The winter season is just as good for nature excursions as the summer. Extra layers for stopping for a break and hot drinks warm you up even in the coldest of conditions, and the darkness will not catch you unawares if you carry a head torch with you. Some of Uuvi’s recreation areas are particularly well suited to winter expeditions. There is no actual winter maintenance of the trails but hikers trample the snow along the paths making the routes walkable. However, when the snow thaws and re-freezes again, the paths become slippery, so winter hikes call for an open mind and attentive attitude. Please remember that you need to exercise particular care when walking on ice!
Kopparnäs-Störsvik
The versatile Kopparnäs-Strösvik Recreation Area provides opportunities for a variety of activities also in the winter. The paths are great for winter hikes and fat bike rides. Bring your own picnic and enjoy the surrounding scenery by a campfire. If the ice and snow conditions are optimal, the surrounding sea is ideal for tour skating and cross-country skiing. The campfire sites are easy to access also from the sea.
Piilolammi
Piilolammi is a fantastic place to enjoy hiking and snowshoeing in a wintry forest. In the late winter, we recommend that you arrive in the dusk to hear the owls hoot. At the end of your expedition, you can settle by a campfire and enjoy its warm glow. Hyvinkää City maintains a cross-country skiing network in the Kytäjä-Usmi area, and the Sveitsi area offers opportunities for a variety of winter activities.
Sarvikallio
Tuusula’s local recreation area, Sarvikallio, is enchanting also in the winter. You can light the barbecue at the campfire site located on the Sarvikallio cliff and enjoy a warming picnic whilst admiring the wintry cultural heritage landscapes. The car parks in the area are maintained throughout the winter, but the paths themselves are not. However, you are sure to enjoy the Seittelinreitti trail on foot or by fat bike. When Lake Tuusulanjärvi freezes, Sarvikallio can also be accessed across the ice.
Varlaxudden
The view at Emäsalo cape of the fierce wintry sea or the Milky Way glowing over the water on a winter’s night sparks all the senses. In the winter, Varlaxudden is well-suited to watching the sea and enjoying campfires, and the site is popular among photographers. In very low temperatures, explorers can admire the swirls formed by arctic sea smoke.
Palakoski
Palakoski’s winter inhabitant, the white-throated dipper, delights hikers from autumn through the winter as it dips and dives into the rapids. In addition to admiring the dives of dippers, visitors to the area can embark on snowshoeing expeditions, and the tracks of brave cross-country skiers have also been spotted there. However, Palakoski is better known for its magnificent cliffs, which offer a view over hushed winter landscapes. Hikers should take care on the hills as the steep cliffs can be slippery.
+1 Kalliosaari
Kalliosaari Island outside eastern Helsinki is easy to reach during cold winters by crossing the frozen sea from Kallahdenniemi cape. The destination is particularly interesting to those who have no way of accessing the island when the sea is not frozen over. There are cooking shelters on the island for warming your picnic in freezing weather conditions. The distance from Kallahti cape to Kalliosaari island is approximately half a kilometre.