Petkeljärvi National Park is two hours drive away from Joensuu. It is totally different than Koli National Park, which is the closest to Joensuu and definitely most popular with its rocky hills.
This was our second visit together with Karol to Petkeljärvi, and we were guiding a group of exchange students to experience Finnish nature. We were volunteers of the university’s sport program and organized different sport events, among them this excursion to students. Earlier we were guiding trip in Koli National Park as well, so we already had some practice.
In general, Finnish students – as they are at ‘home’ – are more familiar with basics such as clothing or what type of bag to take. They sometimes go on their own ways, on different trails, but you don’t need to worry. They have learned basic nature skills at school and at the army. On the other hand many foreign students requires more attention. Some of them seen snow first time in their life only during these month, so I can imagine it is not easy. Beforehand we reminded them about the essentials: what to bring, what not to. But in the end you will always see few people showing up with shoulder bags, city shoes or without any hats or gloves. You need patience.
This area is rather flat, but is has many lakes and ridges between them where all the summer trails go. The hike is easy, does not require extra fitness. Just make sure you wear good boots and have a water resistant jacket with you. There is an option to do round trips, but we opt for the first part of the Taitajan taival trail, the oldest marked trail in North Karelia. During summer you can fish, observe birds or even swim. This time it was early spring, so we had a bit of snow left, and the lakes were still frozen.
The national park is easily reachable by car. In the main area you can find an inside and outside fireplace as well. Summer time also a buffet and the camping site are open. And if you are up to do something more than walking, sauna and boats are also available for rent. In other seasons it is more quiet, but the trails are marked and maps are displayed, so you can easily plan where to go.
One or two-day trip can cover well the area. With the group we had a 15 km hike, starting from the headquarter (Petraniemi). It was around 0°C and humid weather. Not the best possible, but luckily it didn’t rain at all. On the way we had many photo stops. First we passed between the lakes Keltasilmä and Joutenjärvi, but did not stop at the shelter. Later, at the next shelter and campfire at the Tetrijärvi lakes we had a longer break to rest and warm up by the fire while making sausages. I think one of the coolest thing in Finland that firewood is provided in so many shelters, so you can easily cook your meal, make a tea or coffee or fry a sausage on the camp fire.
It was in early April/March, and it is normal in such north, the lakes were still frozen. It was possible to walk on them. After living couple of years in Finland it was normal for us, but it became one of the main attraction for the group. My personal favorite is to walk on the ridges between the lakes. It is beautiful in every season!
We reached the car road near Issonjärvi camping place. If you have more time (days), you can continue on the Taitajan taival trail (31km). After spending 6 hours outside walking and admiring the surrounding, everyone was tired and ready to hop on our bus ad get back to Joensuu.
