With this in my mind I wanted to know more about tourism & travel here in Central Finland.
I started by looking at the official tourism site of the Jyväskylä city (visitjyvaskyla.fi).
I browsed through the suggested options and picked some nature/viewpoint-style locations to visit.
Did not include any museums or Aalto-architecture as a matter of personal preference.
There are actually quite a few vantage points in Jyväskylä area: Hyyppäänvuori (Laukaa), Mäyrävuori (Vaajakoski), Kanavuori (Vaajakoski), Vaarunvuoret (Korpilahti + Kärkistensalmi), Oravivuori (Korpilahti), Paljaspää (Säynätsalo), Laajavuori and Harju.
I took the goal to visit all of them.
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| Skijumping in Laajavuori |
Thoughts?
Ok - have to say that instructions on how to find certain places are not the best. For example by using Google maps, you get to wrong place by searching "Hyyppäänvuori" (correct search would be: "Hyyppääntie, Laukaa"). Same thing with "Mayrävuori" (correct search: "Jääskelän luontopolku" - and even then it is 400m from the parking lot to the actual path. I tried adding it to Google as "Mäyrävuoren polunpää"). With Kanavuori you want to specifically look for "Kanavuoren luontopolku", which takes you to right road - "Etu-Kanavuorentie". Also "Paljaspää" in Säynätsalo is found as "Paljaspään luontopolku" in Google.
Perhaps there is some charm in trying to find these places like geocaching but I don't think that is the point here.
Hyyppäänvuori
Google: Hyyppääntie, Laukaa
Scenic drive throught beautiful coutryside. There is a parking lot at Hyyppääntie next to the trail head marked with sign "Hyyppää".
Path is a bit rocky and uneven forest trail with parts going moderate uphill. Should not be a problem for a regular hiker.
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| View from Hyyppäänvuori |
Kanavuori
Google: Kanavuoren luontopolku
Parking is right in the beginning of the Etu-Kanavuorentie (road). The trail itself starts right next to parking lot but trees might block the visibility to the sign.
As a trail this is a bit more demanding going up because of some big boulders but it should be manageable by most hikers.
From the top you can expect surprising views to Vaajakoski - you can be in the nature although you are so close to the city.
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| Kanavuoren luontopolku |
Kärkistensalmi
Google: Kärkistensalmi or Kärkisten silta
There is a road behind an old resraurant (now privately owned property) to a dead end which gives you the view below. Probably the best one unless you are in a boat or flying.
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| Kärkisten silta |
Vaarunvuoret
Google: Vaarunvuori (there are signs to point to the parking lot right next to the main road)
This is the only viewpoint where some actual distance is required to get there (2km each way).
Path is normal Finnish forest terrain.
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| Vaarunvuoret |
Paljaspää
Google: Paljaspään luontopolku
Path begins right from the end of the road - there are many different paths leading to the top.
Short and easy hike.
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| Paljaspää |
Laajavuori
Great and easy viewpoint. Two views with the price of one.
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| Laajavuori sunset |
Mäyrävuori
Google: Jääskelän luontopolku (Mäyrävuoren polunpää)
This is quite similar to Hyyppäänvuori but much closer to the city. The most difficult part will be finding the trailhead.
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| View from Mäyrävuori |
Oravivuoren kolmiomittaustorni
Google: Struven ketju, Oravivuori
This is an Unesco site so it is well marked all the way. 1km each way from parking to the tower.
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| View from the tower |









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