The Sports Route

Known as a city of sports and recreation, Jyväskylä encourages visitors to enjoy exercising throughout the year. Rantaraitti, a route that circles Jyväsjärvi lake, is ideal for walking, running, cycling or even roller skating. The Jyväskylä Region also offers a diverse range of nature trails as well as 300 fishing lakes. As well as this, you can experience the joy of exercise in the Laajavuori recreational area or Finland’s first parkour facility, which is located in Kangaslampi and has also crossfit training facilities. You can also find facilities for improving your muscle tone on Tuomiojärvi beach and at the Keljonkangas exercise site. Three ski centres as well as golf courses, spas, sports centres and nearly 90 indoor exercise facilities are at your disposal. Sports fans can enjoy top-level ice hockey, football, Finnish baseball and floorball. Jyväskylä is always on the move!

Along the Sports Route, you will find the best-known sports and recreational areas in Jyväskylä and enjoy an active lifestyle. Most of the sites along the route have no admission fees.* Take your pick or try them all – the choice is yours.

* Not including equipment hire.

Click here to visit the sites along the Sports Route.

Harju area

https://www.jyvaskyla.fi/en/culture-and-leisure/sports-and-recreation

The Harju Stadium – with its 1.6-kilometre fitness track in a beautiful natural environment – is located in the heart of Jyväskylä. The stadium has served as a venue for many major sports events. It provides an excellent setting for athletics and football. The new six-hole disc golf course near the stadium is open to everyone, free of charge. In the winter, you can try skating on the ice rink in the playground at Puistokoulu school. If you are feeling peckish after a bit of exercise, the restaurants in the city centre are within a short walking distance.

Rantaraitti/Jyväsjärvi lake

Rantaraitti is a popular pedestrian and cycle route that circles Lake Jyväsjärvi. It is ideal for walking, running, cycling or even roller skating, as it only crosses a few roads. In the summer, you can go for a swim on the beaches of Lutakko, Mattilanniemi or Halssila. In the winter, you can try skating, kicksledding or snowshoeing on the frozen Lake Jyväsjärvi, and a cross-country ski track runs next to the route. Rantaraitti is located conveniently close the restaurants of the city centre – in case you need more energy! No matter what the season, the view from Rantaraitti over Lake Jyväsjärvi is magnificent.

You can also take a free fitness test along Rantaraitti (see the information boards in the Jyväskylä Harbour and next to Hotel Alba for details). Rantaraitti also offers perfect conditions for muscle training. Those interested in sport can challenge their muscles for free at Jyväskylä harbour’s CrossFit facility, for instance, which is part and parcel of the grand plan to turn Rantaraitti into Finland’s largest outdoor gym. Click on fitness testing services to find out more!

Total length of Rantaraitti: 12.7 km
Shorter route (Mattilanniemi – Kuokkala Bridge): 5.9 km
Longer route (Viherlandia – Kuokkala Bridge): 8.3 km

The Hippos area

Hippos
Rautpohjankatu 6, 40700 Jyväskylä
https://www.jyvaskyla.fi/en/culture-and-leisure/sports-and-recreation

The Hippos sports park is located next to the park-like campus area of the University of Jyväskylä. It offers excellent opportunities for exercise as well as sports events and matches to watch. In the winter, you can watch JYP play in Liiga, the top professional ice hockey league in Finland, or see Happee play floorball or HonSu play basketball. In the summer, the Harju Stadium fills with fans of Finnish baseball who come to watch Kiri, the local men’s team, and Kirittäret, the local women’s team, play exciting matches. The Hurrikaani Restaurant, the coffee shop in the multipurpose sports hall and the Alakulma Café serve lunch and snacks in the Hippos area.

The Hippos area is a venue for a diverse range of sports events. Consult the City of Jyväskylä calendar of events for more information.

AaltoAlvari
Pitkäkatu 2, 40700 Jyväskylä
tel. +358 (0)14 266 4296
[email protected]

Located in the Hippos area, the AaltoAlvari Aquatic Centre offers a gym and guided exercise classes as well as water sports. After exercising, you can enjoy a tasty snack at the AaltoAlvari Café.

Click here for opening hours and prices. 

Laajavuori

Laajavuori – Laajis
Laajavuorentie 15, 40740 Jyväskylä
tel. +358 (0)20 743 6436
[email protected]
www.laajis.fi/en/

Laajavuori offers sports activities for people of all ages and fitness levels. In the winter, you can try downhill skiing and cross-country skiing at Laajavuori, also known as Laajis. Laajavuori has a total of 12 ski slopes. In the summer, you can challenge yourself by trying the zip wires in the adventure park or enjoy a fun round of disc golf. The ski slopes serve as downhill mountain-biking tracks in the summer. The terrain surrounding Laajavuori is ideal for running, cycling and hiking. Laajavuori has two restaurants: Gasthaus Laajis, which is open all year round, and Burger Laajis, which is open during the ski season.

Click here for opening hours and here to see the prices for ski passes.

Scandic Laajavuori
Laajavuorentie 30, 40740 Jyväskylä
Tel: +358 200 48 119
[email protected]
https://www.scandichotels.com/hotels/finland/jyvaskyla/scandic-laajavuori

After working up a good sweat exercising in Laajis, why not visit Spa Hotel Laajavuori? You can try water activities, from swimming to aqua aerobics, toil away in the gym or challenge a friend to a game of bowling. As well as a poolside bar, the spa hotel has three restaurants.

You can find the opening hours and entrance fees for the various activities of the spa here.