Finland is known as the country of a thousand lakes. In fact there are 187.000 of them. All Finnish lakes normally get an ice cover for winter and afterwards snow falls on the ice. This makes winter Finland the perfect place for activities like skiing and skating or kick sledding and kite boarding on the lake.
These photos will show you one of Finland’s 187.000 lakes. I will show you what a typical Finnish lake looks like in the snow season.
Winter in Finland, walking on the frozen lake
And as you know nature is the best of artists. Look at my 25 nature photos and enjoy the Finnish winter! The photos are taken on Lake Näsijärvi close to Tampere, Western Finland.
Winter Finland: The Ice
The cold lake water is now getting its ice cover.
The lake shore gets decorated with millions of ice flowers.
White ice flowers will spread out and fill the shores.
Nature creates ice sculptures on the dark rocks.
New layers of ice are gathering on the rocky lake shore.
Winter Finland: The Snow
Nature gives all meadow flowers their own winter look.
Time for a ski tour on the frozen lake.
No boats in sight today.
Just the snow and ice.
But you are not alone on the lake, not at all. There are two more skiers, can you see them?
The wind has pushed pieces of ice against the lake shore.
The whole lake shore is now full of ice sculptures.
Winter sunshine sometimes looks dramatic.
All plants do get a winter look.
Ice sometimes looks like glass.
A huge flower made of ice.
Then, all clouds over the lake slowly turn grey.
Finland Winter Evenings
In winter time the sun sets very early.
The sun gives ice flowers a purple shade.
The garden, too, has its own winter look.
Melting water drops become huge icicles.
Pink ice flowers cover my wooden pier.
Will it soon be spring?
End of the Winter
Then comes the spring and ice turns to shrinking ice floats.
The ice gets darker and darker and finally melts away. Goodbye ice, see you next winter!
So this is what a normal Finnish winter is supposed to look like and what we are used to, in all parts of the country.
However as the climate is getting warmer it happens with double the speed in Finland, which means frozen lakes are no more guaranteed. So before even thinking about walking on a lake you should always check the conditions! It’s not always safe to walk on frozen lakes.
For more about winter activities in Finland check out the Official Travel Guide of Finland.
My Other Posts on Finland:
- Read about how to make a Ski Tour in Lapland Wilderness
- Walking through an ice cold city: Tampere Winter Walk
- Summer in the Finnish Lake Country: The Lake Country of Finland: Lake Näsijärvi Reflections
- Learn about Finnish national parks: Southern Konnevesi National Park in 24 Hours
- Autumn in Finland: Autumn Trip to Lapland: Reindeer, Ruska and Auroras
I loved Your photos. They are gorgeous. We have also winter fun on lakes:
Walking on frozen lake.
Happy and safe travels.