Instructions and tips for outdoors
Temporary stay in nature, such as resting, swimming and sunbathing is allowed wherever you travel, as long as it does not cause damage or inconvenience to the owner or holder of the land. Respect nature and fellow travelers without littering your environment.
Get hold of the condensed Hiking etiquette and familiarize yourself with these instructions.
Check the weather and warnings:
Hiking instructions
Respect nature – don’t change it. Keep pets on a leash.
Prefer marked routes and follow the rules for different modes of movement. Check the movement restriction areas and times of your excursion destination.
Camp only in permitted places. Do not wash dishes or wash directly in water.
Make fires only in permitted places, prefer a camping stove. Do not make a fire during a forest or grass fire warning. Check the forest fire warnings: www.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/en/warnings
Don’t throw garbage in nature.
Everyman's rights
Everyone’s rights means everyone’s right to use nature, regardless of who owns the area or is its holder. Everyman’s rights are limited in nature conservation areas.
You get everyman’s right
- to move on foot, skiing and cycling in nature, such as forests, natural meadows and water bodies
- ride
- stay and spend the night temporarily in areas where movement is permitted
- pick wild berries, mushrooms and unsedated plants
- fishing rods and jigs
- on boats, swim and wash in water and walk on ice
You can’t get everyman’s rights
- hinder the landowner’s use of the land
- walk in yards, plantations or cultivated fields
- fell or damage growing trees
- take dried or fallen wood
- take moss or lichen
- make an open fire on another’s land
- disturb the peace at home, for example by camping too close to
- residences or making noise
- littering the environment
- drive a motor vehicle off-road
- disturb or damage the nests and chicks of birds
- disturb the animals
- fishing and hunting without proper permits
- allow a dog to go to a public beach, an area designated as a children’s playground, a renovated track or a sports field
- keep the dog off-leash in a built-up area, on a fitness trail or in someone else’s area
Domestic peace and public peace
Deliberate violation of domestic peace is prohibited. Places protected by home peace include e.g. apartments, holiday homes, tents, caravans, houseboats and private yard areas and buildings immediately connected to them.
Set a fire
There are special places reserved for making fires in camping, outdoor recreation and hiking areas, and fires should not be made elsewhere. Care should be taken with fire. When the campfire break is over, the trash must be collected. However, the fireplace is not a waste container, do not try to burn unburned waste.
Extinguishing the fire
When you want to extinguish the campfire, stop adding wood and let the campfire die down slowly. If the campfire is still smoking when you leave, put it out properly with water or snow. Always make sure the fire is really out and not smoldering. The person who sets the fire is liable for compensation if the fire escapes and causes damage.
With the dog in nature
Hiking with a dog can be very rewarding for both the dog and its owner. However, the owner must ensure that the dog does not disturb wild animals. For them, a dog is always a beast, regardless of the dog’s breed or game. Birds nesting on the ground are particularly sensitive to disturbance, and even if the dog itself does not cause damage to the nestlings, the mother bird leaving the nest can make a crow or seagull take advantage of the opportunity to empty the nest in the mother’s absence.
The existence of other people moving in nature must also be taken into account. Some people are genuinely afraid of dogs, so the dog should be kept on a leash.
Keeping a dog is also required by law. According to the order law, the dog must always be kept on a leash in the built-up area. Even on a leash, the dog may not be taken to the public beach, children’s playgrounds, to the market during market hours, or to a track or sports field that has been renovated for public use. In addition to the actual built-up area, the dog must be on a leash on outdoor trails and beaches.
According to the Hunting Act, a dog may never be kept free in another’s territory without the permission of the land owner or hunting right holder. The owner of the dog is liable for damages if the dog causes damage.
