National Park Guidelines

1. Respect nature - leave no trace in it. Keep your pets on a leash.

Dogs must always be kept on a leash in national parks and other nature conservation areas, even a well-behaved dog, to set a good example. These are protected areas where plants and animals must be left alone. Letting your dog run free is prohibited by law all year round, as it can harm young birds and other animals simply by scaring them.

In reindeer herding areas, dogs may get excited by reindeer and exhaust weak calves even when only playing. Please pick up your dog's waste and keep the trails clean. People accompanied by guide or assistance dogs have a statutory right to access all locations, including Metsahallitus huts, visitor centres and restaurants.

Dog sledding in the wilderness

Sled rides with a team of huskies are a popular tourism service and hobby in Lapland. Out in the wild with a dog team you need to show even more consideration for other hikers and the environment than with a single dog.

Under everyman's rights you may sled anywhere except in nature conservation areas, where regulations often restrict dog sledding to certain trails. Entrepreneurs taking tourists dog sledding must agree the routes with the landowner, and business activities on Metsahallitus' land always require an agreement on rights of use.

Take special care in the reindeer herding area — the reindeer must not be disturbed. Never stop the dog team near reindeer, not even to take photographs, and always close gates in reindeer fences after you.

Overnight stays in huts

Show consideration for other visitors when staying overnight. Huskies must not be brought inside open wilderness huts or reservable and rental huts, and sledding equipment may not be kept in the huts or adjoining sheds.

When you sleep in a hut, tie the dogs up roughly 50 m away so they do not disturb other overnight visitors. To prevent pollution of drinking water, do not tie dogs up on ice. Straw used as bedding must not be left outside the hut.

3. Camp only where it is allowed

In nature reserves, including national parks, camping is usually only permitted in designated areas. These campsites are free and include picnic tables, campfire rings, dry toilets and well-stocked woodsheds.

Under Finland's "Everyman's Rights", everyone may roam and camp overnight anywhere in the country, but not near private residences or on cultivated land, and damaging or disturbing the natural environment and wildlife is strictly prohibited. Do not wash up or wash yourself directly in a lake or river. Always follow the "leave no trace" mottos: "carry in, carry out" and "take only pictures, leave only footprints."

4. Light your campfire only where it is allowed

Building campfires is not part of Everyman's Rights, so you always need the landowner's permission — and a camping stove is the better first choice. If you do light a fire, use only a designated, serviced campfire site; in most national parks these maintained sites are the only places fires are allowed.

Always check whether a grass or forest fire warning is in effect. During a warning, fires are only allowed on campfire sites with roofs and flues and in the fireplaces of huts. Do not use disposable barbecues.

5. Do not litter — leave no trace

Take your rubbish to an appropriate waste disposal point. Many back-country campsites have no bins, so be prepared to carry out everything you carried in. Small amounts of clean paper and cardboard can be burned in campfires when no fire warning is in effect, but never burn packaging containing aluminium foil or plastic.

Nature here is fragile and precious. Tread lightly so it is preserved for future generations: stay on marked trails to prevent erosion, do not make stone piles, and do not carve, paint or draw on trees, rocks, signs or structures.