The Iijoki River Rowing event was created in 1983 as a protest against the plans to further dam the river and to build a reservoir that would drown large areas of local wilderness and tradition. Now we have our goals in bringing back the river's native migratory salmon population.

While we've rowed to support the freedom of the river and the return of the salmon, the Iijoki Rowing event has grown to be not just a protest, but also a cultural travel event. It is place to be for people looking for a break from routine, to get some fresh air, to experience the local tradition, to enjoy fresh waters, campfires and festivities of Northern Finland during the most beautiful time of the summer.

Iijoki Rowing is not a competition, but a journey to enjoy nature and the landscapes. The landscapes range from Nordic wilderness and natural river habitats, to local countryside and culture.

You can choose to join us for a day or two or three, or the whole four days. No prior experience is needed. Our boats have experienced coxswains who know how to steer the boats in rapids or other difficult parts, so you'll always be safe.

Sign up and reserve a seat in one of our boats. Come row with us!

- Pudasjärven luonnonsuojeluyhdistys ry (The Nature Conservation Association of Pudasjärvi)

Taivalkoski town center – Parviainen

32 kilometers / 20 miles

Parviainen – Kurki school

31 kilometers / 19 miles

Food: Breakfast at Parviainen. At Räpättävä, there's coffee available, you may bring your own snacks, there's a campfire for roasting sausages. At the Kello cable ferry, you may buy coffee, drinks, and snacks. Evening meal can be bought at the Kurki school building. The menus and pricing will be specified later.

Lodging: A camping spot for a tent or a caravan at the Kurki school yard, or lodging at the school building's rooms, for a small camping/lodging fee.

Kurki school – Pudasjärvi town center

27 kilometers / 17 miles

Tickets

Adults:
A seat in our boat: 1 day 30€ , whole event 100€
If you bring your own boat/canoe/kayak: 1 day 20€ , whole event 50€

Children under 15:
A seat in our boat: 1 day 15€ , whole event 50€
In your own boat/canoe/kayak: 1 day 10€ , whole event 25€

Bus token: 5€/day, 10€/whole event
At the end of each day of rowing, a bus will be waiting to take those retrieving their cars back to the place where we launched in the morning.

Rent a life vest: 5€/day, 10€/whole event.

Life vests are required for everyone. You may bring your own or rent from us (payments only in cash).

Payment

You may pay your attendance fee either in advance (bank account Iijokisoutu FI14 5360 0420 0911 78) OR at the office at the event, where you will also be given your event pass and instructions. It is better to pay in advance, for your convenience and avoiding the rush.

Please remember to sign up here.

Information

For the rowers

You may reserve a seat in one of our boats, or bring your own. Each of our wooden river boats has two pairs of oars. Approximately three or four people fit in each boat (groups larger than this will be divided into two or more boats). be two people rowing and one or two passengers in each boat; the rowers and passengers usually take turns. Generally, you are expected to be able to row for at least half a day. If your group is bringing (a) small child(ren) to the boat, then the grown-ups will row the whole way.

In addition to the three or four rowers+passengers, there is a coxswain steering each boat. The coxswain is in charge of the boat, and will steer and give instructions as needed.

You do not need a lot of prior rowing experience to attend Iijokisoutu; we will teach you. You do need to be in a physical condition to be able to row a boat for a few hours, though.

In addition to the breaks in the schedule, other smaller breaks will be taken if the rowers are tired, or if the weather condition gets momentarily bad, or if we have to wait for slower boats to catch up.

For the paddlers

We do not recommend partaking in Iijokisoutu as a paddler if you are inexperienced, unless you're coming with a more experienced paddler friend who can instruct you. For the inexperienced, instead of paddling we recommend reserving a seat in one of our boats, where the coxswain will instruct you if needed.

Taigavire rents kayaks and canoes.

What to bring into a boat?

Life vest, a cushion to sit on, a hat that protects from the sun, sunglasses, a water bottle, gloves for rowing a boat if you get blisters easily, sun lotion, a raincoat, possibly a change of clothing. Appropriate footwear such as sneakers (no rubber boots in the boats please). Snacks, if you want to eat something between breaks. It's enough to take a small bag of these essentials into the boat.

Everyone must wear a life vest. You may bring your own or rent from us (5 €/day or 10 €/the whole event). We have a limited quantity of children's sizes. Note: the rent of the life vests must be paid in cash at the office car.

The office car

We have an office car, which will follow along the event. You may keep your additional luggage there and access it during breaks.

Retrieving your car

Each day at the end point of the daily rowing, a bus will be waiting to take those retrieving their cars from where they were left in the morning. A ticket for the bus costs 5 €/day or 10 €/whole event.

Insurance

Our head organisation, Suomen luonnonsuojeluliitto (Finnish association for Nature Conservation) has an accident insurance, which is valid for the Iijokisoutu event. The insurance is valid for accidents that happen during the event or immediately on the way to or from there. The insurance is valid for participants under age 70.

In addition, Iijokisoutu has a liability insurance, which will be valid for liabilities caused by the Iijokisoutu event and its organizers. Please note that it will not compensate for liabilities caused by yourself, such as dropping something in the river. You may get your own travel insurance for that.