National Park Guidelines

Out in the wild with a dog team you need to show even more consideration for other hikers and the environment than with a single dog. Under everyman's rights you may sled anywhere except in nature conservation areas, where regulations often restrict sledding to certain trails. Entrepreneurs taking tourists dog sledding must agree routes with the landowner, and business activity on Metsahallitus land always requires an agreement on rights of use.

Take special care in the reindeer herding area, where the reindeer must not be disturbed. Never stop the dog team near reindeer, not even for photographs, and always close gates in reindeer fences behind you.

Show consideration for other visitors overnight. Huskies must not be brought inside open wilderness huts or reservable and rental huts, and sledding equipment may not be kept in the huts or adjoining sheds.

When you sleep in a hut, tie the dogs up roughly 50 m away so they do not disturb other guests. To protect drinking water, never tie dogs up on ice. Straw used as bedding must not be left outside the hut.

In nature reserves, including national parks, camping is usually permitted only in designated areas. These campsites are free and include picnic tables, campfire rings, dry toilets and well-stocked woodsheds.

Under Finland's "Everyman's Rights" you may roam and camp overnight almost anywhere in the country, but not near private residences or on cultivated land, and damaging or disturbing the natural environment and wildlife is strictly prohibited. Do not wash up or wash yourself directly in a lake or river. Follow the "leave no trace" mottos: "carry in, carry out" and "take only pictures, leave only footprints."

Campfires are not part of Everyman's Rights, so you always need the landowner's permission, and a camping stove is the better first choice. If you do light a fire, use only a designated, serviced campfire site. In most national parks these maintained sites are the only places fires are allowed.

Always check whether a grass or forest fire warning is in effect. During a warning, fires are allowed only on campfire sites with roofs and flues and in the fireplaces of huts. Do not use disposable barbecues.

Take your rubbish to a proper waste disposal point. Many back-country campsites have no bins, so carry out everything you carried in. Small amounts of clean paper and cardboard can be burned in campfires when no fire warning is in effect, but never burn packaging containing aluminium foil or plastic.

Nature here is fragile and precious. Stay on marked trails to prevent erosion, do not make stone piles, and do not carve, paint or draw on trees, rocks, signs or structures.