Lapland
In My Heart

Our National Parks Will Give You Peace of Mind

The National Parks Are the Gems of Lapland

Our National Parks are the gems of Lapland nature. They are designated national parks because of special nature features. There are the magnificent sights. The parks also have invaluable ecosystems. Most national parks are refuges for wildlife and they are also popular tourist areas.

Altogether there are 18 national parks in Lapland:

6 in Finnish Lapland

4 in Norwegian Lapland

8 in Swedish Lapland.
Additionally there is Laponia - the World Heritage Area in Swedish.

National parks are areas with exceptional native animals, plants and ecosystems (for example endangered species), biodiversity, or special geological features.

The peace and silence of the Lapland national parks are deafening if you are not used to it. If you are an inexperienced hiker, they are for you. You'll find marked paths which are easy destinations even for the inexperienced. And your trips into the real wilderness will be shorter.

Sometimes you'll get the wilderness feeling 15 minutes' walking away from the road.

But if you want real challenges, you will see the possibilities once you are there. Some parks are more demanding than others. In the largest parks you can go hiking on long treks.

Many of the national parks have visitor centres. They are good starting points.

See the "National Park Resources" at the bottom of the article.

A Good Time to Hike

in Lapland is normally early summer and from middle of August till end of September. But if you have good insect repellants and mosquito hats, all summer is fine. Insects can annoying, but there are no dangerous insects. The last years there has been relatively few insects.

Here are some tips to make it easier with the mosquitoes. From middle of May till end of July you can experience the midnight sun and the white nights. And in September we have the beautiful autumn colours.

You may also go for winter hiking. Long hikes are for the experienced and requires good equipment. The snow covers the ground approximately from mid-October to mid-May.

In the wilderness it is important to take into consideration that weather conditions may change rapidly.
If you follow the The Mountain Code you are on the safe side..

National Parks In Finnish Lapland

Urho Kekkonen Nat. Park	is one of Finland's largest protected areas. It is named after Urho Kekkonen, who was a former President and Prime Minister of Finland. The eastern border of the park is the Russian border.
Pyhä-Luosto Nat. Park	The park's base is formed by Finland's southernmost, 12-peak mountain (tunturi) line. Old pine tree forests grow on these hills.
Riisitunturi Nat. Park	The park is on a mountainous area with many swamps, especially hillside swamps.
Perämeri Nat. Park	This is the "Bay of Bothnia National Park". Most of it consists of many islands. There are also many traditional fishing bases. You can reach the park by boat. Visiting is only recommended for people who know how to navigate in the area.
Pallas-Yllästunturi Nat. Park	It was formally established in 2005. This year the Pallas-Ounastunturi National Park was joined with Ylläs-Aakenus protected area. It is the third largest national park in Finland. This is high mountain park with primeval forests.
Lemmenjoki Nat. Park	It was founded in 1956 and has since been expanded twice.It is the biggest national park of Finnish Lapland and in Finland. It is also one of the largest in Europe. The park is partly bordered by the Upper Anarjohka National Park in Norway. In summer there is gold digging in the area. There are marked trails in the park.
Oulanka Nat. Park	is a national park in Oulu and Lapland Provinces. Oulanka National Park is one of the most popular national parks in Finland. It has been a popular place for artists and naturalists.

Nat. Parks In Norwegian Lapland

Varangerhalvøya Nat. Park	lies on the Varanger Peninsula in the municipalities Båtsfjord, Nesseby, Vadsø, and Vardø in Finnmark county. The peninsula is the largest area within the Arctic climate zone in mainland Norway. The peninsula still has a complete alpine ecosystem with domesticated reindeer, wolverine and arctic fox.
Upper Anarjohka Nat. Park	is in Karasjok and Kautokeino municipalities in Finnmark County. It borders on Lemmenjoki National Park in Finland. Upper Anarjohka is part of the Finnmark plateau (Finnmarksvidda) and includes extensive birch woods, pine barrens, swamps and lakes.
Upper Pasvik Nat. Park	lies in Sør-Varanger municipality in Finnmark county. The national park is part of the Siberian-like taiga. Three countries meet here: Finland, Norway and Russia. But also three different time zones meet here: Russia to the south with Coordinated Universal Time UTC+3, Finland to the west with UTC+2 and Norway to the north and east uses UTC+1.
Stabbursdalen Nat. Park	contains the northern-most pine forest in the world. It is located in Porsanger municipality. The national park contains many of Finnmark`s typical landscape forms with barren mountains, open plateaux and narrow ravines. Today, the area provides summer grazing for the reindeer.
Seiland Nat. Park	Seiland nat. park was opened in 2006. Seiland is one of the large islands of Norwegian Lapland. There are two glaciers on it, the Seilandjökelen and the Nordmannsjökelen (jökel = glacier).

Nat. Parks In Swedish Lapland

Abisko Nat. Park	is near the Norwegian border in Kiruna Municipality about 195 kilometers north of the Arctic circle. It preserves a Nordic mountain nature in its original condition and as a an object of scientific research. The national park was also intended to be an important tourism attraction.
Björnlandet nat. park	It lies in southernmost of Swedish Lappland in Åsele Municipality in Västerbotten County. There is a large primeval forest and steep ravines and precipices.
Muddus Nat. Park	has its largest part in the municipality of Gällivare. It also belongs to the largely untouched UNESCO World Heritage Laponian area. The park has primeval forests with large trees, large swamp areas, and deep ravines.
Padjelanta Nat. Park	It is the largest national park in Swedish Lapland and Sweden. The park is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Laponia. The park borders to Norway in the west. Almost all of the park is above the tree line. There are several hiking trails in the park.
Vadvetjåkka Nat. Park	is in Kiruna Municipality in Norrbotten County.
Stora Sjöfallet Nat. Park	is in Norrbotten County in Gällivare Municipality. It is also on the Norwegian border. The park's western and northern parts are in the Scandinavian Mountain Range.
Sarek Nat. Park	is in Jokkmokk municipality. The park is popular with hikers and mountaineers, but it's not suitable for beginners.
Pieljekaise Nat. Park	lies about 10 km south of Jäkkvik. The park consists to a large part of a large birch woods. The park is traversed by the King's trail (Kungsleden).

In addition we have to include here the

The Laponian area

which is a large mountainous wildlife area in Swedish Lapland, more precisely in the municipalities of Gällivare, Arjeplog and Jokkmokk. It was made UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Laponia consists of some of the national parks and it is the world's largest unmodified nature area which is cultured by natives. The Sami people are herding their reindeer here.

It consists of the national parks Muddus, Sarek, Padjelanta and Stora Sjöfallet, and the nature reserves Sjaunja and Stubba. The Porjus village is a natural port to the Laponian area. You'll find an information center there.

National Park Resources

For the first time you'll find Lapland national park resources in one place. Please, take a look at what the different national parks have to offer. There are many exciting things to discover. And remember that these national parks are meant to to give you peace of mind once you learn to use them.

National Parks In Finnish Lapland

In Norwegian Lapland

In Swedish Lapland