Interested in hiking or doing outdoor research in Finland? But don’t know the country? Here’s a short list of tips and info.
Can I camp / light fires..?
Hiking is okay everywhere. Yes everywhere: if it’s not actually a military base or someone’s home yard you’re free to walk there – the few exceptions are usually obvious. Don’t trample the crops during the summer, walk along the side of fields!
Camping is okay anywhere for a couple of days. Just don’t pitch your tent in someone’s garden, and treat the nature with respect. For long-term camping, ask the “land owner“.
Fires should only be lit if you have the “land owner’s” permission. Many hiking routes also have designated places for fires. Camp cookers and gas stoves are okay. Don’t light a fire if the weather reports have issued a forest fire warning!
Littering, damaging the trees, killing (most) animals etc is not okay. Pretty obviously..
What can I eat and drink?
Water is safe to drink everywhere in Finland. Just use common sense: don’t use it if it stinks, or flows next to a factory or agricultural field. In the forest you can often find fresh spring water!
Berries are numerous in autumn and may be freely picked by all. Bilberries, lingon, raspberries…the forest is full of delicious tidbits and they taste good. One or two (rarer) species might give you a stomach ache though, so learn to recognise the species.
Mushrooms grow everywhere in late summer and autumn. They may be freely collected, but don’t eat any mushroom you do not recognise! Most are not poisonous but some species can kill you! This is so important I’ll repeat it:
Don’t eat any mushroom you do not recognise!
Fishing is ok with an ‘onki’ (i.e. a plain rod with no reel, plus float, hook and bait). Any other kind of fishing, such as spin fishing, requires a permit. There are also some restricted areas which are usually signposted.
What else is there to know?
Wild animals include bears, wolves, elks* and other impressive creatures. If you keep quiet in the forest, and are very lucky, you might catch a sight of these. They are, however, very shy – and the bears and wolves have been persecuted close to extinction.
* a note to Americans and other foreigners: elks are what you sometimes call moose (Alces alces).
Mosquitos are extremely numerous in southern Finland. In the north, there are even more. If you cover yourself with clothing, use mosquito repellent (available in all shops in Finland) and avoid the most humid parts of the forest.. you’ll not get bitten too badly. But you get used to them after a while, and they are only a problem in June-August. Mosquitos are also an exception to the ‘do not kill animals’ rule.
Dangers exist, but are usually different from what foreigners expect. Bears? I have lived most of my life next to several bears, yet never seen the shy creatures. Snakes? Adders usually stay out of your way, and are not deadly to a healthy adult. Falling trees? A meteorite strike is more likely 😃
Ignorance, however, can kill. Most Finns know how to keep warm in the winter, can recognise dangerously thin sea ice, won’t panic and run round in circles if they get lost in the forest. But foreigners are often not used to the Finnish weather (nor the possibility of walking 8 km without seeing a house) and may get hurt if trying to do too much with too little experience.
Research permits
These are not a thing in Finland. At least, not compared to other countries. If you want to collect insects, do a vegetation transect in the forest or whatever, you just go and do it. No need to ask anyone for permission.
If you want to cut trees down, dig holes etc, you’ll probably need to ask the “land owner“.
Finland has signed the Nagoya protocol, but in practice never requires permits for collecting DNA. More info here. If you don’t know what the protocol is, congratulations.. and don’t even get me started.
Permits may be needed for research in some strictly protected areas, for killing vertebrates etc. I am hazy on the details, but environment.fi should have more info. Or you can contact someone who does something similar to what you intend.
Oh, and a disclaimer:
I am not a legal expert. I also feel permits are a primitive dictatorship thing. If you need to be sure, contact someone who knows.
Land rights
Who is this “land owner” I keep on mentioning? Finland does not have a system of land ownership as it is understood in many countries. Everyone is free to walk, camp, pick berries etc pretty much anywhere. The Finnish ‘land owners’ are in practice the owners of logging rights: they are the ones who may cut down and sell trees on the land. They are also the people to ask if you want to camp for more than a few days, light a fire or do any research that damages the trees or landscape.
How do I find the “land owner”? A good question. Land rights are scattered in Finland; except for state land, plots may be a couple of hectares or smaller. The National Land Survey is probably the best place to start. They show land ownership on a map (map layers “Property identifiers” and “Cadastral boundaries”). The town hall and the nearest neighbours may also know.