Finnish National parks have become so popular that you could almost call them trendy. In 2021, Finland’s national parks were visited over 4 million times. In a country with a population of 5.5 million, that’s quite impressive.
National Parks are Trendy
Visitor numbers have been growing steadily year by year. They have almost doubled in the last 10 years. And with the new Salla National Park opening in 2022, visitor numbers can be expected to grow even further.
Naturally, not every person in Finland doesn’t visit national parks, but some like to visit frequently. And it is easy to guess why. National parks are a great way to enjoy nature. And even if you have already visited the park once, the second visit can be very different. You can take a different trail. Or you can visit different time of the year. Because each season is a unique in Finnish nature.
Pallas-Yllästunturi was the Trendiest in 2021
Metsähallitus Parks and Wildlife Finland, which manages Finnish national parks, releases yearly visitor numbers. These estimates are based on the data collected with electronic counters counting visitors on trails.
Based on this data, the most popular Finnish national park in 2021 was the Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park with 699 000 visits. the second place goes to Urho Kekkonen National Park with 446 000 visits, and the third most popular was the Nuuksio National Park with 314 500 visits.
The least popular, or least number of visits gathered the Bothnian Bay National Park. Reasons for this could be that this national park is located only on islands. So visiting Bothnian Bay National Park is a bit more challenging, and counting visits even more challenging than in other parks. Bothnian Bay National Park gathered 6 300 visits in 2021.
Another “quiet” destination was the Hiidenportti National Park. It got only 15 000 visits in 2021. But it doesn’t mean that it would be any less significant than other parks. And with so few visits, it’s guaranteed to offer peace and quiet.
Source:
Metsähallitus
Models:
Thanks to active sisters Marianna & Katarina