Accessible sights and activities

In the Jyväskylä Region, you can experience a wide range of experiences, also accessibly. This page contains a list of companies and destinations with more detailed descriptions of them, and below you can also find a search menu of accessible service providers!

Below, you will find accessible sights and activities with additional information on the accessibility.
You can also browse activities marked accessible here and nature destinations and services marked accessible here.

Photo: Pekka Helin

Museums

Visiting a museum is enjoyable for the whole family! In the Jyväskylä Region, there is a wide variety of museums, some of which are also suitable for an accessible tourist.

At the Aalto2 Museum Centre, you can familiarise yourself with Alvar Aalto’s architecture and the history of the Jyväskylä Region. The Museum Centre consists of the Alvar Aalto Museum and the Museum of Central Finland. Aalto2 is an accessible and centrally located museum hub, where all floors can be accessed via lifts. It is possible to borrow a wheelchair, a walker, and/or a pushchair from the museum centre during the visit, and guide and assistant dogs are also welcome. The Museum Centre also contains plenty of touchable objects and artefacts. Read more about the accessibility of the Aalto2 Museum Centre here.

The Finnish Air Force Museum in Tikkakoski, Jyväskylä, is a disability card destination. There is plenty of free parking space in the museum yard and the option of parking near the entrance. The assistant or support person of a disability card holder can always come along to the museum free of charge. The museum building has an accessible entrance and accessible transitions from one exhibition room to another, the building has an accessible toilet, and a wheelchair that can be borrowed near the entrance to the exhibition hall.

The Art Museum in the centre of Jyväskylä is completely accessible. All floors are accessible by lift, and the toilet spaces for people with mobility impairments are located on the first floor of the museum. Guide and assistant dogs are welcome at the museum. Read more about the accessibility of the Jyväskylä Art Museum here (in Finnish).

The Craft Museum of Finland, located in the heart of Jyväskylä, is accessible with assistance. The museum is a disability card destination, and an assistant can enter free of charge and guide or assistant dogs are also welcome. Read more on the museum’s accessibility page!

Accessible museum and library services are offered by the Open Science Centre of the University of Jyväskylä. In addition, the university’s “Science for All” concept provides events and exhibitions for anyone interested in science and research.

Person sitting in a wheelchair on a nature trail in Leivonmäki National Park.

Photo: Sanna Kalmari, Palmuasema

National parks and nature

The Jyväskylä Region national parks offer experiences also for accessible tourists. The Leivonmäki National Park has an accessible trail, Harjujärvi, which is 700 metres long. There is also an accessible cooking canopy, a toilet, and a pier. The landscapes of the Southern Konnevesi National Park are accessible on the 300 metre-long Vuori-Kalaja trail. There is an accessible open hut, a fire pit, and a toilet along the Vuori-Kalaja trail. The Salamajärvi National Park features the accessible 400 metre-long Koirasalmi trail, which begins from the Koirasalmi nature hut. Please note that full accessibility cannot always be guaranteed for nature trails due to topographic changes and weather conditions. Therefore, the trails in the national parks are termed as “demanding accessible nature trails” and they are described as accurately as possible. For more background information, see the Luontoon website.

In addition to the accessible trails in the national parks, the Haukanniemi accessible nature trail was completed in Jyväskylä in 2023. The trail is designed as an accessible route, and it is about three metres wide with even terrain. When arriving at the nature trail, you can leave your car in a parking area on Lyhdekatu street. The trail runs to the accessible open hut at the end of the Haukanniemi cape and back the same route. The trail is 2.4 kilometres long in total.

The popular Ladun Maja outdoor area features the demanding accessible Pikkukakkonen trail, with fairytale characters painted on stones along the trail that are especially popular with children. Along the route, on the shores of Lake Kolmisoppinen, there is an accessible open hut.

An accessible rest area has been opened along the Hankasalmi Keskisenlampi nature trail in 2021, which you can get to along the stone dust-covered maintenance trail from Hankasalmentie. There is an open hut with a fire pit and a toilet at the rest area. Both are accessible with a wheelchair.

Jämsä’s Synninlukko trail offers an accessible route that allows walkers, wheelchair users, and those with strollers to enjoy the stunning gorge valley.

The priest speaks to the people of the church

Photo: Toivakka Parish/Heikki Kotilainen

Churches

There is a disability ramp available at the Toivakka Curch, and you can enter the church with a wheelchair. There is also an induction loop in the church. There is an accessible toilet with easy access in the near vicinity.

A wheelchair ramp has been built at the entrance of the Multia Church, and the church is accessible.

The Kuokkala Church in Jyväskylä has an accessible parking space, an accessible entrance, and an accessible toilet.

There is a wheelchair access ramp at the entrance to the Petäjävesi church. A hearing loop is also available within the church.

Photo: Peurunka

Accessible travel with children

In the Piispala Youth Centre in Kannonkoski, you can splash around in an accessible swimming pool and get to know the residents of the Animal Home Pihka.

The Spa Hotel Peurunka offers a wide range of accessible activities for the whole family. In principle, nearly all the facilities and activities at Peurunka are accessible; e.g., no thresholds; ramps, the rugs are harder in the middle, large lifts, support rails almost everywhere, large public toilets (space for assistive equipment and pushchairs), gym equipment (HUR equipment can be used in a wheelchair), paved roads, lifts in the pool and dressing rooms, the spa dressing room on the same level as the spa, large spaces for dressing, and automatically opening doors.

The whole family will enjoy spending time at the Water Sports Centre AaltoAlvar! At AaltoAlvar, you can find lifts for wheelchairs, with which you can for instance access the 50 m pool.

Activity Park Veijari in Saarijärvi is a summer holiday destination for the whole family. At Veijari, you can meet many kinds of animals, try many activities, and enjoy restaurant and cafeteria services. The main routes of the activity park are accessible, and an accessible toilet is available in the area.

In the Lutakko residential area in the centre of Jyväskylä, an accessible sports and play facility for the whole family can be found. The play facility has been designed to take into account the needs of children with mobility impairments, visual impairments, hearing impairments, and autistic children, for example. Many of the facilities make it possible to participate in play with a wheelchair. The play equipment has been placed spaciously so that playing with assistive equipment is easy.

Person sitting in a wheelchair fishing in Jämsä.

Photo: Sanna Kalmari, Palmuasema

Experience the waterways accessibly

Cruise ship M/S Satu sails charter and lake cruises. The ship is also ideal for an accessible traveller – see more from Sanna Kalmari’s visit on the Palmuasema blog.

Lucky Fish, located in Jämsä, specialises in various fishing and boating excursions. Aki from Lucky Fish is trained as a water-based instructor for special needs, and he also has experience with the special needs of people with long-term illnesses and disabilities. Thus, the company also provides fishing services in an accessible manner, even if the boat itself cannot be accessed with a wheelchair.

Päijänne-Risteilyt Hilden also offers those with mobility impairments the opportunity to enjoy cruises. You can access the ship along a ramp, and all the ships have an accessible toilet. The personnel will assist in choosing the right cruise for an accessible traveller. Pre-booking is recommended for the ships, as only a few wheelchair users can be accommodated at the same time. The ships cannot be accessed with motorised wheelchairs.

Photo: Hanna Hartikka

Guided tours

Various guided tours for groups can be ordered through Visit Jyväskylä Region. Most of the tours can be carried out accessibly on request.

You can find information about accessibility in conjunction with the tour descriptions, and more detailed information can be obtained from the Tourist Office: +358 14 569 0113 / [email protected].

Photo: Juhani Mikkola / VideoDrone Finland Oy

Experience the Jyväskylä Region virtually

Leivonmäki National Park

The virtual fireplace offers visitors the opportunity to e.g. have a look at the park’s signature bird, check the up-to-date forest fire warnings, or to see the Joutsniemi esker without having to walk a single step. You can access the virtual content from your browser, smartphone through the QR code from the Leivonmäki National Park or in the centre of Jyväskylä through the bird signs you can find at the bus and train station and the Tourist Information Service. Have a look at the virtual fireplace of the Leivonmäki National Park.

360 View from the Harju Vesilinna lookout tower

You can explore the views from the Harju lookout tower through a 360 spherical panorama! The Restaurant Vesilinna on the second floor of the Harju tower can be accessed with an accessible lift, and the restaurant has an accessible toilet. The restaurant terrace also has great views.

UNESCO World Heritage sites virtually: The Petäjävesi Old Church & Oravivuori Triangulation Tower

Familiarise yourself with the Petäjävesi Old Church, completed in 1765, through a virtual tour (note that the texts are in Finnish). In the Petäjävesi Old Church, accessibility is not fully realised. The building is old, so the floors are not entirely straight, and the thresholds are high. The outer stairs are also quite steep. The Puolakka Measuring Station in Oravivuori, Korpilahti, Jyväskylä, is part of the Struve Triangulation Chain. The Struve Triangulation Chain was accepted in 2005 onto the UNESCO World Heritage list, and represents scientific and technical cultural heritage. Visit the Oravivuori Triangulation Point of the Struve Chain through a virtual tour.

Online exhibitions of the Jyväskylä museum services

The Jyväskylä Art Museum, the Museum of Central Finland, and the Craft Museum of Finland have compiled an extensive package with a wide range of cultural experiences available virtually.

Have a look at the online exhibitions of the Jyväskylä museums!