Kalajoki Dunes

Hiekkasarkat, the sandbanks, is a stretch of dunes and shallow sandy shore on the Gulf of Bothnia at Kalajoki, and it is the main beach resort of the western coast: kilometres of pale sand with marram-covered dunes behind, water that stays shallow far out and warms in summer more than the open Baltic does, and a resort strip of hotels, cabins, a spa and a campsite. Land uplift here is measurable, so the shoreline is still moving outward and the dunes behind are older sea floor. Out of the summer season the coast is windswept and largely empty, and the same dunes are used for winter walking and snowshoeing.

What you actually see

• Marram dunes behind the shore - the sand hills the resort is named for.
• Shallow warm water - the sea shelving slowly far out.
• Land uplift in the landscape - old sea floor behind the present beach.
• The resort strip - hotels, cabins and spa behind the dunes.

When to go

June to August for swimming; the resort is quiet and windy the rest of the year. A day. July is crowded with Finnish families. The dunes are fragile and marked routes matter.

Honest expectations

The season is short and the water is cold outside high summer. The resort development behind the beach is unattractive. Wind is constant. Walking off marked paths damages the dunes and is discouraged.

Nearby

Kalajoki town is east; Oulu lies north up the coast.