EuroVelo 13 Iron Curtain Trail

Finland

The route in Finland starts at Näätämö on the Norwegian-Finnish border and runs down to Virolahti. For much of the journey the route passes through isolated woods and moorland where you really get a feel for Finland’s vastness. On the way you visit many interesting towns and villages, such as Kuhmo, where there is a Winter War Museum. Further south, near the town of Imatra, there is the Border Museum at Immola Garrison, which focuses on the history of defending Finland’s borders.

It's definitely much easier to visit this section of EuroVelo 13 in summer when the long daylight hours enable you can cycle around the clock!

EuroVelo 13 - Iron Curtain Trail is a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe since 2019.
EuroVelo 13 - Iron Curtain Trail is a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe since 2019.

Cover picture - © Rami Valkonen

Countries

Legend

Development status
  • Certified Section of at least 300 km that has successfully undergone the certification process in line with ECF’s European Certification Standard. It is the highest quality level on the EuroVelo network
  • Developed with EuroVelo signs Developed route (see category below) with continuous signing along the route, incorporating EuroVelo route information panels.
  • Developed Route developed for cyclists and signed in line with the respective national standard (i.e. it is part of a local, regional or national cycle network). There must also be a website providing information to users. Developed route can be heterogeneous in terms of infrastructure: type of cycling infrastructure, surface, width, gradients, etc
  • Under development Route containing sections that require further development (e.g. stretches on public highways with high levels of traffic). Cyclists are advised to use public transportation to skip these non-developed stretches.
  • Planning Undeveloped route with no detailed information publicly available on the Internet. The itinerary communicated is a proposal for the best possible option currently available. It may also contain dangerous sections. Cyclists are advised to use public transportation to skip these non-developed stretches.
  • Public transport link

Markers

  • Natural Heritage
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Cultural Heritage
  • Culinary Delights
  • Maritime Heritage / The Rhine / The Meuse
  • Other Point of Interest
  • Bus station
  • Train station
  • Mobility info center

National & Regional Information

Bikeland - Finnish Center for Cycling Tourism

National EuroVelo Coordination Centre

Official bike travel website of Finland Bikeland.fi is the official bike travel website of Finland. Finland is a long and diverse Bikeland that offers memorable experiences to everyone from enjoyers to experienced adventurers. You can go bike touring in the lakeside scenery, explore new trails on your mountain bike in the midnight sun and bikepack in Finnish Lapland. From Bikeland.fi you can find Finland's best cycling routes and find the information you need for planning a bike trip in Finland.

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EuroVelo 13 in Finland

The EuroVelo 13 Iron Curtain Trail runs in Finland between Näätämö on the Norwegian-Finnish border in northeastern Lapland and Vaalimaa at Virolahti in southeastern Finland. This 1687 km long trail takes you along the border between Finland and Russia in the vast and isolated parts of Finland where your companions for hours are varying birds, wildlife, and in Lapland an occasional reindeer. Green forests, open marshlands, swamps and bogs, hills and fells, rivers and streams, ponds and lakes in every size punctuate the route and change the scenery as you cycle along. As the southern part of the EuroVelo 13 route is still under development, we recommend riding the Northern part of the route starting at Sallatunturi.

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Welcome Cyclist

There's numerous bike friendly accommodation providers, restaurants and cafes, tour operators, attractions as well as bike and transport services that welcome and provide great service for bike travelers in Finland. These companies meet the bike friendly service criteria created by Finnish Center for Cycling Tourism and you can recognise them from the Welcome Cyclist -sign at the entrance.

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Related news

Maps & Guides

EuroVelo 10, EuroVelo 13: Iron Curtain Trail 1 [Bikeline Esterbauer]

This cycling guide describes EuroVelo routes in Finland from Helsinki, across Russia and Estonia (1,778 km). 10 km to Riga are also described in Latvia. Also available in German. The perfect tool to guide you during your journey preparation and on the road: precise and very informative maps at a scale of 1:120,000 and 1:400,000, elevation and distance profiles, GPS tracks, accommodation and service directory, LiveUpdate, handlebar bag format, and spiral-bound.