Why this ride
A one-way ride of 204 km, Lahti to Puumala - roughly 2 h 58 in the saddle. The stops in between: Heinola and Mikkeli. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Lakeland Finland Route
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 204 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 58
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Lahti
Lahti sits on the southern shore of Lake Vesijärvi, at the end of a long ridge, and its look was shaped by ice. The ridge is the Salpausselkä, a great curved moraine pushed up at the edge of the retreating glacier about eleven thousand years ago, and it runs across southern Finland like a stone eyebrow. Lahti grew up where the railway and the ridge met, a young city by Finnish standards, officially a town only since 1905, and it has become one of the country's winter sports centres. The big ski-jumping hills dominate the skyline, with the Lahti Ski Games held every winter, and a museum tells the history.
Read the complete Lahti write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lahti is where the day begins. Next is Heinola.
2. Heinola
Heinola sits on a narrow strip of land between two lakes in southern Finland, about fifty kilometres north-east of Lahti, and it is one of those towns that has quietly reinvented itself more than once. It is a lakeland place through and through, with water on both sides, and the big lake system of Päijänne and the Kymijoki watershed lies close by. The Jyrängönkoski rapids, a short walk from the centre, give the town a pleasant spot to watch the current while you drink coffee.
Read the complete Heinola write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Heinola comes up about 37 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mikkeli.
3. Mikkeli
Finland's Lakeland does not rise, it spreads. Mikkeli lies in the middle of the Saimaa region, in the province of South Savo, on a landscape of long glacial ridges, forest and water that stretches in every direction. The town has about forty-six thousand people, which makes it the biggest place for a long way, and its centre sits on the shore of Lake Saimaa with a small harbour and a market square where you can buy fresh vendace, the little fish called muikku, fried crisp and eaten with mashed potato.
Read the complete Mikkeli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 132 km into the recorded legs you reach Mikkeli. Next is Puumala.
4. Puumala
Puumala sits on a narrow strait in the middle of Lake Saimaa, the biggest lake in Finland, and the whole village is arranged around the point where road and water meet. Saimaa is less a single lake than an endless puzzle of channels, bays and islands, thousands of them, and the road here crosses the water on a bridge over the Puumalansalmi strait, with the glittering lake on either side and a light shimmering off the surface in summer. The endangered Saimaa ringed seal, which lives nowhere else in the world, swims in these waters, though you will be very lucky to catch a glimpse of one.
Read the complete Puumala write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Puumala closes the day.
Leg by leg
Lahti to Heinola
Lahti → Heinola is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Heinola to Mikkeli
Heinola → Mikkeli is 95 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Mikkeli to Puumala
Mikkeli → Puumala is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.