Activities in Kuopio
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Lake Cruises
During summer there are daily departures for several different types of lake cruises. Standard two-hour cruises from the harbour depart hourly from 11:00 to 18:00. Special theme cruises include dinner and dancing, wine tasting or a trip to a local berry farm. There are also canal cruises and a monastery cruise to Valamo.
There are cruises to Rauhalahti tourist centre Tuesday to Saturday in summer (and Sunday in July); the best one is the smoke-sauna cruise on Tuesday and Thursday at 17:45 and 20:30.
Tickets for all cruises are available at the passenger harbour. Schedules are available at the harbour or from the tourist office.
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B
Rauhalahti
Rauhalahti is an estate converted into a year-round family park. The whole area is full of activities for families including boating, cycling, tennis and minigolf in summer, and skating, ice-fishing, snowmobile safaris and a snow castle in winter. You can rent bikes (per day from €10), rowing boats, canoes, in-line skates and even Icelandic ponies for gentle trail rides. Take bus 7 from the town centre or a ferry from the passenger harbour in summer (adult/child return €12/6, 30 minutes, five daily Monday to Saturday from early June to early August). There’s also a variety of accommodation here.
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C
Jätkänkämppä Smoke Sauna
Jätkänkämppä Smoke Sauna is by the lakeside near Rauhalahti resort south of town. The 60-person, mixed sauna is heated 24 hours in advance with a large wood fire (ie there’s no sauna stove). Guests are given towels to wear, but bring a swimsuit for a dip in the lake. Sweat it out for a while, cool off in the lake, then repeat the process several times – devoted sauna-goers do so even when the lake is covered with ice. Then buy a beer and relax, looking over the lake in Nordic peace.
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D
Walking & Cycling Trails
At Puijo Hill, there are also mountain-biking and walking tracks, including a marked nature trail. During winter there are cross-country ski trails and equipment rentals are available.
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