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Vellamo bike touring route: Sysmä–Hartola ring

—•Biking Trails

66.7 km

Route

Description

Visit Lahti – Gravel ja retkipyöräilyreitit+

Description

Vellamo retkipyöräilyreitti: Sysmä - Hartola rengasreitti is a full-day touring ride through Päijät-Häme lake country, linking Sysmä and Hartola on mixed gravel and paved public roads. Visit Lahti presents it in the regional gravel-and-touring collection as a signed circuit between the two municipalities, with scenery along Tainionvirta and Lake Päijänne shores and room to start from either town. The Municipality of Sysmä promotes cycling as a core summer activity and points visitors to local clubs and the same regional brochures from its outdoor pages. The Municipality of Hartola summarises cycling alongside other outdoor life on its sports hub page, which is a practical place to check for local services before you roll. On the mapped line, the opening kilometres thread Sysmä’s shore belt: Ohrasaaren juoksuportaat and Ohrasaaren lintutorni sit near the water beside Ohrasaaren ulkoilureitit/hiihtoladut, so birdwatchers and walkers share the same fringe before you dive into longer road legs. Around seven kilometres in, Askon uimaranta and the beach-volleyball pockets face Päijänne, and the school and outdoor-gym cluster at Sysmä Yhteiskoulu packs courts, a skate park, and Ulkokuntoilupaikka Sysmä into one neighbourhood-scale stop. Farther along, Camping Sysmän rantautumispaikka, the camping beaches, and Laivarannan beachvolleykenttä mark the harbour-and-camping belt—easy places to swim or grab a snack before the route swings toward the forested gap toward Hartola. Roughly mid-tour, Krouvinlava on Kalhontie is a classic countryside pause between the two centres. Approaching Hartola from the north you pass Hiekon uimapaikka on Valittulantie-style lake shore, then Keijulankosken laavu beside Tainionvirta—handy if you are pairing the ride with Tainionvirran melontareitti/Hartola or Tainionvirran melontareitti/Sysmä paddlers in the family. Hartola’s riverside sports campus brings together Hartolan keskusurheilukenttä, Urheilukentän uimaranta Hartola, Jokirannan talviuimapaikka, Liikuntamajan kuntoportaat, and Kunkkuareena-scale facilities; Kuninkaanpolku, Hartola touches the same bank for a short walk if you want to stretch off the saddle. The trace finishes near Gasthaus-Camping Koskenniemen rantautumispaikka, tying back to river landings described in Visit Päijänne’s canoeing guide for the Hartola–Sysmä chain. The wider Vellamo family adds optional loops such as Vellamo retkipyöräilyreitti: Vintturin kierros around Sysmä or Vellamo retkipyöräilyreitti: Hartola kk - Vuorenkylä - Hotila if you want extra kilometres another day. Expect normal road sharing with cars and tractors, carry two bottles on warm days, and download the Visit Lahti GPX variants if you want cue-sheet parity with the tourism office cards.

Length & route

The mapped route is about 66.7 km as one continuous touring line. Regional marketing copy for the same named Vellamo ring often quotes near 72 km depending on which GPX variant and town join you use, so treat small differences as rounding between map sources. Expect sustained distance on gravel and paved public roads rather than singletrack.

Getting there

Visit Lahti describes the ring as runnable from either Sysmä or Hartola; pick the harbour, school, or sports-field blocks in Sysmä or the Tainionvirta shore in Hartola depending on wind and train-bus timing through Lahti. Drivers reach both towns from highway 413 / main lake-country corridors; cyclists often stage near Sysmän keskusta services or Hartolan liikuntamaja after arriving by coach. If you combine segments, Vellamo retkipyöräilyreitti: Vintturin kierros shares lakeside junctions north of Sysmä.

Good to know

The Municipality of Sysmä’s Tainionvirta page summarises the river’s history from trade route to modern paddling and fishing water—useful background when you parallel the valley on tyres instead of a hull. Visit Lahti’s wider gravel article reminds riders that the scenic Vääksy–Sysmä highway thread is often promoted nationally; this ring samples the eastern Päijänne shore rather than that entire touring epic. No dedicated trail-overview video surfaced in targeted searches; carry the regional outdoor-service GPX downloads if you want turn-by-turn parity with the published cards.

Itinerary

Morning: roll from Sysmä centre along the shore roads toward Ohrasaari and Askon uimaranta while traffic is calm, then push the longer gravel transfer toward Krouvinlava for a countryside lunch. Midday to afternoon: cross the forested link toward Hartola, pause at Hiekon uimapaikka or Keijulankosken laavu beside Tainionvirta, and use Hartola’s sports-campus services for water before the riverside finish. Evening: recover near Gasthaus-Camping Koskenniemen rantautumispaikka or return along Kuninkaanpolku for a short walk off the bike.

Where to rent bikes

FatBike hire at Ilola Inn in Sysmä appears in regional tourism listings with hourly and day tariffs for shore-road exploring. Hartola also rents two Nishiki fatbikes from the town hall at Kuninkaantie 16 with tiered half-day and weekend pricing and a deposit; see the municipal equipment page for current fees and office hours.

Managed by

Sysmä

Official Maintenance

Trail info

Either direction works because the ring is marketed as a closed tour between the municipalities; choose the leg with the better shoulder or wind for your group and follow Finnish road-law signage on public highways.

Route direction

Visit Lahti states the Vellamo ring uses standard road-traffic blades and field signing consistent with other published Vellamo segments; carry the downloadable GPX from the regional outdoor listings if you want redundant navigation on long junction sequences.

Route Signs

Open / Good Condition

Visit Lahti – Gravel ja retkipyöräilyreitit

Activities allowed

Bike

Activity

Terrain & conditions

66.7 km

Distance

Plan roughly five to seven hours of pedalling for 66.7 km of mixed gravel and paved road plus meal and swim stops at Askon uimaranta, Krouvinlava, or Keijulankosken laavu; fast groups finish nearer four hours, loaded tourists longer.

Est. Time

Predominantly fine gravel and compacted forest or lake-shore roads alternating with paved municipal connectors and short faster highway links between Sysmä and Hartola; occasional sand at public beaches when you wheel onto shore paths.

Surface

Wide Track

Route Type

Moderate Traffic

Traffic

Visit Lahti – Gravel ja retkipyöräilyreitit

Location

61.50191°N, 25.68433°E

Approximate location

FinlandCountry

Päijät-HämeRegion

HartolaCity

Biking TrailsCategory

Explore nearby

Askon rannan beachvolleykenttä

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Yhteiskoulun yleisurheilun suorituspaikat

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Yhteiskoulun koripallokenttä

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Yhteiskoulun lähiliikuntapaikka Sysmä

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Camping Sysmän rantautumispaikka

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Unetun hevostilan pieni kenttä

184 m

Hartolan yhtenäiskoulun lähiliikuntapaikka

397 m

Hartolan KunkkuAreenan frisbeegolfrata

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Answers to your questions

Our data was researched from Sysmä, and other trusted sources, in March 2026. Our route / place GPX data comes from Metsähallitus / Lipas, last updated March 2026. Always check their official website for safety-critical updates.

Finland Päijät-Häme Hartola Biking TrailsVellamo bike touring route: Sysmä–Hartola ring