Niemilomat
Niemilomat
Niemilomat has offered unique experiences since 1998. We provide a venue for various events: gatherings, courses, retreats, and sociable sauna evenings. We also offer nature activities, such as mountain biking on a forest trail, snowshoeing and ice swimming. You can also enjoy the heat of a Finnish smoke sauna or hike to our lean-to shelter to enjoy the campfire.
We are situated by Lake Unnukka, in the middle of the pure nature of Lakeland, 13 kilometres from the town of Varkaus and 90 kilometres from the city of Kuopio.
Friendly service, nature values, cherishing cultural heritage. These are some of the values we find important.
Adventure activities and events
Have you ever ridden a mountain bike through beautiful forests and lakeshores? Did you ever ride a horse, the summer breeze gently stroking your face? The nature around us is our most precious resource, and we want our guests to feel it too. All four seasons at Niemilomat are worth exploring.
We offer guided tours, including hiking with a stop at campfires, electric bike tours and hacking with horses. For independent activities we rent for example electric bikes, SUP boards, disc golf discs and snowshoes.
In the nearby forest there is a nature path, the MTB Niemelä mountain bike route, and lean-to shelters. The nature is always present at Niemilomat; you don’t need to search for it!
Restaurant Vännin Ankkuri serves as a venue for conferences and celebrations. We organize various private events, courses, and retreats.
Backyard Olympics with five activities
At Niemilomat we organize Savonian Olympic Games! The tongue-in-cheek Olympics include five activities: a giant jigsaw puzzle, blow darts, stilt walking, tandem skiing, and tossing clover liners in milk churns.
Disc golf
You can rent a disc golf set and play the 9-hole course in the yard.
MTB Niemelä mountain bike route
We have built a mountain bike route through the forests surrounding Niemilomat. The route is accessible to bikers, hikers, snowshoers, and skiers all year round. Along the route there is a lean-to shelter and a campfire site. Everyone enjoying outdoor recreation have free access to the route.
You can rent electric bikes and snowshoes at Niemilomat!
We hold the route open in the wintertime when possible. Please contact Niemilomat in advance to check if the route is accessible.
In the winter, when the weather and ice conditions allow, we maintain a route also on the frozen lake. Please check with Niemilomat in advance, whether the route is accessible. Please note that going on the ice is always at your own risk!
An electric bike trip to the Laavu lean-to shelter
During the electric bike tour, you will enjoy the varying scenery of the forest and the lakeshores. The electric assist makes your journey smooth both in winter and summer. We take a 5,2 km route, after which we enjoy traditional black pot coffee and crepes at the Laavu lean-to campfire.
A hike tour to the Laavu lean-to shelter
On the campfire hiking tour, you will enjoy the serenity of nature and the beauty of the lake landscape. A hike to the campfire site is a unique experience both in winter and summer. We hike a distance customized to the group, after which we enjoy traditional black pot coffee and crepes at the Laavu lean-to campfire.
Mount on a gentle horse
Horseback riding is an ideal way of enjoying the nature in all seasons. On the back of a horse, you can let go of your everyday stresses and relax your mind. A few kilometres from Niemilomat, there is a private stable offering hacking tours with Icelandic horses. Experience a trip through the forest on the precious, friendly horses.
The Icelandic horse is a sturdy but gentle and calm horse type. Owing to these traits it is ideal for both children and adults, even with no prior riding experience.
Yoga and well-being
Do you feel overwhelmed and stressed out? Are your energy levels low and do you need a break from your daily routines? Would you like to relax and pamper yourself, and put yourself first? We organize yoga and meditation classes and lectures on well-being for groups. Why not spend your corporate wellness and recreation day with yoga!
Outdoor equipment rental
You can rent equipment for your independent outdoor activities, such as electric bikes, SUP boards, snowshoes, and a rowing boat (with optional electric outboard motor) from Niemilomat. For example, on an electric bike it is great fun to explore not only our own trails but the surrounding area, too! Check prices here.
The smoke sauna
Relaxing in the heat of a traditional Finnish smoke sauna is a unique experience. The benches can take up to 20 bathers at a time. From the smoke sauna you can take a dip in the waves of Lake Unnukka, or gaze at the stars from the outdoor hot tub. The sauna facility has two changing rooms and two showering rooms, and it has full alcohol serving license.
To heat up the smoke sauna, we use meter-long logs from the nearby forest. One heating session takes as much as one third cubic meter of firewood. The stove has 1300 kg of stones on the top, and the outer casing is layered with stones gathered from the family estate grounds. Heating up the smoke sauna takes a little over 7 hours.
The lakeshore sauna
The traditional lakeshore sauna takes up to 4 people at a time. The sauna is suitable for families and small groups. From the sauna you can take a dip in Lake Unnukka. Our guests can book a one-hour sauna shift in the summertime (May-September) without additional charge.
Conferences, gatherings, retreats, celebrations, and other private events
When you choose to hold your event at Niemilomat, you can concentrate on celebrating and mingling among your guests. We are here to make sure your party is perfect!
The atmospheric pre-order restaurant Vännin Ankkuri by the lake and our traditional smoke sauna offer a beautiful setting for various private events at Niemilomat. Our restaurant can take groups up to 42 people, and the terrace can facilitate up to 26 people.
We have table service at all our events. The service is friendly, jaunty, and cheery, not forgetting the typical Savonian joviality. The most important thing for us is to make your party memorable and unforgettable. We are here for you!
Restaurant Vännin Ankkuri
The restaurant serves beverages and ice cream every day in the summertime.
Our food is homemade, starting from the rye bread. Not even my grandfather knows how long the family’s sourdough starter has been used for our traditional rye bread. All our delicious foods and pastries are homemade, and we use mainly local ingredients all year round. Berries and mushrooms are hand-picked from our own forests, and the meat for our elk stew often comes from nearby forests. In the summer we buy our vegetables and root veggies directly from local small farmers at the marketplace.
We prepare dinners to groups at request. Check the menu of Vännin Ankkuri here!
Breakfast at Niemilomat
At breakfast we serve traditional Savonian delicacies. The rye bread is home baked with the family’s sourdough starter. Nobody, not even my grandfather, knows how old the starter of the rye bread is.
At breakfast we also serve home baked bread rolls, white bread, table spread, cold cuts, cheese, boiled eggs, slices of cucumber and tomatoes, grandma’s stewed porridge, marmalade, coffee, tea, and juice.
Accommodation
We offer both cottages and bed-and-breakfast style accommodation in a rustic surrounding close to nature.
Bed and breakfast in the main building
The main building at Niemilomat is a log house built in 1915. The second floor comprises four double bedrooms. In the lobby there is one shared bathroom with shower per two bedrooms. The price includes breakfast, which is served downstairs in the atmospheric main room. In the summertime the guests are welcome to use the lakeside sauna, the outdoor barbeque area, and a rowing boat.
In the second-floor lobby there is a microwave oven, coffee maker, water kettle and utensils for the guests to use, and each room has a mini fridge. The main building has no separate kitchen available for guests. Our accommodation facilities have free Wi-Fi.
Please note that pets are not allowed in the main building.
Ullan Pirtti
Ullan Pirtti is a cozy timber log cottage in a peaceful surrounding. The cottage is suitable for 3-4 guests, and extra beds are available for up to 2 persons. The cottage comprises a combined living room and kitchen, a bed recess and a shower/toilet downstairs, and a loft upstairs. The area downstairs is 35 m² and the loft upstairs 12 m².
In connection to the cottage there is a separate, wood-heated lakeside sauna with a room that can be used for sleeping in the summertime, as well as a small private beach. Pets are welcome to Ullan Pirtti, and the cottage has Wi-Fi.
The guests are responsible for cleaning up at the end of the stay.
Riitan Parsi
We renovated an old cowshed and turned it into a cozy accommodation facility in 2011. Riitan Parsi accommodates up to 10 people, and extra beds are available for up to 2 persons. The spacious apartment comprises a living room, three bedrooms, a roomy loft, and a kitchen. Riitan Parsi has an electric sauna and a small dipping pool, as well as three toilets. The sauna is directly connected to Lake Unnukka for a swim, and there is a beach right next to the terrace.
The surface area downstairs is 115 m², and the loft measures 28 m². The guests have access to a shared outdoor barbeque area and a rowing boat. The traditional lakeshore sauna or the spacious smoke sauna are available for additional charge. Riitan Parsi is also suitable for easy-going conferences, and the facility has Wi-Fi. Pets are welcome to Riitan Parsi.
The guests are responsible for cleaning up at the end of the stay.
Niemilomat
Niemeläntie 166
78200
Varkaus
+358 40 715 9568