Services in Syöte National Park

Hikers are roasting sausages on a campfire.

Customer Service and Guidance

Syöte Visitor Centre is the main information centre in the Syöte National Park.

  • Syöte Visitor Centre in summer, surrounded by spruces.Hiking information concerning the park and the nearby areas, guided tours, presentations, exhibitions. The exhibition 'Your nature with love' presents the natural features of the Syöte National Park. In the auditorium, you can watch short nature films. Sales of fishing and hunting permits, as well as licences for snowmobile routes that are maintained by Metsähallitus.
  • The Finnish and English signposts will guide you to the visitor centre. The information boards in the national park are in Finnish. 

Services offered by enterprises and other organisations in Syöte National Park

  • The cooperation parties providing services in the Syöte National Park.
    • These cooperating parties have entered into an agreement with Metsähallitus and, in their operations, implement the principles of sustainable nature-based tourism when acting in the national park.
    • The services provided by the Syöte resorts and Syötekylä (syote.fi) are to be found close to the national park.  

Meals, Where to Buy and Prepare

Cafés and restaurants

  • Cafe Korppi at the Syöte Visitor Centre:
    • Open during the visitor centre's opening hours.
    • Lunch buffet from from 11 am to 3 pm on opening days
    • 45 seats inside and 20 seats at the terrace.
    • For sale: hot drinks, sweet and salty snacks, ice cream, gift items and handicrafts.
  • In addition, many other enterprises and other cooperating parties also provide café and restaurant services.

Shops

There are two shops in the Syöte region: Syötteen Kyläkauppa, tel. +358 (0)44 344 8558 and Tunturi Market Iso-Syöte, tel. +358 (0)44 083 8668.

Drinking Water

  • It is advisable to boil surface water (such as water from lakes, rivers and brooks) for a few minutes before drinking, since water quality varies from one area to another and depends on the water temperature.
  • There is a well close to the Ahmatupa hut. Its water quality is not monitored and it is recommended that the water is boiled. 
  • At a distance of 250 metres from the Rytivaara yard, you will find a spring, but its water quality has not been studied.  

Read about the drinking water tips in the section Hiking in Finland.

Waste Management

There are no waste bins in the area, so visitors must take their litter away with them. Every visitor must take away their own waste when they leave and recycle it. Biodegradable waste should be placed in a toilet or composter, and small amounts of clean paper and cardboard can be used as kindling in a campfire. Read more about Hiking without littering.

  • There are three recycling points in the Syöte Tourism Region: at the lower crossroads of the road running to Pikku-Syöte Hotel, in the parking area for the summit of Iso-Syöte Fell and at the northern end of the lower parking area for Iso-Syöte Fell. 

Toilets

  • There are toilets and a toilet for the disabled / a baby care room at the Syöte Visitor Centre.
  • There is a dry toilet at all rest spots and huts in the national park.

Overnight Stays

Campfire Sites and Huts

When a forest fire warning is in effect, the lighting of campfires is forbidden, even at the campfire sites. This prohibition does not apply to cooking shelters or other fireplaces with a flue.

For more information about lighting campfires at designated campfire sites, please see the section Hiking in Finland.

Campfire Sites

  • Syöte Visitor Centre: a campfire site and a lean-to-shelter
  • Peuronlampi: a campfire site ans a lean-to-shelter
  • Lomaoja: a campfire site and a lean-to-shelter
  • Rytivaara: a campfire site
  • Vattukuru: a campfire site and a lean-to-shelter
  • Pyhitys: a campfire site and a lean-to-shelter
  • Salmitunturi: a campfire site and a lean-to-shelter (no maintenance, no firewood, will be decommissioned).
  • Kuittilampi: a campfire site and a lean-to-shelter (no maintenance, no firewood, will be decommissioned).
  • Kouva: a campfire site and a lean-to-shelter

Day-use Huts

Open and Rental Wilderness Huts

  • There are eight open wilderness huts in Syöte National Park. Pets are allowed in all huts:
    • Ahmatupa is located on the southern slope of Ahmavaara Hill, along the bank of Ahmaoja, which empties its waters into River Pärjänjoki.
    • Hiltunen (in Finnish) is to be found on the southern side of Hiltusenvaara Hill, on the southern edge of Iso Hiltusensuo Mire.
    • Hoikkalampi (in Finnish) is located on the national park's Posio side, on the eastern side of Hoikkalampi.
    • Raatetupa (in Finnish) is located in the central part of the national park, on the summit of Kumpu-Raatevaara Hill, along the Ruuhensuo - Raatevaara - Rytivaara Trail.
    • Lomavaara (in Finnish) is located at Lomavaara, along the UKK Trail, close to the border of the former provinces of Oulu and Lapland.
    • Vinola (in Finnish) is located in the Salmitunturi area, on the southern edge of Patolehto, in the vicinity of Jylkynoja, which empties its waters into Kutinlampi Pond.
    • Liiveri (in Finnish) is located in the Latva - Korte - Kärppävaara area, on the eastern side of Liiverinsuo Mire.
    • Vaara-Salminen - Not available, the hut burned down in 2020.
  • There are three rental huts; Ahmatupa, Rytivaara and Isoniemi. 
  • Booking from our online shop (eraluvat.fi) or at the Syöte Visitor Centre, tel. +358 (0)20 639 6550. 
    • Ahmatupa rental hut is to be found on the southern slope of Ahmavaara Hill, along the bank of Ahmaoja, which empties its waters into River Pärjänjoki. Sauna in the yard. 
    • Rytitupa rental hut is located in the yard of the Rytivaara Crown Tenant Farm, along the Rytivaaran kierros Trail. Sauna in the yard. 
    • At a distance of a few kilometres from the national park's border, you can find the Isoniemi rental hut. It is located on the western bank of River Pärjänjoki, by the River Pärjänjoki Canoe Route, 2 km south of the border of the municipalities of Taivalkoski and Pudasjärvi. There's no official hiking trails leading to the hut. 
The Syöte National Park is divided into two separate parts: the basic zone and the wilderness zone. 
  • The basic zone is constituted by the area from the south to Lake Latva-Kouva and the areas of Maaselkä and Salmitunturi. In the basic zone, you are allowed to pitch a tent next to the rest spots (i.e. the lean-to shelters and the huts). 
  • The wilderness zone is constituted by the park's northernmost parts north of Lake Latva-Kouva and the Latva - Korte - Kärppävaara area. Pitching a tent in the wilderness zone is allowed under everyman's rights. Making fire is not allowed. 
  • These areas can be seen on page 6 of the National park's rules. (PDF, in finnish, julkaisut.metsa.fi). 

Pitching a Tent, the Lean-to Shelters and the Campfire Huts 

The lean-to shelter sites include a campfire site, a woodshed, an axe and a dry toilet. Pitching a tent is allowed next to the official campfire sites. In the park's wilderness zone, you can freely decide where you pitch your tent.

  • There are four lean-to shelters along the UKK Trail: a lean-to shelter in the Syöte Visitor Centre's yard, and the Lomaoja, Peuronlampi and Kouva lean-to shelters. 
  • The Salmitunturi lean-to shelter in the Salmitunturi area along the Church Trail (no maintenance, no firewood, will be decommissioned).
  • The Vattukuru, Pyhitys and Kuittilampi lean-to shelters are located along the marked summer trails.
  • There is a campfire hut in the yard of the Ahmatupa hut. 

Overnight stays in the nearby area

The areas surrounding the Syöte National Park offer a wide range of accommodation services at hotels, cabins and at camping and caravan sites.
There are two caravan sites at Syöte:
  • Syöte Resort Caravan, Takarinteentie 14, tel. +358 (0)400 499 215.
  • Caravan Pikku-Syöte, tel. +358 (0)8 815 4000.
  • When the ground is not frozen, you can park your caravan in the parking areas of the Syöte National Park and the Iso-Syöte Hiking Area. There are no services in the parking areas.
Hotels and cabins:

Equipment Rental

Accessible Services

Other Services in the Surrounding Areas

Sights in the Surrounding Areas

  • Iso-Syöte, the southernmost fell in Finland, 431 metres above the sea level. From the top you get a view over the hills of the National Park. The scenery changes with the seasons: In the summer you can see the midnight sun, in the autumn "ruska", the beautiful red and yellow colours in of the leaves, enlivens the landscape. In the winter the snow accumulated on the trees, "tykky", makes it different again. Iso-Syöte is also a famous tourist destination. More information on the webpages of Syöte Tourist Centres (syote.fi).
  • At Kaunislampi old-growth forest area there is a steep-sided ravine lake, made by the continental ice sheet in the Ice Age. Kaunislampi means "Beautiful Lake" in Finnish, and it is beautiful too. This protected old-growth forest area can be reached from the parking area on Ruuhensuo local road by walking 2,3 km on a footpath. There is an information board at the parking area. At Lake Kaunislampi a day-use hut was built in 2003 (more information from Syöte Visitor Centre, tel.int. +358 206 39 6550). 
  • The tourist services of the municipality of Taivalkoski (visittaivalkoski.fi, in Finnish)
  • The tourist services of the municipality of Posio (posiolapland.com).