MYLLYLAMPI OUTDOOR AND RECREATION AREA (MIEHIKKÄLÄ)

In the south-eastern corner of Myllylampi lake (10,74 hectares), in the middle of a rocky forest landscape, lays a sandy beach offering a pier with a jump tower, changing rooms, a wooden outhouse and an open hut.

Myllylampi outdoor and recreation area is also prefect for hiking, camping and diverse outdoor sports activities. There are workout stairs, an 18-lane disc gold course, a nature fitness studio, and a lit fitness track, great for jogging in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter. You can also admire the lakeshore nature from a shared rowing boat. All services in the area are free for visitors.

There is also a four-kilometre nature trail in the surroundings of Myllylampi. Along the trail, you can get to know Finnish mythology and folklore. The trail has been marked with orange poles and painted dots, and a popular direction for going around it is clockwise. The terrain is occasionally challenging.

Things to see and do nearby

UApart from the beach, you can also take a break and enjoy a snack at Sihkarinkallio in the Myllylampi area. At Sihkarinkallio resting area there is a lean-to with a campfire site, a hut you can book, a woodshed, a waterpoint, and outhouses.

*Sihkarinkallio lean-to. Photo: Miehikkälä municipality.*.

Near Myllylampi lake there is the Salpa Line Museum, a military history museum established in 1987 and presenting the history of Salpa Line. This bunker and fortification line, stretching from the Gulf of Finland shores in Virolahti to Savukoski in Lapland, was built after the Winter War in 1940–1941 and 1944 near the Eastern border.

*Salpa Line. Photo: Miehikkälä municipality.*

At its southern end, the Salpa Line is followed by Salpa Trail, a 50-kilometer hiking trail. Along the Salpa Trail you can get to know the Salpa Line sites as well as the nature and cultural environment of South-Eastern Finland. The trail runs in Virolahti and Miehikkälä across forests, hills, and fields all the way to Hostikka cave in South Carelia, and also passes by Myllylampi. You can join the trail in several places and walk whichever direction you want.

The Myllylampi dance hall is also located near the Myllylampi beach. It was an important venue for Finnish tango singer Reijo Taipale (1940–2019), who was born and raised in Miehikkälä. There is also a road named after Reijo Taipale in Miehikkälä.