Active holidays in Lappeenranta

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The beautiful Lake Saimaa, framing Lappeenranta, offers the opportunity to fully enjoy outdoor activities in stunning scenery. Services, tourist attractions and events are often within walking distance.

We have put together some of the most popular attractions for active travellers with plenty of options for everyone. You should also explore our new weekly activities programme, which includes a lot of guaranteed activities. You can easily find equipment for outdoor recreation and camping at the Sandcastle rental point starting from 3 June.

Guaranteed weekly activity programme

At the tourist service point by the Sandcastle, you can find the guaranteed weekly programme, which lists a variety of activities. The activities include canoeing/kayaking, SUP boarding, cycling, nature picking tours and bunker tours of the Salpa Line. The weekly programme will kick off on 26 June 2023 and it will end on 13 August.

All of the activities have been organised to be as accessible as possible, which means that no prior experience is required. A proficient guide will be with you all the way. The activities are organised weather permitting.

For more information on the activities and booking, visit the Saimaan Palju Events website

Discover the Saimaa UNESCO Global Geopark

Lake Saimaa is known for its beautiful scenery and pure nature, and it starts in Lappeenranta. The area around the city contains unique cultural, geological and archaeological sites of Lake Saimaa.

Lappeenranta is home to nine geosites of the Saimaa UNESCO Global Geopark and 12 natural and cultural sites.

Saimaa Archipelago Cycling Route

The Saimaa Archipelago Route is a traditional popular cycling tour in the southern Saimaa region.
The route is about 154 km long and it´s worth to book several days for this route (at least 2-3 days), there is a lot to see for example several Saimaa Geopark sites.
On the route you can explore the sights of the cities of Lappeenranta and Imatra, as well as three attractive smaller centres: Taipalsaari, Ruokolahti and Joutseno.
Specially for geology enthusiastics cycling along the vast marginal formations of Salpausselkä, shaped by the continent. The first Salpausselkä can be seen from Imatra to Lappeenranta and the Second Salpausselkä in Kyläniemi and Utula, Ruokolahti.

More information about the Route here

Hiker's Lappeenranta

Hike a couple of hours in the areas surrounding the city, admire the lake scenery from a bicycle saddle or go on a cross-country ski trip on Lake Saimaa. The Lappeenranta and South Karelia areas offer a spectacular network of routes for adventurers of all skill levels.
Experience the beautiful Rantaraitti! Its western part is completely accessible. The pedestrian and cycle route which is within easy reach traces the shores of Lake Saimaa from Myllysaari beach to the Harbour square all the way to Skinnarila.

More about hiking in Lappeeranta here

Myllysaari recreational area

Myllysaari on the far east side of the City Bay is actually a narrow and long cape jutting into Lake Saimaa. Myllysaari boasts a diverse range of services for swimming, such as a public outdoor swimming facility, a gently sloping and child-friendly sandy beach, a sled slide and plenty of green areas. It also features beach volley courts, a playground, a fitness and climbing area, a waterfront café and a public sauna. The youngest of the family are sure to enjoy their time with street basketball, while the older youngsters will have a lot of fun on the parkour course.