot.

Camping

Besides the Karhunkainalo Camping Ground (hossa-kylmaluoma.fi), you can also pitch a tent at the Jatkonjärvi camping site.  

A tent has been pitched close to the lean-to shelter in the pine-heath forest. A lake can be seen in the background.

Jatkonjärvi Camping Site

  • A camping site, free of charge, on the shore of Lake Jatkonjärvi
  • Campfire sites, tables and benches, dry toilets, a recycling point

Open Wilderness Huts

There are five open wilderness huts in the Hossa National Park. They can be freely used by all hikers. They are meant for stays of 1‒2 nights. They cannot be booked in advance. Room for all at a pinch.

There is a table and benches in the yard of a cottage. A small fireplace is located in the background at the foor of a fir tree.

Rental Huts

There are twelve rental huts owned by Metsähallitus in the national park and in the surrounding areas. The facilities provided by the huts vary, ranging from small wilderness huts without electricity to large cabins with electricity. Further information on the huts is available at the visitor centre, but the huts are booked via the website.

A cottage in a winter landscape. The area around the cottage and the trees are snowy.

Camping Grounds

Karhunkainalo Camping Ground, which is located close to the visitor centre, and its service building provide services for caravanners and campers. There are four rental cabins, three semi-detached houses and a rentable lakeside sauna at the camping ground. The camping ground's reception desk is located at the visitor centre.

  • Service building
    • Two cooking spaces, an eating space, two saunas (incl. showers), toilets, a laundry room
    • Accessible. 
  • A rentable lakeside sauna
    • A lounge and dressing space with a fireplace A steam room, showers, a separate toilet.
    • Accessible.
    • Bookings from the Hossa Visitor Centre
  • Four rental cabins
    • Hunajatassu, Karhu, Mesikämmen and Metsänkuningas
    • Cabins with electricity and the other modern conveniences
    • No sauna, you can go bathing in the sauna that is located in the service building
    • The Karhu cabin is suitable for allergic people, pets are not allowed there
    • Bookings on Hossa-Kylmaluoma.fi or from Hossa Visitor Centre
  • Three semi-detached houses, in where apartments called Aitto, Hoilua, Kokalmus, Kukkuri, Lounaja and Öllöri. Further information hossa-kylmaluoma.fi.
  • Caravan spaces
    • 50 asphalt-surfaced caravan spaces with electricity
    • A recycling point and a collection system for chemical toilet waste and liquid waste
  • Spaces for pitching up a tent

Caravan Parking

  • Caravan parking is not allowed inside the National Park.
  • There is a parking area close to the visitor centre where you can park your caravan while driving by car in the park.
  • Staying overnight in campervans and caravans in the National Park is only allowed at the Karhunkainalo Camping Ground. Further infomation hossa-kylmaluoma.fi.

Personal Hygiene

  • There is a good sauna (by reservation) at the Karhunkainalo Camping Ground on the shore of Öllöri Pond, and there are showers and saunas in the service building of the camping ground. The saunas are also accessible. Bookings from the Hossa Visitor Centre.
  • All rental cabins in the area have a sauna. The rent of the cabins of the camping ground includes the right to use the sauna and shower facilities in the service building.

Swimming Shores

  • Many lakes in Hossa National Park have sandy areas that are suitable for swimming.
  • There are changing facilities, a cooking shelter, campfire sites and a dry toilet on the shore of Lake Hypäsjärvi, Iikoski (2 km from the visitor centre).
  • There are changing facilities, a jetty and a toilet on the shore of Öllöri Pond, next to the Karhunkainalo Camping Ground.
  • There are also sandy beaches at Kokalmus and Seipiniemi.

Programme Services

Diving Site

  • Öllöri is a crystal-clear kettle-hole pond that is almost 40 metres deep.
  • There are changing facilities, a space for servicing and drying scuba diving equipment, a place for filling diving cylinders (the customer's compressor), a jetty and a toilet.
  • The closest places for filling diving cylinders are at the Kuusamo, Taivalkoski and Hyrynsalmi fire brigades.

Overnight Stays in the Surrounding Area

Equipment Rental

  • From the Hossa Visitor Centre, you can hire boats, canoes, kayaks, fishing gear, fatbikes, snowshoes, SUP-boards and other hiking gear, as well as linen.
  • Gear is also rented out by other tourism enterprises in Hossa (hossa.fi):
    • Fatbikes: Camping Hossan Lumo, Experience KL, Kainuun luontoretket and Hossanportti
    • Canoes: Camping Hossan Lumo, Experience KL, Kainuun luontoretket, Hossanportti and Julma-Ölkky kiosk.
    • SUP-boards: Camping Hossan Lumo, Experience KL and Hossanportti.

Accessible Services

Other Services in the Surrounding Area

  • The village of Hossa (hossa.fi) boasts a restaurant, a café.
  • Veli Paasovaara (julmaolkky.fi) organizes boat cruises on Julma-Ölkky canyon lake.
  • Experience KL Oy and other tourism enterprises in the area organise outdoor meals.
  • Groceries can be bought at Camping Hossan Lumo.
  • The closest grocery shop is Ruhtinan Herkkukori (facebook.com) in the village of Juntusranta, 30 km.
  • There is a cash dispenser in Kuusamo, 85 km, and in Suomussalmi, 100 km.
  • There is an authorised post agent in the village of Juntusranta, 30 km.
  • There are post offices in Kuusamo, 85 km, and in Suomussalmi, 100 km.
  • There are fuel distribution points in Hossa village (5 km from the visitor centre) and Piispajärvi shop (appr. 40 km). SEO Hossa station (95 E10, 98 E5, Diesel) is automatic, payment with credit card. Hossa lomakeskus station is non-automatic (98 E5, Diesel) and operates only in daytime. Piispajärvi station (98 E5, Diesel, also electric vehicle charging point with type 2 connector) is automatic, payment with credit card. 
  • The closest garages are in Kuusamo, 85 km, and in Suomussalmi, 100 km. 
  • There is a health centre and a pharmacy in Suomussalmi, 100 km, and in Kuusamo, 85 km.
  • Hossa taxi, tel. +358 (0)40 5318 964
  • Canoe transport services can be requested from the tourism enterprises that offer rental canoes.
  • Tourist Office of municipality of Suomussalmi (visit.suomussalmi.fi).
  • Town of Kuusamo (in Finnish, kuusamo.fi).