Liesjärvi National Park and Korteniemi Heritage Farm offer breathtaking scenery and a trip back in time. Visitors get to experience what it was like to work as a park ranger in the early 20th century, do volunteer work at the farm and enjoy beautiful views.
Parts of the park are closed to the public during certain times of the year. Please respect the signs!
Visit a Heritage Farm
Korteniemi Heritage Farm gives you a chance to try your hand at traditional farm work, meet livestock and experience how people lived 100 years ago. The farm is a real park ranger's estate from the 1910s, and several indigenous species of livestock, including cows, sheep, chickens and a rooster, are still kept there in the summer. Old Finnish crops are grown in the fields and vegetable gardens using traditional methods. Rye is still cut with scythes, dried in stooks and threshed with flails.
Visitors are welcome to contribute to the farm's chores, take part in volunteer events during the growing season or just watch the farmers at work. There is no entrance fee to the farm. There is a fee for guided group tours, which can be booked in advance: Metsähallitus Customer Service, sisasuomi(at)metsa.fi, tfn. +358 206 39 5270. Read more.
Walk on Marked Trails
The park has around 30 kilometres of well signposted circular trails (1.5–5 km) in easy terrain, which makes it an ideal destination for day trips. Hiking is a great way to see sights such as the enchanting old-growth forest in Ahonnokka or the scenic Kyynäränharju ridge. The trails take you through old, mossy spruce forest and sunny pine woods, lush coastal groves and, above all, stunning scenery.
Explore the accessible Peukaloinen Trail (3,8 km) and the other circle trails.
Voluntary Work
Would you like to try your hand at hay making the traditional way: cutting hay with a scythe and piling it onto stooks to dry? Are you interested in threshing rye or building a roundpole fence? Do you want to do volunteer work in a breathtaking setting? Korteniemi Heritage Farm organises volunteer events throughout the growing season.
Other Activities
- Geocaching: Geocaching is a fun way to explore the area.
- Skiing: There are no restrictions on skiing in the park but there are no maintained ski trails.
- Fishing:
- Hook and line fishing and ice fishing are allowed under everyman's rights, except where specific restrictions apply.
- Lure fishing with a single rod is permitted, except in the restricted access area. Persons aged 18-69 years must pay the fisheries management fee (eraluvat.fi). Fishing permits are available from Metsähallitus' online shop (eraluvat.fi)
- Lakes Liesjärvi, Hangaslampi and Lahnalampi are not part of the park. In order to fish in Liesjärvi or Lahnalampi lakes with more than one rod, you need to pay the fisheries management fee and also get a permit from the Liesjärvi partnership or the Kyynäräharju water area partnership.
- Fishers need to check the restrictions on fishing sites at kalastusrajoitus.fi (in Finnish).
- Birdwatching: The park is home to numerous species of woodpeckers and other birds that build their nests in holes in trees. You can also spot ospreys, black-throated divers, red-necked grebes and whooper swans in the park.
- Pick Berries and Mushrooms: Treat yourself to the park's tasty bilberries, lingonberries and several species of edible mushrooms!
- Canoeing: Lake Liesjärvi is a beautiful destination for paddlers. Canoes can be hired at the park. The best place to set off is Peräniitty along Kanteluksentie road (No 13606).
- Sights and Scenery: The best places to admire the views are Kyynäränharju ridge and Hyypiökallio rock. Korteniemi Heritage Farm is also worth a visit.
- Learn in Nature: Korteniemi Heritage Farm organises thematic tours for school groups showcasing traditional handicrafts and agriculture and the secrets of old-growth forest.
- Cycling: There is a national cycling route that runs through the park along Kyynäränharju ridge. There is also a nice cycle path from ex Häme Centre to Korteniemi Heritage Farm that runs along Kukkoharjuntie road and Kanteluksentie road to Kyynäränharju ridge and finally Korteniementie road. Cycling is allowed only on the roads marked for this purpose.
- Horse Riding: There are no restrictions on horse riding in the park.
- Guided Group Tours: Korteniemi Heritage Farm organises thematic tours for groups for a fee. Group tours can be booked in advance: Metsähallitus Customer Service, sisasuomi(at)metsa.fi, tfn. 0206 39 5270.
- Swimming: There is no official beach, but Kopinlahti bay at the southern end of Kyynäränharju ridge is a good place for swimming. There is an excellent place for swimming in Korteniemi just outside the park, which is also suitable for children. However, none of these swimming spots are official.
- Hiking: The park's trails connect to the Hämeen Ilvesreitti trail network (hameenvirkistysalueyhdistys.fi, in Finnish), which consists of over 200 kilometres of trails and lends itself well to longer hiking excursions with overnight stays. You can bring your own tent, or spend the night in a lean-to shelter, a wilderness hut or a rental cabin.