Savonlinna caves & swims

I was returning from my trip to Punkaharju (article, alt. link) and again wanted to stop by interesting places on this four-hour drive. I picked two interesting caves south of Savonlinna, and a swim at Savonlinna's "PikkuSaimaa" swimming pool. Right by the lake, and where you can see Olavinlinna (Olavi's castle). Overall a very nice tour, even if the caves turned out to be mostly shelter caves not proper tunnels under the rock.

The caves were in Haukkavuori and Myllylahti, both near the shores of the Saimaa lake, near Kankaisselkä part of Saimaa. And Haukkavuori is actually on the shore of a small pond, Sorvalampi, 150 meters away from the bigger lake.

Both caves were not that far from the roads, but both involved some hiking through difficult-ish terrain and some efforts in finding the caves. And in both cases I was left unsure if I had actually find the right cave. Both were on a high cliff, and one wonders if one has traversed enough of the cliff, or gone enough on higher levels of the cliff to check in case there was something there. 

But I think I did find the caves, Haukkavuori one turned out to be a low but medium-sized shelter cave, but there was also a nicer smaller cave that continued along a crack in the cliff for few meters. A photo of that cave's exit hole is above at the start of this article.

In Myllylahti, the almost entire cliff face was negative and had formed one fairly massive but quite high/open shelter cave. There was also one more cave-like place where a large boulder leaned on the cliff rock, forming a triangle-shaped hole.

The only information I had about these caves came from the book of Finnish Caves (Suomen Luolat), but it didn't have any pictures or detailed information, and my coordinates on the phone typically differ a bit from what's in the book, so one of course always wonders if the right stuff has been found. But the numbers about size do match, very approximately at least. Some of these caves, particularly the shelter ones, are challenging to classify, as you have to decide how much of a shelter still classifies as a cave part.

Both locations also had very nice views over the water and from high up on top of the cliffs, here's the view from Haukkavuori:

Haukkavuoren Lippaluola (Hawk Mountain Shelter Cave). Coordinates N 61.781292 E 28.985042. The length of the cave is 9.6 meters, in my measurement. Map is here, the 3D model is here, and a rotate-the-cave-in-your-browser model is here. 

In the book there was a statement that there are cave paintings, and this is the reason I chose to come to see this cave. I didn't find any, it is possible that I missed or again it is possible I wasn't at the right cave. But there's plenty of odd red on the cliff face arching into the roof of the cave. But my interpretation was that this is the red stuff that has colored most of the cliff face, i.e., nature. I don't know. I could be wrong.

Here are some of the photos. the last one being about the possible red paintings:

Haukkavuoren Halkeamaluola (Hawk Mountain Crack Cave). Coordinates N 61.781014 E 28.985544. The length of the cave is 6.3 meters. Map is here, the 3D model is here, and a rotate-the-cave-in-your-browser model is here. 

And photos & a cave map:

Myllylahden Linnalouhen Iso Lippaluola (Mill Bay Castle Goddess' Large Shelter Cave). Coordinates N 61.802342 E 29.021844. Length is 25 meters alongside the shelter, and to the end of the shelter of the lid is 5 meters. Map is here, the 3D model is here, and a rotate-the-cave-in-your-browser model is here. 

And photos:

There was also a narrow space under a cliff nearby the above, I didn't classify this as a cave, but it is interesting perhaps. Coordinates are N 61.802433 E 29.020750.

Photos:

And another small space under a boulder, at N 61.802331 E 29.021381. Photo:

Myllylahden Linnalouhen Kolmioluola (Mill Bay Castle Goddess' Triangle Cave). Coordinates N 61.802303 E 29.022106. Length is 12 meters. Map is here, the 3D model is here, and a rotate-the-cave-in-your-browser model is here. 

And photos:

There was also a potential other smaller shelter cave nearby, though I didn't classify it as a cave. The coordinates were N 61.802231 E 29.022386. Photo:

Savonlinnan uimahalli "PikkuSaimaa" (the swimming hall of Savonlinna). Coordinates: N 61.864470 E 28.879905. They have a main pool, 25 meters, a jumping platform, a warmer bubbly pool, and a children's pool. One time adult visit ticket is 7.50€.

Their speciality is that there's a door where you can get a key (I guess mostly for locals), and then exit the hall for a summer swim in the lake. Or winter... they have an ice hole. Very nice!

Official page is here. And photos:

This article has also been published at Planetcaver.net here. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net, sauna and swimming stories from planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool, or all blog articles from Blogspot. Photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. The pool photo in this article is from the Savonlinna swimming hall's home page (edited); all rights reserved by the city.

Kruunupuisto swims

I'm at a health rehab this week, in chose the place so that I could enjoy the nature at the same time. I'm in Hotel Kruunupuisto, on the national landscape of Punkaharju where thin sandy ridges cross lakes. The Finnish "road of the century" runs along the ridges, lined up with pine trees and the water. Wonderful place. I also tested the hotel spa, the hotel beach, and biked around the the area.

They had an excellent program, doctors, nurses, nutritionists, exercise specialists, etc. Hopefully this will improve my health...

More information about the hotel and spa can be found here, and the road here. The hotel is at N 61.785278 E 29.313380 and their swimming beach at N 61.784710 E 29.309063.

Hotel and spa photos:

Beach photos:

Biking photos:

Also, how many shoes do you need on a rehab trip? 

Apparently seven: pool flip-flops, lake shoes, light sports shoes, indoor sports shoes, hiking boots, and ski boots. See the other article (alt. link) for why the last two were needed.

This article has also been published here. For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot! The photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. Spa photos are taken with permission and when the facility was closed.

Ruokolahden Safari

Safari in Ruokolahti. Sadly, I did not see a lion. But I managed to ski snow on second half of May, that's something. Well, ice. But still, quite nice views over the lake, not too bad! I also checked a cave, the Lassilan Linnavuoren luola (Lassila's Castle Mountain Cave). This was a total surprise, an excellent cave by Finnish standards. A through cave from one hole up on a cliff face to another hole on the same face. Wonderful!

There are steep (very) steps leading to the entrance to the cave. There are no exit stairs from the other end (exit pictured above), so come back the same way, and don't fall.

There were also side caves that in any other place would have been nice caves, but here were just listed as "fire pits" or not noted at all. Well done, Ruokolahti.

The skiing was done at Ruokolahti Freeski, a great community ski hill. I've skied there before, though there's no article about it... it was on my day trip to the east.

But back to the cave. It has been reported in the book Finnish Caves (Suomen Luolat), Wikipedia, as well as on the Ruokolahti page, Lomavinkint page, and Retkipaikka.

The coordinates of the cave are N 61.21908 E 29.02517. I measured it as being 14.5 meters from one entrance to another. I also scanned it and made a 3D model and a map. Here's a link to the model, map, and a rotate-on-your-browser version of the model. Here's a snapshot of vertical cuts in the map, showing how tight and high the cave is:

Other pictures from the main cave:

The other notable caves are under boulders in front of the cliff. There's actually a few, plus a few holes in the cliff itself. But the maybe I'll just list the two biggest ones:

The fire pit is cave at N 61.218986 E 29.024933. This must be at least 10 meters (a total estimate, I could be wrong). Here is what it looks like:

The big boulder is cave at N 61.218739 E 29.025239. I think it is at least 5 meters, maybe even 10. Again, a complete estimate. Here is what it looks like:

Pictures from the skiing:

This article has also been published at Planetcaver.net here. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot. Photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved.