Sleeping away from home is a big step, and a Finnish summer camp is a good place to take it. These are the overnight camps families can reach from the city, most of them out by a lake or in the forest, where kids swim, play outside and stay the night with camp staff. Some take first-timers from about age six or seven; others suit older kids and teens.
Sleepaway camps run by Lasten Kesä, a Finnish nonprofit, at its camp center on Lake Akkijärvi in Hauho. Kids sleep four to a room and spend the days rowing, diving, crate climbing, archery and foam-sword fencing, flipping pancakes on an open-fire griddle, with a disco on the last night. The program follows what campers ask for, and phones come out only at a set time each day.
Helsinki NNKY, the city's YWCA, runs small summer camps, most of them just for girls. The Töölö day camp is for nature and animal lovers, with trips to Hietaniemi beach and a cat café. The Rastila day camp is about cooking, swimming and beach time. Overnight camps on Vartiosaari island and at Meriharju add saunas and campfires, and one camp is for mothers and daughters together.
An international camp on a quiet forested lake in southern Finland, where kids from many countries live and play together in English. Days mix canoeing, rowing, hiking, campfires, swimming and team sports with short workshops on clean water, energy and recycling, plus one excursion a week.
Kids can stay overnight in shared twin rooms, or come as day campers while their family visits Finland.
A big tent camp on the shore of Lake Märkiö in Kiljava. Kids sleep in tents with their own tent village and two or three leaders, swim from a supervised sandy beach, paddle canoes, climb and share a lakeside sauna.
Themed show days, campfires and a giant trampoline fill the days. With more than 200 campers at its busiest, it suits kids who like a crowd over a quiet retreat.
An overnight camp at the Kesärinne camp center on Lake Rusutjärvi in Tuusula, with forest and lake right outside the door. About 40 kids at a time hike, gather around campfires, canoe and swim, with a counselor always watching at the shore. Campers sleep indoors at the center, not in tents. Run together with the City of Kerava.
Sleeping away from home is a big step, and a Finnish summer camp is a good place to take it. These are the overnight camps families can reach from the city, most of them out by a lake or in the forest, where kids swim, play outside and stay the night with camp staff. Some take first-timers from about age six or seven; others suit older kids and teens.
Sleepaway camps run by Lasten Kesä, a Finnish nonprofit, at its camp center on Lake Akkijärvi in Hauho. Kids sleep four to a room and spend the days rowing, diving, crate climbing, archery and foam-sword fencing, flipping pancakes on an open-fire griddle, with a disco on the last night. The program follows what campers ask for, and phones come out only at a set time each day.
Helsinki NNKY, the city's YWCA, runs small summer camps, most of them just for girls. The Töölö day camp is for nature and animal lovers, with trips to Hietaniemi beach and a cat café. The Rastila day camp is about cooking, swimming and beach time. Overnight camps on Vartiosaari island and at Meriharju add saunas and campfires, and one camp is for mothers and daughters together.
An international camp on a quiet forested lake in southern Finland, where kids from many countries live and play together in English. Days mix canoeing, rowing, hiking, campfires, swimming and team sports with short workshops on clean water, energy and recycling, plus one excursion a week.
Kids can stay overnight in shared twin rooms, or come as day campers while their family visits Finland.
A big tent camp on the shore of Lake Märkiö in Kiljava. Kids sleep in tents with their own tent village and two or three leaders, swim from a supervised sandy beach, paddle canoes, climb and share a lakeside sauna.
Themed show days, campfires and a giant trampoline fill the days. With more than 200 campers at its busiest, it suits kids who like a crowd over a quiet retreat.
An overnight camp at the Kesärinne camp center on Lake Rusutjärvi in Tuusula, with forest and lake right outside the door. About 40 kids at a time hike, gather around campfires, canoe and swim, with a counselor always watching at the shore. Campers sleep indoors at the center, not in tents. Run together with the City of Kerava.
