While traveling in rural parts of Finland, it’s important to remember that there can be great distances between services such as petrol stations, shops, supermarkets, restaurants, and cafes. Some restaurants and cafes are only open during the high season and might have limited opening hours otherwise.
Some visitor centres at national parks have restaurants or cafes and might have some limited camping and hiking supplies for sale. Be sure to check online or call ahead for opening hours and further information about services in the area.
It’s best to pack what you need before you travel or be prepared to stop at a larger town for shopping. Specialty items like fuel canisters for camp stoves, dehydrated camp food, or other special outdoor equipment might be hard to find in small rural communities.
When visiting wilderness huts, day trip huts, cooking shelters, lean-to shelters, or other structures in the national parks and other nature reserves please do not leave food behind. Leftover food can attract rodents and insects. Other visitors will not eat food of unknown date and origin. Be prepared to carry out everything that you carry in. Don’t force others to carry it out for you.
While natural water sources in many parts of Finland are clean and safe to drink, there’s no way to guarantee the safety of drinking water from lakes, rivers, or other natural sources anywhere in Finland. It is recommended to boil or properly treat water before consumption. Consuming water from natural sources is the responsibility of the user who assumes all risk.
When camping in nature, wash dishes on dry land away from natural water sources and use biodegradable soap sparingly. The same goes for bathing. Do not rinse off in natural water sources and do not allow soap, detergent, or other foreign substances enter the water.
