TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN IN HIMOS-JÄMSÄ
1. Activity Park and Pumptrack course in Jämsä city centre
Near the K-Citymarket and S-Market stores in Jämsä city centre, you’ll find an activity park that’s popular with children and young people. This activity and play area is free of charge and offers different activities for children all year round, as well as a beach for swimming in the summer. The area has a wonderful skateboarding area with ramps and barriers, a long Pumptrack course for scooters and bikes, and a great area for practising ice hockey and floorball stickhandling skills. The children’s playground and traffic park (open during the summer) located just across the road make this versatile site a special place for families with children.
2. An active holiday at Himos
It’s no wonder that Himos is the best-known destination in Jämsä – why drive all the way to Lapland when similar services for summer and winter activities are available much closer to home? I started downhill skiing at Himos when I was young. It was just an hour away from home and I spent weekends on the slopes with my friends. Himos is still my first choice when considering a downhill skiing destination, although we have spent longer holidays at the ski resorts in Northern Finland.
During the summer, the Himos environment offers several biking trails and you can also rent regular and electric mountain bikes. Electric mountain bikes make it possible to do long rides with children, but remember to take your skill level into consideration when choosing the climbs and descents of the Himos slopes. Sometimes it’s nice to ride on a flat trail, so there’s no need to try and conquer the highest hills in Central Finland.
Children and young people often like to play disc golf, and Jämsä has several courses. Disc golf is a fun and inexpensive activity for the whole family. If your family enjoys golf, Himos has an interesting full-length course. However, I left my clubs at home this time, and we focused on doing things together with the family.
3. Nature recreation in Jämsä
Jämsä has many hiking trails, and Isojärvi National Park in Kuhmoinen is also quite close. It offers the pleasant 3-kilometre Herety nature trail for families, which I last hiked with children during the winter. Another option is the easy 4-kilometre Majavapolku trail. If you want an even shorter trail, the Kannuslahti accessible trail is one kilometre long and has a lean-to shelter where you can take a break and grill some sausages.
Juveninkoski waterfall, Vorororotti gorge and Giant’s rock are some of Jämsä’s best-known nature sites. It’s easy for hikers to spend several days exploring these destinations as well as many other hiking options. If your family enjoys hiking together, Jämsä’s diversity makes it a good holiday destination.
4. Escape room with the family
Holidays are a good time to try new things. On a rainy day, Himos Escape Room is a great choice that takes you to another reality. Our assignment was to find out who was responsible for a bank robbery in Jämsä, and we only had one hour to complete the task. With a few extra tips, we found the right criminals just before the deadline and successfully completed the escape game. It was fun to see how well we worked together as a team in this tricky situation. The escape room was quite a nice experience for first-timers, and I’m sure we’ll try it again.
5. Explore Jämsä city centre
Jämsä city centre is a great place to stop for lunch or dinner. At the same time, you can take a short walk along the banks of Jämsänjoki River to the Apteekkari herb garden and the new 500-metre trail in the Tervaleppämetsä area. This flat outdoor trail along the riverbank is great for families with children, as it’s quite an easy walk with plenty of interesting activities along the trail.
The Pop-Up café Joki on the banks of Jämsänjoki River is a great place to stop for a snack. Akuliina Café-Restaurant at Jämsä Central Square is another excellent choice for a meal, and the same goes for Hilpeä Hirvi Bistro Restaurant. I was impressed by the hearty food and relaxed service at Hilpeä Hirvi, and the children also enjoyed their meals.
While in Jämsä city centre, drop in to the Vaatekauppa Vehkala clothing store, which has been owned by the same family since 1938. This colourful clothing store is an attraction in itself, but you might be surprised by the quality and diversity of its stock. For example, I left with a new black-and-white flannel shirt from the store’s exceptionally wide selection of brands and colours.
Lots of options for accommodation
The Jämsä region has a wide range of cottages and holiday homes available for family vacations. We stayed at the Holiday Club homes near the Himos slopes, which was close to the Himos Center mountain bike rental site and the Tupa Kitchen & Bar restaurant at the Himoslomat hotel. I have previously stayed at several different locations in Jämsä, each of which was the most suitable option for that holiday group at the time. Everything is close if you have a car in Jämsä, which means that the quality of accommodation is more important than location.
However, having your own sauna may be the most important convenience when taking an active holiday. Relaxing in the soft steam before dinner is a great way to end an active day. Choosing accommodation that has plenty of space for the whole family means, for example, that you can spend a rainy day playing board games. However, on this visit we were able to spend our time outdoors in the Himos-Jämsä area. We missed seeing the moose at Hirvikartano Restaurant because of mating season, so that’s one good reason to return to Jämsä for another mini holiday.