Viitasaari

Viitasaari is a small town in Central Finland, by the lake Keitele.

Viitasaari is a small town surrounded by lakes: the 230 lakes in the municipality cover a fifth of the municipality's area. Sounds by the centre separate Ylä-Keitele from Keski-Keitele, both parts of the 500 km² (190 sq mi) Keitele. Half of the 6,500 inhabitants live in the town itself.

The area was inhabited already in the Stone Age. Sámi people are believed to have arrived more than 2,000 years ago and still lived here in the 16th century. Western hunters and fishermen have been here since the 300s, Tavastians since the 1000s. The area was settled by Savonians in the 16th century. Henrik Gabriel Porthan, who raised interest in the history of Finland in the 18th century, was from Viitasaari. 1882 Viitassari got a municipal doctor, the first in Finland.

• Town of Viitasaari, Keskitie 10, ☏ +358 14 459-7411 (M–F 09:00–15:00), viitasaaren.kaupunki@viitasaari.fi. Mon–Fri 08:00–16:00.  (updated Feb 2022)

National roads 4 (E75) and 77 run through the town, the latter here part of the Blue Highway from Mo i Rana in Norway, via Vaasa, Viitasaari, Kuopio and Joensuu to Petrozavodsk in Russian Karelia. E75 runs through Finland from Helsinki in the south via Jyväskylä, Viitasaari and Oulu to Utsjoki in the far north. The distance to Kuopio is 75 km, to Jyväskylä 105 km.

There are coaches from Helsinki, Lahti, Jyväskylä, Oulu and Rovaniemi.

Small craft can reach Viitasaari from Lahti, Heinola, Jyväskylä and Äänekoski by the Keitele–Päijänne–Vesijärvi waterway. Commercial traffic on Keitele is nowadays of minor importance.

The railway from Jyväskylä northward passes through the municipality, but the nearest passenger stop is at Pyhäsalmi in Pyhäjärvi, 87 km north from Viitasaari centre.

Jyväskylä airport is 78 km away. Most coaches from Jyväskylä drive via the airport.

Car, boat or bike are your safest options to get farther from the centre and the thoroughfares. The centre is small enough to be walkable. In winter, ice roads lead to the north-east and south-east over Keitele, ice conditions permitting.

In Viitasaari, a weekly transport service (palveluliikenne) is provided from all the villages to the town center. Through this service, the town offers residents the opportunity to travel to the town center once a week at an affordable cost.

See also Central Finland#By taxi

• 63.04666725.5283331 Huopanankoski (20 km west along road 77). One of Finland's first sport fishing destinations. In the 1890s fishermen as far as from England came to the rapids. The famous Finnish author Juhani Aho was a keen visitor. Exhibitions and a 1-km culture path. Old watermill and newer hydroelectric plant.  
• 63.088325.84032 Forestry museum (Metsätyömuseo). Exhibits on forestry work and on living at forestry camps. Also some other buildings.  (updated Feb 2022)
• 63.072725.85263 Kristuksen kirkastumisen tsasouna, Kirkkotie 12, ☏ +358 40-756-9589 (M–F 09:00–12:00; in summer M W Th), jyvaskyla@ort.fi. monthly services. Tsasouna of the orthodox congregation of Jyväskylä.  

• Boating or canoeing on Keitele. Much of Ylä-Keitele is a Natura 2000 area, with some nice shoreline without cottages and some infrastructure for visitors. Also the other parts of the waterways are nice.
• Fishing in the rapids (requires local permits).
• 63.159226.1331 Heinä-Suvanto (30 km east along road 77, turn right just before the municipal border to Keitele). Bird wetland.  
• Traktorijatzit: Mid-July. A jazz festival that is kicked off with a tractor parade. (date needs fixing)

Pizza, kebab, burgers, Chinese, Thai, buffet and café meals; no problem finding food, but the gourmet may be out of luck, at least in the colder seasons.

• 63.072625.85891 Lyhty, Haapasaarentie 5 (south of the bus station), ☏ +358 40-705-8106, lyhtyravintola@gmail.com. M–Th 09:00–!8:00 F Sa 09:00–20:00 Su 11:00–18:00. Café-restaurant in Lyhty, a former school from around 1910, which also houses events.  
• 63.074125.86432 ABC Viitasaari, Kokkosalmentie 7 (in the centre, across E75). 06:00–22:00, meals 10:00–20:30. ABC restaurant and café (and fuel station etc.). Chain restaurant, but their lakeside outdoor area has a nice view to Kirkkosalmi and Kymiönselkä of Keitele. €14–20.  (updated Aug 2026)

• 63.036425.81261 Hännilänsalmi Camping, Naurismaantie 80, ☏ +358 14 572-550, +358 41-437-5952, info@hannilansalmi.fi.  
• 63.080725.84712 Hotelli Pihkuri, Kappelintie 5 (1 km NW of the market place), ☏ +358 300-472-378, hotelli@pihkuri.fi. À la carte M–Sa 16:00–21:00; reception closed 12:00–16:00, 22:00/02:00– and Su afternoons. Hotel. Buffet breakfast and sauna included. The rooms have a balcony or terrace with view to Keitele. Some rooms can be combined for 4–6 persons. single €100, double €125, extra bed €20–30, pet €10.  
• Huopanankoski, Sininentie 1554 A (at Huopanankoski, see above), ☏ +358 40-544-9920, +358 440-375-604 (kiosk), kioski@huopanankoski.com. Accommodation in former school, in 2-person rooms. Communal kitchen and living room. Shared toilets. Programme services. €25/person; sauna with services €35/person. 
• 63.182225.72263 Wiikin Majatalo, Kokkolantie 16 (15 km north along E75), ☏ +358 40-531-3277 (room booking by SMS), +358 40-531-3277 (shop), info@wiikki.fi. Lodging in a renovated former manor stable. Room reservations by SMS at latest a day in advance. Breakfast and linen included; microwave, fridge, eating utensils etc. at disposal. En suite shower and toilet. Pets welcome. Summer café (part of the week, not all summer). Programme services. Shop with interior design, accessory garments etc. open by advance agreement. €100/125/145/165/195 for 1–5 persons.  

Oulu ← Pyhäjärvi ← Pihtipudas ←	N  S	→ Jyväskylä → Helsinki
Vaasa ← Kyyjärvi ← Kannonkoski ←	NW  SE	→ Vesanto → Kuopio