Kayak
|Petkeljärvi
Water route from Möhkön ironworks village to Petkeljärvi National Park
At one end of the route is an atmospheric ironworks village and at the other Finland's smallest national park. At the halfway point, you can spend the night on the sandy beach of the protected Jänissaari Island.
Description
From the charming ironworks village to the embrace of a beautiful national park or vice versa, with an overnight stop on a sandy beach along the way—can a water route get any better? Yes, it can, as in Möhkö you can combine the trip with a visit to an incredibly versatile arboretum, a museum, or a walk on the picturesque Lover's Trail. In Petkeljärvi National Park, marked hiking trails and a rentable lakeside sauna await.
Setting off from Petkeljärvi National Park, the first five kilometers are along pine-covered ridge landscapes, first alongside the national park and then the Petkeljärvi-Putkela ridge nature reserve. A suitable resting spot is just before the Oinassalmi bridge, on the western shore south of the bridge, where there is a boat ramp and a rest area with tables.
The distance from Oinassalmi to Kääntämänsalmi is about 4.5 kilometers, with either private plots or wetlands along the shores, so rest stops are hard to find. After Kääntämänsalmi there are pleasant sandy beaches on both sides of the route. At this point, you must decide whether to continue straight towards the Möhkön ironworks village or make an about three-kilometer detour around Jänissaari Island. On the northern shore of Jänissaari there is a charming, quiet sandy beach suitable for camping or a long swim and lunch break. There are no hiking facilities on the beach, but the everyman's right allows camping. In the middle of the island there is a private kota and other structures which are not for general use by hikers.
After Kääntämänsalmi or the Jänissaari detour, the route turns southeast. The waterway narrows as you go upstream on the Koitajoki River, until an old Manta vessel appears on the left shore, a rapid foams under a bridge ahead, and there is a pier and an easy landing spot on the opposite shore.
The small current in the Koitajoki River does not significantly affect navigation, so the direction of travel can be chosen based on the wind forecast.
During the summer season, paddling equipment can be rented both in Möhkö and Petkeljärvi, and both have accommodation options. In Möhkö self-guided travelers can make a campfire trip to the lean-to shelter by Lotinankoski, maintained by the Möhkö tourism association. Petkeljärvi has two shelters with fireplaces, a summer café, and a campsite with services.
Location & Parking
Petkeljärvi: Petkeljärventie 61, Ilomantsi. Möhkön ironworks village: Möhköntie 209, Ilomantsi.
Directions
The route instructions are provided as a condensed written version in the description of this route.