Liesjärvi National Park

Liesjärvi National Park is a versatile outdoor recreation destination. Visitors can hike through the fairytale-like Ahonnokka old growth forest and over the grand Kyynäränharju Ridge, which cuts through lake scenery.

Liesjärvi National Park is located in the Häme Lake Uplands. This area is a rugged backwoods surrounded by fertile fields. Shores and beaches dominate the scenery. They encircle four adjoined lakes and a couple mire ponds. Even though the park is small in area there are almost 50 km of forested shore-line. Adding to this already varied terrain are Kyynäränharju, a sandy shored ridge which separates Lakes Liesjärvi and Kyynäräjärvi, and around 40 islands and islets.

A significant part of the forests in Liesjärvi National Park are more than a century old. Ahonnokka and Isosaari, the most pristine old-growth forests in the area, have been protected since the 1920s. There also are plenty of young and middle-aged forests, as a large part of this area was used for commercial forestry before the National Park was established.

The park’s best-known natural attraction is the low Kyynäränharju esker with its sandy shores. This slender isthmus approximately one kilometre in length separates Lakes Kyynäräjärvi and Liesjärvi.  The maze-like lake landscape and pristine shores are some of the most important protected values of the national park. The eskers were crafted in late Ice Age as the ice masses were melting.

For more information go to: https://www.luontoon.fi/en/destinations/liesjarvi-national-park

Photo: by saruwine from Tampere, Finland – Faery Tale Forest, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2047122