Parks and the outdoors in Oulu

17 parks, gardens, beaches and walks in and around Oulu.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Do
Adventure Park Huikia
Seikkailupuisto Huikia
A considerably expensive "adventure park" near the main swimming pool of Oulu. The park's courses are mainly many metres up on the trees where you move with, e.g., cable ropes. A fun and exciting experience for everyone.
€26
See
Hupisaaret park, Fountains and salmon stairs
Hupisaaret, kalatie
The beautiful park of Hupisaaret (lit. Fun Islands) is a lush area with little paths and bridges crossing beautiful little streams. The longest fish path of Finland, 750-m- and 64-stair-long fish path is on the northern part of Hupisaaret park. Take a picnic or just stroll around the renovated park where you can also find the soon-to-be-mentioned Northern Ostrobothnia Museum. Tietomaa and Oulu Museum of Art are also found near the park.
24 hr
Do
Kayaking, biking or stand up paddling
SUP
The Oulu River delta offers an exceptionally good frame for stand-up paddling and kayaking, so why not try it out? The boards/kayaks are easily rented in either Kiikeli or Nallikari, although the former one has better selection. Use the internet reserving system (http://www.lappis.fi/index.php/sup-varaus-online/) or call the renting company to assure that there are boards available for you.
SUP €25/hr, €35/2 hr and €50/day
Eat
Koivurannan kahvila
A café right at the Oulu river. Also has rowing boats for rent.
Open only in the summer months
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Nallikari
A summer visit is preferred. Here you can find is the most known beach in the city. There is also the small "amusement park" Vauhtipuisto nearby, as well as minigolf, camping and a restaurant. The area is under construction as of July 2024, but you can still visit there.
See
Oulu Castle
Oulun linna
The castle was damaged by attack in the 18th century and finally blown to pieces in 1793 when lightning struck the gunpowder magazine. What you see now is the maritime observatory built on the ruins; it's set in a pleasant park, and you can climb the tower for views. There's a café (Tähtitornin kahvila) within. The cellar (same hours) displays info on the castle - mostly in Finnish, but there's more in the Northern Ostrobothnia Museum.
Café daily May & Sep: 11:00–19:00, Jun & late Aug: 11:00–20:00, Jul & early Aug: 11:00–21:00 21:00Free
Do
Oulu Water park
A "water park" meaning a floated obstacle course in the Oulu river delta. Right next to the Oulu castle ruins and cafe, so you can get a coffee or a cold beer after!
In the summer, opens in June€12+€5 for cloackroom and wetsuit
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Oulu Zipline
A zipline near the beach in Nallikari. It runs for 250 m along the shoreline. It starts from a 20-m-high tower and ends near the Nallikari lighthouse. It is possible for two people to go at the same time.
summer€20
See
Oulun Suomalaisen Yhteiskoulun Lukio
OSYK
The Finnish Co-educational Lycée of Oulu was established and opened in 1902 as a private Finnish-language lycée. It was the first co-educational upper secondary school in Oulu, a progressive learning institution at the time since both boys and girls studied in the same school. The students of today keep up the progressive spirit in the school with a wide distribution of information on gender and sexual neutrality and diversity. The school is said to have the best team spirit in Oulu. Nowadays the school also is one of the most appreciated upper secondary school in the city and it emphasizes wide-scale art education. As pretty as it is from the inside, not entering the building without a reason is appreciated since it is reserved for students doing their schoolwork. You can admire the building from the outside. The school building was finished in 1908, and the Jugend style building is a rare find in town. As well as many other buildings in Oulu, the school is said to be haunted. There is also a quarter of pretty wooden buildings and a big park with a children's traffic playground near the school.
Eat
Puistokahvila Makia
Makia
A stand-alone park café. Lunch and salad buffet available. A popular place for university students and foreigners to hang out.
Mon–Thu 07:30–20:00 Fri 07:30–22:00 Sat 09:00–22:00 Sun 09:00–20:00
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Ruskotunturi
A small skiing centre in the suburbs of Oulu. Features regular slopes, children's slopes and two snowparks for freestyle skiing. You can spend a day in the winter if you are a beginner downhill skier or just want to do something physical for a day. Not exactly a skiing trip destination, since the hill is only 50 m tall and the longest slope is 390 m. In the summer, Oulu Action Park operates some activities (such as paintball and gravity races) there, but the main focus is on the skiing centre.
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Sanginjoki outer forest
The forests surrounding river Sanginjoki are a popular trekking site near Oulu. Old-growth forest and a fishy river with nice rapids. Fishing requires permission. Having exceptional nature values there are plans to form a large nature reserve here.
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Superpark Oulu
Indoor activity park for all the family. The Freestyle Hall boasts a skate and scooting park, the extremely popular AirTrack tumble track, and a range of ramps and trampolines. The Game Arena features a hockey radar, disc golf, and basketball for those with a competitive streak. The Adventure Area has climbing walls, exhilarating slides, and a pedal car track. SuperPark Oulu also has a play area called Adventure City for small children.
Mon–Fri 13:00–20:00, Sat Sun 11:00–19:00€19
See
Turkansaari Open Air Museum
Turkansaari is a nice open air museum with pretty old wooden buildings showing glimpses of local history. The museum is located on three islands in the Oulujoki River 12 km upstream from downtown Oulu. The museum is the second-oldest open air museum in Finland. It was established in 1925 when the island's wooden church dating back to 1694 was restored to its original location. The museum islands host a number of old buildings relocated to the museum to save them from demolition. When the weather permits, coming to the outdoor museum by bicycle is recommended. The total distance from the city centre is 16 km.
Closed · opens 10 am tomorrow€10 entry, event days +€2
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Vauhtipuisto
Vauhtipuisto amusement park is a family hangout, a fun park in Hietasaari area close to downtown of Oulu that is created for all children and childlike minded. Vauhtipuisto creates memorable experiences and offers a large variety of rides and attractions for the youngest members of the family and for the bit older ones. Vauhtipuisto doesn't offer as thrilling experiences as a proper amusement park, but it is a nice place to visit, especially for those with small children. Admission to the park area is free. Admission to attractions is either by individual ticket or by a wristband. The core and the main attraction of Vauhtipuisto has from the very beginning been a little playground for the little ones offering impulses for games, playful interaction and do-it-yourself activities and experiences. You can find bouncy castles, a mini train, merry-go-rounds, car tracks, mini roller coaster, fairytale track, a Kakaravaara playhouse village and many more exciting things.
June 1 - August 11 11:00-18:00€24/29. The park area is free, but the rides cost
Do Not mapped
Cycle or walk
In the summer, rent a bike or walk to the beach in Tuira on the north side of the river Oulujoki, a popular place with locals, passing through Ainola park and over the dam on the way. From there head eastwards, crossing back to the south side of the river and onwards to Värttö. Visit Koivurannan kahvila in an old house by the river, Kasamintie 51. Then head back to the centre for a total 8-km trip or take the bus number 7, 9 or 10 back to the centre.
See Not mapped
Old and new Oulu
The historic northern part of the city centre offers architecture from the 19th century, by architects like Carl Ludvig Engel and Johan Jacob Ahrenberg. In order to see chraming, old wooden buildings, head out to the neighbourhoods of Raksila and Pikisaari. The Kasarmi neighbourhood offers some historically important buildings since it used to be a barrack area, built in 1881. Most of older Tuira has already been torn down, but some old hospital buildings still remain in the Tuiranpuisto park. Catch the bus number 23 to the nearby town of Ii to see the old neighbourhood of Iin Hamina. The buildings there are built right next to each other, creating small alleyways between the houses. For newer architecture, the neighbourhood of Toppilansaari is a go-to destination. It is under construction, so expect to see cranes at work. The same goes for the newer part of the Hiukkavaara neighborhood.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Oulu (CC BY-SA 4.0).