Lappeenranta Kayaking Routes

Hirvisaaren kierros is a full-day kayaking loop on Lake Saimaa off Lappeenranta in South Karelia, about 24.1 km as one closed circuit through the city’s near archipelago. The South Karelia Recreation Area Foundation publishes the detailed line, hazards, and rest logic on Outdooractive(1): paddlers usually follow the ring counter-clockwise, first passing the Kaukas industrial waterfront where motor vessel traffic is heavy, then continuing under the Luukkaansalmi bridge; after Kanavansu you can follow the shore and ship channel eastward. Past Hirvisaari island the return uses Sudensalmi, the narrow strait north of Tuosansaari—described as a particularly scenic leg. For a first longer stop, Murheistenranta swimming beach is named as a place to land while staying clear of swimmers(1). Additional breaks are possible on public shores under everyman’s rights without leaving traces; the same source asks you not to land close to summer cottages even when they look empty. Toward the end of the loop, Mikonsaari and Karhusaari each offer a dock and a fire place(1), matching the staging points you see on the water. GoSaimaa’s regional overview points visitors to Etelä-Karjalan virkistysaluesäätiö for South Karelia paddle destinations and reminds that Lappeenranta’s city bay is busy with boats(2). Myllysaari, on the east side of the city bay, is the main family beach and recreation pier; Visit Lappeenranta notes a base for rowers and paddlers along the eastern shore—natural ground zero before you head into open lanes(3). If you need boats rather than your own craft, DrakkarSport rents kayaks and canoes from the harbour’s Hiekkalinna area in season(4). Fishing from a kayak may require the national fisheries management fee and regional lure permits where applicable; check Eräluvat before you fish from the boat(5). Along the loop you pass mixed urban-industrial shores, wider lake fetches, and narrow sounds—plan for wind, wash from large vessels, and crossing busy fairways. The route geometry also runs close to other marked trips in the same harbour network: Ruohosaaren kierros is another South Karelia Recreation Area Foundation day loop from the same waters, and Mikonsaaren luontopolku walks ashore from Mikonsaari’s boat ramp if you want to stretch your legs between paddles.

For the authoritative trail listing and map entry for this paddle, start with the Alajoen melontareitti page on Luontoon.fi(1). GoSaimaa(2) summarises the Alajoki run in the Lappeenranta area as roughly nineteen kilometres with five rapids and notes that it is best when meltwater or spring flows keep levels up—early summer is the classic window in their regional paddling overview. Myötävirtaan ry(3), the Vainikkala-based association that maintains the parallel shore trail network, publishes the fuller river story: the boating line links Melkkola’s Suuri-Pyhäkala toward Vainikkala’s Telkjärvi with about twenty-one metres of elevation change along the Sarvijoki and Alajoki reaches, five named rapids where carrying canoes is safer than running them, and rest shelters with campfire places and composting toilets at Tuhkakangas, Kiekan taukopaikka, Alakosken laavu, and Melkkolan laavu—matching the laavu stops you pass on the water in Lappeenranta(3). Yle news coverage of South Karelia summer routes(4) quotes regional outdoor staff naming Alajoen melontareitti as a beginner-friendly choice when you want a gentle introduction to moving water, with hire available in the wider city area rather than assuming everyone brings a boat. This kayaking route is about 18.6 km point-to-point on our map; it is not a loop. It follows the Alajoki river corridor in South Karelia between Lappeenranta’s Vainikkala–Rikkilä countryside and the Simola–Melkkola shore, so you get a mix of narrow river, small-lake links, and short rapid sections where reading water and lining up portages matter more than sprint speed. Near the start, the Vainikkala sports cluster sits close to the shore—outdoor rink, ball field, and outdoor gym—on the same ground as lit ski and running loops if you are pairing paddling with a winter visit on land. After a few kilometres, Tuhkakankaan laavu and Kiekan taukopaikka sit where the marked Alajoen retkeilyreitti hiking trail meets the river: good picnic and fire spots before the channel opens toward Simola. Around twelve kilometres along, Simolan urheilukenttä, Simolan frisbeegolfrata, and Simolan kaukalo give obvious shore landmarks; the lit ski and running circuits here share the same corner of the map if you want a land break. Alakosken laavu bridges that middle section, and Melkkolan laavu—toward the eastern end—adds a shelter with a noted canoe slide and maintenance support from a local association, so plan landings and firewood use respectfully. Treat rapids and shared channels conservatively: Myötävirtaan ry(3) explicitly warns against running the shore rapids in open canoes and recommends carrying around them. Motor traffic and bridges appear on some reaches—give powered craft space and check current flow before committing to a line. For equipment, association members can use Myötävirtaan ry’s staged canoes at mapped points in Simola, Rikkilä, and Vainikkala(3); independent visitors often combine planning with city-side kayak and canoe hire from the Hiekkalinna rental cluster operated by Drakkar Sport through Visit Lappeenranta’s equipment pages(5).

For the island itself—trails, services, and how people reach the shore—the Mikonsaaren luontopolku page on Visit Lappeenranta is the clearest starting point(1). It describes Mikonsaari as a summer day-trip destination about 10 km by road from the city centre, popular as a canoe and kayak circuit around the island, and family-friendly on the water(1). GoSaimaa summarises the same arrival along VT6 and Lauritsalta past the Kaukas mills toward Vehkataipale (road 4081), then left onto Mikonsaaren tie after Luukkaansalmi bridge, with parking where the nature trail begins(2). This mapped kayaking route is about 15.3 km as one continuous line on western Pien-Saimaa in Lappeenranta, South Karelia. It is not recorded as a closed loop in trail data, but the line tours the same lake district Visit Lappeenranta promotes for paddling around Mikonsaari(1). Early along the water you pass the Kivisalmen uimaranta beach area—useful for a shore break before longer open-water legs. Further on, Mikonsaari- veneenlaskupaikka on Mikonsaarentie gives a formal boat launch if you are combining car access with paddling. Closer to the city basin you pass Karhusaari, where Etelä-Karjalan virkistysaluesäätiö maintains Karhusaaren laavu; Ekvas notes the foundation has cared for that lean-to since 2008 and that summer access to the island is by paddle or private boat while winter visitors often cross the ice(3). The line then approaches the Myllysaari shore, where the city clusters beaches, sports fields, and harbour-side recreation—handy if you finish near the central harbour services. Expect sheltered lake channels typical of the Saimaa labyrinth, but wind can still build fetch on wider bays—plan lee shores and breaks at the beaches and lean-tos along the way. The island’s on-land nature trail (about 2 km, marked in red) is a separate walk from the water route but pairs well if you haul out at Mikonsaari(1)(2).

Väliväylän reitti, Etelä-Karjalan osuus is about 114.5 km of mapped paddling line through South Karelia on the historic Väliväylä waterway that linked Lake Saimaa with the Kymijoki system. On our map the line runs point-to-point: open-lake and sheltered strait paddling in Lappeenranta, Taipalsaari, Luumäki, and Lemi, then toward Rutola and Myllylampi before the line closes near Kären laavu. Lappeenranta in South Karelia is a practical base for staging long lake legs. For trip planning on the wider corridor, Visit Lappeenranta summarises multi-day Lappeenranta–Kouvola paddling with lean-to nights and links to regional Outdooractive maps(1); Etelä-Karjalan retkeily hosts the same route hub with laavu stops and notes shorter day legs near Kannuskoski(6). Maaseutu.fi reported how a 2022–2024 project led by Luumäki, with Lappeenranta, Taipalsaari, Lemi, and Etelä-Karjalan virkistysaluesäätiö, added landing stages, laavu shelters, firewood sheds, dry toilets, signage, and portage carts so South Karelia landings now sit roughly every five to ten kilometres along the water(2). The mapped line threads past laavu shelters such as Pärsäniemen laavu, Parkinpaskan laavu, and Huopaisenvirran laavu, island beaches near Uitonsaari and Haukkasaari, Kannuskosken uimapaikka and Kannuskosken veneenlaskupaikka, Jalkosalmi veneenlaskupaikka, Lahnajärven uimaranta, Lemin kirkonkylän Veneenlaskupaikka, Karhusaaren laavu / Etelä-Karjalan virkistysaluesäätiö, Ruohosaaren laavu, Rutolan taukopaikka, Rutolan Melontalaituri, Myllylammen Veneenlaskupaikka, and Kären laavu. Saimaa UNESCO Global Geopark documents Rutola’s timber-transfer ruins and Salpa Line traces at the Myllylampi–Kärjenlampi isthmus(4). On broad Saimaa basins, wind and recreational boat traffic need respect(5). Downstream toward Kouvola the corridor narrows into river reaches with rapids and carries; the Kannuskoski page outlines put-ins, total drop, and how low water exposes rock that punishes hulls(3). Saimaan Palju offers rentals and gear shuttles from Kouvola-side bases for paddlers stitching together longer legs(7). Where shore geometries coincide, the winter ski route Jäälatu Jurvala–Perälä and the long Länsi-Saimaan linnoituskierros cycling loop use the same bays on land.

Ruohosaaren kierros is a day-scale kayaking tour on Lappeenranta’s Pien-Saimaa waters: the mapped line is about 19 km as one continuous track. GoSaimaa’s South Karelia paddling overview(1) describes the city harbour as lively for motorboats and cruise traffic—give commercial fairways a wide berth and time bridge passages with care. The Etelä-Karjala retkeily catalogue entry for Ruohosaari(2) lists the island as a landing with lean-to, campfire place, and a small sandy beach; Saimaan Latu’s Tuesday-evening paddling page(3) documents how club evenings leave from Myllysaaren melontakeskus and normally run roughly five kilometres one way toward Ruohosaari along Pikisaari and Voisalmi, with Karhusaaren laavu as a common bad-weather alternative for the snack stop. Tourism route listings summarise the full circuit as starting from Myllysaari past the harbour toward Pikisaari, passing under bridges into Sunisenselkä, and naming swim beaches at Sammonlahti, Korkkitehtaanranta, and Tyysterniemi as optional landings where you keep craft to the edges so swimmers stay safe(4). Along our mapped trace, the water corridor threads Voisalmen uimaranta early, then passes Sammonlahden uimaranta, Kuusimäen uimaranta, Korkkitehtaan uimaranta, and Tyysterniemen uimaranta before reaching Ruohosaaren laavu on the island’s northeast shore(2). Karhusaari veneenlaskupaikka and Karhusaaren laavu sit toward the eastern leg for a second sheltered break(2)(3). Myllysaaren uimaranta sits where many paddlers finish after looping back toward the city shore. Independent trip galleries describe continuing toward Naurissaari in calm conditions, but treat that as optional exploration beyond the signed circuit(5). The lean-to at Ruohosaari was a long-standing rest point maintained with Etelä-Karjalan virkistysaluesäätiö and Saimaan Latu; Yle Etelä-Karjala reported in early 2025(6) that the structure burned and a police report was filed, and replacement timing remained open while volunteers offered help—plan breaks on the island without relying on a kota structure and check local notices before counting on a fire(3). Lappeenranta is the South Karelia hub for this route; longer through-paddles link logically to Väliväylän reitti, Etelä-Karjalan osuus when you want multi-day Saimaa mileage. Our route page(7) mirrors the same mapped line for trip planning.