Lapland National Parks Introduce Parking Fee For Visitors

Be Prepared to pay Parking fees during your visit to Lapland national parks. A new Paid Parking Fees to be introduced in three Lapland national parks and nature areas from Autumn this year. In the beginning it will include Riisitunturi National Park in Posio, Urho Kekkonen National Park in Kiilopää and Korouoma Nature Reserve area in Posio. The new Pilot Paid parking will be implemented in two other national parks as well.

Metsähallitus Parks & Wildlife will pilot paid parking at five hiking destinations during the late summer. The pilot will take place at Sipoonkorpi National Park in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Koli National Park in North Karelia, Riisitunturi National Park, Kiilopää in Urho Kekkonen National Park and Korouoma Nature Reserve in Lapland. Revenue from parking fees will be used to maintain these hiking destinations. The aim is to help cover the costs of maintaining parking areas, access roads and hiking structures.

Parking will cost €1 per hour, up to a maximum of €5 per day, at the five pilot destinations. The first 30 minutes of parking will be free of charge. Parking fees will be paid using a mobile app. Paid parking will apply between 9 am and 6 pm at the following parking areas:

Urho Kekkonen National Park:
Metsähallitus' Kiilopää parking area.
Other parking areas in the national park will remain free of charge for the time being.

Riisitunturi National Park, Posio
Riisitunturi parking area.

Korouoma Nature Reserve, Posio
Saukkovaara parking area.

Sipoonkorpi National Park:
The two Tasakallio parking areas (parking will remain free for visitors displaying a disabled parking permit; the accessible Storträsk Trail starts nearby).
The two parking areas on Kalkkiuunintie Road.
Other parking areas in Sipoonkorpi National Park will remain free of charge for the time being.

Koli National Park:
The P1, P2 and P3 parking areas on Ylä-Kolintie Road.
Parking will continue to be free for guests staying at Break Sokos Hotel Koli.
Other parking areas in Koli National Park will remain free of charge for the time being.

The paid parking pilot will be introduced at the destinations during the late summer. The detailed schedule will be published on the Luontoon service once it has been confirmed for each destination. The pilot will continue until spring 2027.

"As the funding Metsähallitus receives from the state budget for maintaining hiking destinations decreases, we need to look for new ways to cover maintenance costs. Public discussion has often shown that many people are willing to pay for services provided in national parks. We are therefore interested to see what kind of experiences this parking fee pilot will provide. Trails, campfire sites and other visitor services in national parks will continue to be available free of charge", says Elias Haapakorva, Customer Relations Director at Metsähallitus Parks & Wildlife Finland.

The costs associated with parking areas and access roads make up one part of the overall maintenance costs of hiking destinations. For example, maintaining the parking areas and roads at Sipoonkorpi National Park costs approximately €11,000 per year. In addition, constructing roads and parking areas involves significant investment costs.

In many European countries, parking at national parks is subject to a fee. Metsähallitus Parks & Wildlife Finland selected popular hiking destinations for the pilot that are either located close to major urban centres or have a high demand for parking.

"We also hope that paid parking will encourage visitors to carpool and make greater use of public transport", Haapakorva says.

Picture: Kiilpää parking area, Metsähallitus