The three National Parks of the Jyväskylä Region: Pyhä-Häkki, Leivonmäki, and Southern Konnevesi, will have their own direct bus connections this summer when Outdoor Express services start operating in mid-July. The routes, which continue until early September, offer visitors quick connections to the National Parks on alternating weekends, Saturdays, and Sundays.
The services depart from Jyväskylä Travel Center, and passengers can also join from specific stops along the way. For Southern Konnevesi National Park, there are two routes available in the summer: one via Hotel Spa Peurunka in Laukaa to Häyrylänranta harbour and the other via Revontuli Resort in Hankasalmi to the Kalaja hiking area. The Pyhä-Häkki connection stops in the center of Saarijärvi, and the Leivonmäki route also goes through the center of Joutsa village. Day-visitors will have about 4-5 hours to enjoy nature. The services, which run on two consecutive days, offer overnight stays and the use of local tourism services.
“We want to offer travelers an easy and sustainable way to visit the most important nature destinations in our area. Visit Jyväskylä Region aims to increase the number of tourists in the area sustainably, and one way to influence this is to promote accessibility with carbon-wise travel chains,” says Johanna Maasola from Visit Jyväskylä Region. “We hope that travelers will find the Outdoor Express services and that we will have a busy tourism summer ahead. Our intention is to further develop the services based on the feedback received and to establish them as part of the area’s service offering,” Maasola continues.
Tickets will be available in January.
The pilot services are part of the three-year project “ Sustainable international accessibility for tourism of Jyväskylä Region (KeKaSa),” which started in March last year. The project is implemented by Visit Jyväskylä Region. The project is co-funded by the European Union, with funding granted by the Regional Council of Central Finland. The project’s partners include local municipalities, JAMK University of Applied Sciences, and the Central Finland Chamber of Commerce.
For more information:
Anni Peltonen, Project Coordinator, Sustainable international accessibility for tourism of Jyväskylä Region (KeKaSa) [email protected], tel. +358 406512217
Johanna Maasola, Project Manager, Sustainable international accessibility for tourism of Jyväskylä Region (KeKaSa) [email protected], tel. +358 50 448 2954
Photos (Julia Kivelä/Visit Jyväskylä Region):
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-jhsrhnBazuA0ObxnUcCv1rY00wdCP8g?usp=drive_link
Read more:
Outdoor Express – Visit Jyväskylä Region