Paddling, kayaking & canoeing

Kemijärvi Lake with its large open vistas, many lake and sheltered bays offers splendid opportunities for both kayaking and canoeing.

Canoes, kayaks and guided trips are organised by Suomu Adventures and Mestarin Kievari of Kemijärvi with a few days warning.

You can launch your own kayak or canoe from Räisälä village beach, where there is a parking available for few cars for the length of your water adventure.

Kemijärvi outdoor map (1:100 000) has also contours and depths marked for the lake. This is available in Kemijärvi service centre, Sortteeri (Vapaudenkatu 8, Kemijärvi). In addition, Kemijärvi boating club called Kemijärven Tunturipurret ry can be contacted for more specific lake information.

The lake is some 30km both north south and east west with many villages, farms, shops, landing places along its shores. There are also many wilderness shores beyond road access and islands in pristine condition. There are remote sandy beaches for breaks or villages to visit.

It is good to know that the longest river in Finland runs through the lake north south and forms many sandy islands and underwater banks along its course. These do shift from time to time along the river in the middle of the lake. At the south end of the lake, there is a dam and an electric power plant and the lake level can vary due to this, but Kemijärvi is a lake not a reservoir.

Suomulahti nearest to Suomu resort is one of the big bays in the lake with two small rivers and numerous streams running into it. It is not easy to paddle them upstream, but Kemijoki north of the lake is navigable all the way up to Pelkosenniemi some 60 km north from Suomu. Therefore, you can even go on a multi day adventure starting from Räisälä village.