Times coverage drives visitors to Huuhanranta beach
Friday 14th August 2026 on 13:15 in
Finland
Last summer’s international media attention continues to draw visitors to Huuhanranta, a remote beach in Ruokolahti, South Karelia, Yle reports. The Times recommended the beach in 2025 as a “cool” travel destination, bringing particularly large numbers of foreign visitors.
Visitor numbers have remained high this summer, according to the South Karelia Recreation Area Foundation.
“The beach is not very empty during the season,” said Antti Pekkanen, the foundation’s recreation area coordinator.
Huuhanranta is a sandy beach about 1.5 kilometres long on the shore of Lake Saimaa. It receives sunlight for practically the entire day and offers views across the lake.
New toilets added
The foundation built four new vacuum-emptying toilets at the beach this summer. Two of them are accessible toilets.
The new facilities were added in response to the growing number of visitors. Previously, the beach had five toilets, some of which were removed when the new ones were built.
In previous years, the foundation also gravelled the roads leading to the parking areas and installed barriers along the roads to prevent cars from being driven to the beach.
Pekkanen said the measures were intended both to improve safety and to protect the area’s nature.
“We want to put as little strain as possible on the environment and nature, and we believe we have succeeded quite well,” he said.
Parking remains limited
Huuhanranta has two parking areas. One of them, known as the lower parking area, is reserved for accessible parking.
Visitors have asked whether more parking spaces could be added, Pekkanen said. No new parking areas will be built this summer.
The foundation has begun looking into funding for a possible expansion of the parking facilities.
“It would not make sense to cut down a forest for a parking area for just a few months of the season,” Pekkanen said.
The beach has two campfire shelters maintained by the foundation and a few cabins available for rent from a local entrepreneur. It has no other services.