Instructions and Rules in Torronsuo National Park

Respect Nature 
Pets
Getting around in National Park
Camping
Lighting Campfires
Litter-free Hiking
Picking Berries, Mushrooms and Wild Herbs
Biking
Horse Riding 
Drone Flying
Other Rules and Instructions
Forbidden Activities
Peak Seasons
Safety

Respect Nature 

The outdoor activities in the Torronsuo National Park are guided with the rules and regulations. When getting around in nature, let’s show respect for it. Take a look at the Outdoor Etiquette.

Please don’t share any such contents on the Internet that break the rules of the national park.

Letting pets running at large is forbidden. Dogs and other pets are welcome in the national park but only on a leash.

Getting around in National Park

Visitors may move about the park in accordance with Everyman's rights. However, the following restrictions still apply:

• In the restricted zones of the national park, movement is prohibited between 1 April and 15 July in order to safeguard the nesting of birds.
• Cycling and horseback riding are only permitted on the roads in the area.

Camping

Camping in Torronsuo National Park is prohibited.

Lighting Campfires

Campfires are only allowed at the Kiljamo campfire site and cooking shelter. Please note that when the wildfire warning is in effect, fire lighting is allowed only in the campfire site of Kiljamo cooking shelter, that has a flue. Check the current warnings (ilmatieteenlaitos.fi). The person who lights the campfire is always responsible for the fire.

The use of a portable camping stove is allowed in areas where hiking is allowed. 

During the wildfire warning, the use of hobo stoves is not allowed, as sparks may be created.

Litter-free Hiking

There are no waste-bins in the area. Measures should be taken in advance to avoid taking unnecessary waste into the area. Biodegradable waste should be placed in a dry toilet and small amounts of clean paper and cardboard can be used as kindling in a campfire. Other waste, such as packages that contain aluminium foil or plastic, may not be burned in a fireplace, as they may form non-biodegradable waste and toxic gases.

Read more about Hiking without littering.

Picking Berries, Mushrooms and Wild Herbs

Picking berries and edible mushrooms is allowed, except where specific restrictions apply.

Taking or damaging trees, bushes, other plants or their parts, or mushrooms other than edible ones is forbidden. Picking wild herbs is therefore forbidden.

Biking

Cycling is only allowed at road.

Horse Riding 

Horseback riding is only permitted on the roads of the national park. 

Drone Flying

Flying drones is allowed anywhere visitors are allowed to go to, as long as it does not disturb other people or wild animals. You must be especially careful during the nesting period of birds.

Other Rules and Instructions

As a rule, a permit issued by Metsähallitus is required for activities other than those included in everyman's rights, which may include research, organised events and the shooting of films or advertisements in the terrain. Further information on required permits: research and access permits (metsa.fi) and permits and notifications related to events (metsa.fi).

The use of the trails and structures of Torronsuo National Park  for business activities is always subject to a fee, and for frequent business use, a contract with Metsähallitus (metsa.fi) is required. The right of use fees for specific days are paid at the Eräluvat webshop (eraluvat.fi).

Other Forbidden Activities in the Torronsuo National Park

• Killing, catching or disturbing animals, or damaging their nests.
• Catching or collecting invertebrates.
• Extraction of earth material or minerals, and damaging soil or rock.
• Driving motor vehicles, except on roads designated for motor vehicles.
• Leaving waste in the area, or damaging structures.
• Covering, changing, damaging, removing, violating or excavating in archaeological sites.
• Activities that disturb other people.
• Rock climbing and descending.
• Other activities that may adversely affect the natural conditions, landscape or conservation of species in the area.

Rules and Regulations for Torronsuo

The rules and regulations of Torronsuo National Park (pdf 324 Kb, julkaisut.metsa.fi, in Finnish), ratified on 28 June 2010.

Peak Seasons

Popular visiting times are bird migration periods in spring and autumn. On sunny weekends in late winter, there may be a lot of skiers on the ski tracks of Torronsuo. You will find more room to ski by opening your own tracks in the park.

Safety

It is important that you get as much information as possible about your hiking destination in advance and prepare for your trip thoroughly. Knowing your route and sticking to it and knowing what the weather and warnings in effect (ilmatieteenlaitos.fi) has in store, will help make your trip a success. 

• Make sure you pack a first-aid kit. If you face an emergency on your hike, e.g. get lost, get injured or observe wildfire, call 112 and report an emergency. More information on how to act in an emergency.
• Mobile telephones work quite well in Torronsuo National Park, except in some areas in the park where cliffs or forest block signals. Download the 112 Finland application (112.fi) to your phone.
• It is good to bring a map if you take a tour of Piippurinsuo in the eastern part of the park. The brochure map (pdf, 2.3 Mb, julkaisut.metsa.fi) of the park is enough for other marked trails.
• Dress for hiking in colorful clothes and according to the weather. Because Torronsuo Mire is wet, especially during the spring and autumn floods, rubber boots are needed even when walking on the duckboards. In the forests on the islands, and on the southern edge of the mire, snow stays longer than in the open centre.
• There is no tap water available in the National Park, or cafés or shops either, so it is wise to pack picnic food and a water bottle. During the birds' migration, binoculars and a guide book on birds are useful to have.
• In the summer, hikers get to know the mire's abundance of bugs. Stopping on the duckboards visitors find that there are countless mosquitoes, flies and horse-flies living on the mire. Choosing a windy day for visiting open Torronsuo Mire saves you from the bugs' attack.
• Please note that there is no paper in the toilets.
• Outdoor Guide
  • Safety 
  • What to Pack
  • How to Hike Without Leaving a Trace?
  • Outdoor Etiquette