Hiking Trails
There are over 20 km of marked trails in the National Park and its surroundings.
Starting Points for Trails
- The trails start at the information point of the National Park, by the side of the Saarijärvi - Viitasaari road.
- Good starting points for the Keski-Suomen maakuntaura Hiking Trail, which goes through the National Park, are for example Heramäen kuntorata at Saarijärvi, and the fork of the roads Ilomäentie and Korsutie at Kannonkoski, where parking is by the side of the road.
Circular Trails
- Riihinevan polku -Trail is 1,4 km long. It is marked with green painted spots.
- Mastomäen polku -Trail: This 3,2 km trail goes to the old-growth forest. It is marked with orange painted spots, and takes a bit over an hour to walk.
- Starting point: The parking area and information point of the National Park.
- Sights: The Giant Tree and the old-growth forests of Mastomäki.
- Services: The information point of the National Park and well.
- Kotajärven polku -Trail: The trail is marked with red painted spots. This 6,5 km trail is partly joined with the Mastomäki Nature Trail, and takes about 2,5 hours to walk.
- Starting point: The parking area and information point of the National Park.
- Sights: The Giant Tree and the old-growth forests of Mastomäki.
- Services: The well and information point of the National Park, the cooking shelter at Lake Kotajärvi.
- Open here the brochure of the Kotajärven polku -Trail (pdf 1.1 MB, julkaisut.metsa.fi)
- Tulijärven polku -Trail (17 km) is marked with white painted spots. The trail leads partly the same route as the Kotajärvi Trail and partly in the commercial forest surrounding the park. Along the trail an overnight stay is possible in Tulijärvi lean-to shelter (maintained by the Town of Saarijärvi) or in Poika-aho Rental Hut.
- Starting point: The parking area and information point of the National Park.
- Sights: The Giant Tree and the old-growth forests of Mastomäki, Poika-aho Crown Tenant Farm.
- Services: The well and information point of the National Park, the cooking shelter at Lake Kotajärvi, Tulijärvi lean-to shelter (maintained by the Town of Saarijärvi), Poika-aho Rental Hut.
Other Trails
- Keski-Suomen Maakuntaura Hiking Trail: A part of this trail goes through the National Park, and it is marked with blue painted spots. There are about 400 km of this trail altogether, but it is not maintained everywhere, and at some places it has almost disappeared. It is possible to walk 27 km from Heramäen kuntorata at Saarijärvi to Pyhä-Häkki and to continue 23 km onto the fork of the roads Ilomäentie and Korsutie Kannonkoski. Outside the National Park this trail is maintained by the Town of Saarijärvi (visitsaarijarvi.fi) and the Municipality of Kannonkoski (kannonkoski.fi, briefly in English).
Skiing Trails
In the winter it is possible to ski in the National Park on trails maintained by the Town of Saarijärvi (visitsaarijarvi.fi). The trails are not lit, and they are suitable for classical cross-country skiing. The starting point in the National Park is the parking area of the park. The trails are maintained depending on the snow conditions between the mid January and the end of March, especially for the weekends. Skiing trail map can be picked up at the town hall of Saarijärvi.
- To Saarijärvi Direction:
- From the National Park parking area, there is a 1,5 km skiing trail to the cooking shelter of Lake Kotajärvi. From Lake Kotajärvi it is possible to ski off the park, to Heramäen kuntorata at Saarijärvi in the south. This distance is 27 km, and the trail is maintained by the town of Saarijärvi (saarijarvi.fi, in Finnish). Information on the condition of the skiing trail tel.int. +358 44 459 8295
