Permits for activities in state-owned areas
You can roam in nature in Finland on the state-owned lands and waters quite freely. The freedom to roam with the “Everyman´s right” comes with some serious responsibilities. A mutual respect for nature, people and property is important.
The need for nature conservation can require certain restrictions on these rights. In national parks and many nature reserves, special regulations can limit activities such as camping, hunting, fishing, using motor vehicles, and moving through sensitive nature areas.
Other activities than those covered by the Everyman´s right usually need a permit from Metsähallitus, such as
For fishing, hunting or snow-mobiling you always need to purchase a permit.
Metsähallitus maintains snowmobile tracks for snowmobile drivers on state-owned lands. These tracks are unofficial routes and their use is subject to charge.
- Fishing permits (eraluvat.fi)
- Hunting in Finland (eraluvat.fi)
- Snowmobile track permit (eraluvat.fi)
Permission or notification is mainly not required for organizing small public events.
In case of larger public events, Metsähallitus needs to get a notification. Notifying the events in advance helps to avoid any overlap and congestion at the sites or possible risks to protected site values.