Place · Vantaa
Kuusijärvi
A forest lake with traditional smoke saunas and year-round ice swimming, just outside Helsinki.
- Time needed
- 3 h
- Effort
- Easy
- Season
- Year-round
- Cost
- Paid entry
Allow 5.5–6.5 hours from Helsinki. A full-day trip.
Why go
Kuusijärvi is the rare place where a forest lake, daily smoke saunas and a proper car park exist in the same spot, half an hour from central Helsinki. You can swim, sauna and walk into Sipoonkorpi from one arrival point, which is why locals treat it as a standard day out rather than a tourist stop.
Best for
- A half day mixing swimming, smoke sauna and easy forest walking
- Families who want facilities close to the water
- A first smoke sauna without booking anything in advance
Skip if
- You want solitude - summer weekends and sauna evenings are busy
- You want a private or quiet sauna, since the smoke saunas are mixed and swimwear is compulsory
- You are relying on cash, as the car park machine takes cards only
Highlights
- Public smoke saunas
- Ice hole maintained all winter
- Sipoonkorpi National Park trails start here
Practical information
Saunas are ticketed and busiest on Friday and Saturday evenings. The beach and trails are free. Café on site.
Getting there
Bus 574 from Aviapolis or Mellunmäki stops at the lake.
- Helsinki — 22 km · 55 min by public transport · 25 min drive
Getting there Some travel involved
Kuusijärvi is served by HSL buses year-round, and in the summer season an additional weekend line 712 runs between Tikkurila and Kuusijärvi.
Kuusijärvi has its own paid car park with 390 car spaces, 25 motorcycle spaces and 8 accessible spaces near the arrival square. The first hour is free and the payment machine takes cards only, not cash.
Travel times are editorial estimates, not live routing.
Season by season
Strong all year: swimming and beach supervision in summer, smoke sauna and ice dipping culture in winter.
Effort and terrain
Everything you need is within a few hundred metres of the car park on level ground. Effort only rises if you continue onto the Sipoonkorpi trails.
Family and accessibility
- Suitable for children
- Yes
- Stroller friendly
- Yes
- Step-free access
- Yes
The beach, café, toilets and saunas are close together on level ground, which makes it workable with small children. Lifeguard supervision is seasonal, so treat the water as unsupervised outside the published season.
The city describes Kuusijärvi as largely accessible. The Havu smoke sauna and the changing facilities in the Kaarna building are listed as accessible, and there are accessible parking spaces by the arrival square.
On site
- Food and water
- Cafe Kuusijärvi is on site by the beach and is open daily during the published opening hours.
- Toilets
- There is a public toilet building by the arrival square, including an accessible toilet, plus changing and washing facilities with lockers at the sauna buildings.
- Swimming
- Kuusijärvi has a public swimming beach, described by the city as Vantaa's most popular. Lifeguard supervision follows a published seasonal schedule rather than being year-round.
- Sauna
- There are smoke saunas at the beach, heated every day of the year, and electric saunas in the main building with separate men's and women's sides. The smoke saunas are mixed, so swimwear is compulsory.
- A marked route connects Kuusijärvi directly to Sipoonkorpi National Park.
- The car park payment machine does not accept cash.
- Parts of the main sauna building have been under renovation - check the current status on the city page before travelling.
Choose this, or something else
More challenging option
Nuuksio National Park – HaukkalampiNuuksio gives real trail walking and rockier ground, but there is no sauna, café or swimming beach waiting at the car park.
Finland Outdoors assessment
Better without a car
LöylyLöyly is inside Helsinki and reachable without a car, where Kuusijärvi effectively assumes you drive or catch a seasonal bus.
Finland Outdoors assessment
Pair it with
Finland Outdoors pairings, chosen for the same day out.