Oulu Out­doors: Nature on Your Doorstep

If you ask any inter­na­tion­al res­i­dent liv­ing in Oulu what they love most about the city, it’s like­ly they will men­tion its nature — just read a few of our Tal­ent Sto­ries!

Oulu is a city deeply inter­twined with the nat­ur­al world, whether it’s the lakes and parks scat­tered around the cen­tre, the small riv­er mean­der­ing past shops and cafés, or the larg­er forests a lit­tle fur­ther out, there is always some­where to go and be sur­round­ed by beau­ti­ful scenery. 

A City Woven with Nature 

One of the most strik­ing aspects of liv­ing in Oulu is how seam­less­ly nature inte­grates into dai­ly life. Even with­in the city, res­i­dents are nev­er far from green­ery, water, or wildlife. Each sea­son brings its own oppor­tu­ni­ties to enjoy the out­doors: 

• In spring, the first blooms and thaw­ing lakes invite walks and ear­ly for­ag­ing. 
• Sum­mer offers long, sun­lit days per­fect for swim­ming, boat­ing, or pic­nick­ing by the rivers and lakes. 
• Autumn trans­forms the forests into a vibrant tapes­try of reds and golds, ide­al for for­est walks and berry pick­ing. 
• Win­ter turns the city into a snowy play­ground, with tree-lined paths becom­ing scenic trails for cross-coun­try ski­ing or park freez­ing over, per­fect for ice skat­ing. 

In Oulu, the rhythm of the sea­sons shapes every­day life, allow­ing res­i­dents to expe­ri­ence the nat­ur­al world in new and engag­ing ways through­out the year. 

Cycling Through the Sea­sons 

Oulu’s exten­sive net­work of over 300 kilo­me­tres of well-main­tained bike paths makes con­nect­ing with nature part of every­day life. Locals and vis­i­tors use these paths year-round, even when tem­per­a­tures dip well below freez­ing. Cycling in Oulu is not just a prac­ti­cal way to get around; it is also a sus­tain­able choice that allows peo­ple to enjoy the city’s nat­ur­al beau­ty while help­ing to pro­tect it. Choos­ing a bike over a car reduces pol­lu­tion and car­bon emis­sions, while pro­mot­ing a healthy, active lifestyle. 

Nature on Your Doorstep 

For new­com­ers, it may be sur­pris­ing just how acces­si­ble nature is in and around the city. The City of Oulu pro­vides a curat­ed list of rec­om­mend­ed Nature Trails on its web­site, high­light­ing spots where res­i­dents can eas­i­ly escape into the out­doors. An overview of some of the most pop­u­lar trails and nat­ur­al areas fol­lows below, offer­ing both scenic beau­ty and oppor­tu­ni­ties to con­nect with Oulu’s land­scapes.

Akion­saari & Var­jak­ka 

• Loca­tion: Var­jak­ka har­bour area 
• The island has a cir­cu­lar trail with a bird­watch­ing tow­er, while Var­jak­ka offers cul­tur­al his­to­ry sites such as old sawmill build­ings. 

Hietasaari

• Loca­tion: Starts at Nal­likari, about 3 km from Oulu city cen­tre. 
• Coastal area com­bin­ing mead­ows, forests and old gar­den land­scapes. 

Huu­til­ampi

• Loca­tion: Heik­in­har­ju dis­trict, trail begins from Heik­in­har­jun­tie. 
• A 1.5 km trail cir­cles a pro­tect­ed pond inside a 23-hectare nature reserve. 

Kem­peleen­lahti

• Loca­tion: Access via park­ing area along the air­port road in Kem­pele. 
• A 1 km duck­board path leads to a bird­watch­ing tow­er with views over rich coastal birdlife. 

Koiteli

• Loca­tion: Around 4 km from Kiimin­ki cen­tre on the Kiiminki­jo­ki Riv­er. 
• Rapids that extend over 3 km with islands linked by sus­pen­sion bridges and sev­er­al pic­nic areas. 

Leton­nie­mi

• Loca­tion: About 6 km north of Oulu cen­tre, start­ing near Raja­hau­ta Mari­na. 
• A 2.7 km loop trail with duck­boards, bird­watch­ing tow­er and a firepit site. 

Islands & Islets of Oulu

• Loca­tion: Coastal islands and islets off Oulu, man­aged by the city. 
• Impor­tant bird nest­ing sites with no main­tained hik­ing struc­tures. Land­ing banned 1 May–31 July. 

Pil­pa­suo

• Loca­tion: East­ern Oulu, with park­ing avail­able at the trail­head. 
• Natu­ra 2000* bog area with both short fam­i­ly trails and a 7 km longer route. 

*Natu­ra 2000 is a net­work of pro­tect­ed areas in the Euro­pean Union aimed at con­serv­ing bio­di­ver­si­ty by safe­guard­ing impor­tant habi­tats and species.

Sang­in­jo­ki Nature Reserve

• Loca­tion: About 20 km east of Oulu city cen­tre. 
• Large for­est reserve with marked trails, lean-tos and rich bio­di­ver­si­ty in old-growth pine forests. 

Yliki­imin­ki Rest & Fish­ing Areas

• Loca­tion: Along the Kiiminki­jo­ki Riv­er in Yliki­imin­ki. 
• Includes sites such as Inninkos­ki and Rekikylä with lean-tos, huts, camp­fire sites and river­bank facil­i­ties. 

Find more infor­ma­tion about Nat­ur­al Sites and Hik­ing on the City of Oulu’s web­page.

Free­dom to Roam 

As men­tioned already in our ‘For­ag­ing for Flavour’ arti­cle, Fin­land has ‘Everyman’s Right’ — Jokaisen­oikeudet in Finnish – which is a unique legal and cul­tur­al tra­di­tion in Fin­land that allows any­one, regard­less of nation­al­i­ty, to freely enjoy nature. This can even be on pri­vate­ly owned land, with­out the need for per­mis­sion. It’s a cor­ner­stone of Finnish out­door life and sup­ports activ­i­ties like hik­ing, berry and mush­room pick­ing, and camp­ing. 

Under Every­man’s Right, you are allowed to: 

• Walk, ski, cycle, or ride through nat­ur­al areas. 
• Pick wild berries, mush­rooms, and flow­ers (as long as they’re not pro­tect­ed species). 
• Camp tem­porar­i­ly in a tent, vehi­cle, or boat (away from pri­vate homes). 
• Swim, canoe, and fish with a sim­ple rod and line. 
• Use marked trails and wilder­ness cab­ins in nation­al parks. 

These rights apply free of charge and are not affect­ed by land own­er­ship, as long as you don’t cause dam­age or dis­tur­bance.  

There are some impor­tant lim­i­ta­tions: 

• Nation­al Parks and some pro­tect­ed nature may have restrict­ed areas (check the map or online infor­ma­tion before going). 
• You can­not enter pri­vate yards, gar­dens, or cul­ti­vat­ed fields. 
• Mak­ing camp­fires requires per­mis­sion and is for­bid­den dur­ing fire warn­ings. 
• Fish­ing and hunt­ing require per­mits (except basic angling). 
• You must not dis­turb wildlife, espe­cial­ly dur­ing breed­ing sea­sons. 
• Pro­tect­ed plants, moss­es, and lichens can­not be picked with­out per­mis­sion. 
• You must not lit­ter, dam­age trees, or col­lect soil mate­ri­als like rocks or grav­el. 

Everyman’s Right in Fin­land allows every­one to enjoy nature freely, but it comes with the respon­si­bil­i­ty to treat the envi­ron­ment and oth­ers with respect. This means leav­ing no trace, avoid­ing noise and dis­tur­bance, stay­ing on trails when pos­si­ble, and being mind­ful of wildlife and pri­vate prop­er­ty. It’s a bal­ance of free­dom and care. It gives peo­ple access to nature while encour­ag­ing thought­ful and sus­tain­able behav­iour. 

Sea­sons of Dis­cov­ery

Whether you’re a long-time res­i­dent or new to the city, Oulu’s nat­ur­al sur­round­ings offer end­less ways to explore, relax, and recharge. With every sea­son bring­ing fresh experiences, the out­doors here aren’t just a back­drop… they’re a way of life. So grab your bike, pack a pic­nic, or lace up your hik­ing boots… Oulu’s nature is wait­ing. 

Text by: Sophie Platt