Lake Päijänne and the Keitele-Päijänne canal form an extensive lake system in Central Finland and offer a variety of scenery. Päijänne is popular for boating, as it is possible to travel on a single waterway all the way from the city of Lahti on Lake Vesijärvi to Viitasaari in Central Finland and as far as Pielavesi in the Savo region. The trip from Lahti to Pielavesi is around 120 nautical miles, and on the route there are more than 200 places where boats are permitted to put ashore.
Päijänne offers visitors the chance to enjoy Finnish lakeland scenery at its best. Visitors can discover Päijänne in their own or a rented boat, or join one of the lakes scheduled services or cruises. Päijänne also attracts foreign boaters who want to experience Finlands unspoilt lakeland.
The guest marina in Korpilahti is frequented by boaters from countries such as Switzerland, Germany and Russia in addition to our Finnish visitors, says Ms Erja Rosala, Harbour Master at Korpilahti.
Korpilahti is one of Päijännes most popular guest marinas, and was in fact chosen as guest marina of the year in 2006. Finlands guest marina of the year is selected by the Finnish Yachting and Boating Associations. Each year since 2000 Korpilahti guest marina has been awarded the international Blue Flag eco-label.
Around 700 boats and their crews overnight at the marina every year. Erja Rosalas business, the Harbour Master Café, welcomes up to 130 000 customers during the summer season. Since 2000 the popularity of leisure boating has really grown fast. The number of boats overnighting at Korpilahti, for example, has doubled in eight years, she says.
The harbour at Korpilahti was founded over one hundred years ago, at a time when increasing numbers of steamships were working on Lake Päijänne. The harbour was home to a sawmill during the first half of the twentieth century.
Towards the end of the last century, people began to appreciate the sawmills historical value and a project was launched to renovate the harbour area.
The sawmill buildings were also given a new lease of life, with the old buildings being renovated to meet modern requirements.
At the beginning of 2009 the Municipality of Korpilahti, with its 5 000 inhabitants, will become part of Jyväskylä.
--------
- second largest lake in Finland - surface area 1 080 km² - length 119 km - deepest point of Finlands inland waterways (95.3 m) located in - the Municipality of Toivakka - average depth 16.2 metres
Photo (above): Korpilahti is one of Päijännes most popular guest marinas, says Ms Erja Rosala, Harbour Master at Korpilahti.
By Timo Sillanpää Photo by Timo Mustalampi and Jukka Salmi Map by Martti Hänninen