Tampere boasts an abundance of urban nature and lake nature in and around the city centre. If you wish to see some gorges or ancient woods, you’ll have to go a bit further from the city. There are two big national parks in the vicinity of Tampere: Seitseminen and Helvetinjärvi. Only a little bit further away, there are also the Puurijärvi, and Isosuo as well as Isojärvi national parks.
Seitseminen National Park
Seitseminen national park is located in Ruovesi, about 50 kilometers from Tampere. The best way to reach Seitseminen is to drive there. If this is your first trip to Seitseminen, it’s worthwhile to start your visit at the Seitseminen Nature Centre, where you can get information about the park and the trails and learn about the park’s flora and fauna before heading out.
There are several different types of trails to take in Seitseminen, ranging from an hour’s walks to a whole day’s hikes. In the winter there are separate cross country skiing tracks and, in the summertime, you can also head out to see the views also with your bicycle.
Seitseminen National Park
Helvetinjärvi National Park
Quite close to Seitseminen and also some 50 kilometers from Tampere, you can find Helvetinjärvi national park. Helvetinjärvi is also best reached with a car.
What makes Helvetinjärvi a really interesting place to visit are the gorges, which have been dominating the landscape for millions of years. The landmark of the park is Helvetinkolu gorge, and the lakes surrounded by steep cliffs are also amazing to see as well. The most epic view opens out from the upper landing of the rugged Helvetinkolu to the bottom of the gorge and over Iso Helvetinjärvi Lake. The main trail is about 4 kilometers long and along the route there’s also the restaurant Helvetin Portti. There are other trails as well, some longer and some shorter.
Helvetinjärvi National Park
Puurijärvi and Isosuo National Park
Puurijärvi and Isosuo national park is located just over an hour’s drive from Tampere, along the Kokemäenjoki river. The area consists of vast marsh areas and the shallow, green Puurijärvi lake, which is an internationally important bird lake. Puurijärvi and Isosuo national park apossesses a unique natural landscape at the heart of a historical cultural area. The area is perfect for a day trip. Reached from Tampere in about one and a half hours by car, the Isojärvi national park is located in Kuhmoinen. There are several marked trails that can be combined into circular trails (4.5–11 km) and two nature trails (3–3.5 km).
Find out more about the national parks
To find out more about the national parks, their services and trails go to at nationalparks.fi.
Nationalparks.fi ↗