Rokua Geopark

Rokua is a block of sand and gravel left by the retreating ice sheet, shaped into eskers and then reworked by wind into dunes, standing above the surrounding lowland with pine forest, reindeer lichen and a scatter of kettle-hole lakes formed where buried ice blocks melted out, some of them deep and exceptionally clear. It became a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2010, the first in Finland, covering the wider area including the Oulujoki river valley and Lake Oulujarvi. There is a national park within it, with marked trails through the dunes and around the lakes, a health spa, and cross-country skiing in winter on ground that holds snow well.

What you actually see

• Wind-shaped dunes on eskers - the ice-age sand reworked by wind.
• Kettle-hole lakes - deep clear water where buried ice melted out.
• Lichen and pine forest - the dry ground vegetation of the ridge.
• Marked trails and ski tracks - the routes through the dune landscape.

When to go

June to September for walking and February to March for skiing. A day or two. It is quiet outside those seasons. The lichen ground cover is fragile and slow to recover.

Honest expectations

The landscape is subtle rather than dramatic and it takes some interest in geology to appreciate. Services are limited to the spa and a few cabins. Public transport does not really serve it. Walking off trails damages the lichen.

Nearby

Utajarvi is north; Oulu lies north-west.