Finding Gold: An Early Autumn Journey Through Finland’s Glittering Lake District

I wasn’t sure what to expect from an autumn trip to Finland, my first to the country, but spending the day stretched out on a sun lounger under a sparkling blue sky certainly wasn’t in the cards. After a morning stroll under the leafy canopy of the Mustila Arboretum – the oldest and most extensive botanical garden in the country – and an afternoon wine tasting (more on which later), my friend Sarah and I stopped at the resort of Sahanlahti, deep in the Finnish Lake District, only to find sun-drenched landscapes that seem far more Mediterranean than Nordic.

Sahanlahti was the second stop on a mid-September trip from Helsinki to the shores of Lake Saimaa; journey in search Russianspectacular autumn colors that blaze for a few short weeks before the long Finnish winter sets in. However, on our first drive east from the airport to the Radalla resort on Lake Uraijärvi, most of the thousands of trees we passed were decidedly green, with only the very tips of the leaves tinged with chestnut, like swept leaves..

“You’re too early,” the waitress told us cheerfully after we’d checked into our plush waterfront cottages and eaten hefty plates of crispy garlic chicken studded with freshly picked chanterelles in Radalla’s quiet dining room. “But you might get some sun tomorrow.” Later, walking back to our cabins through the heavy rain, we came to the conclusion that she was most likely just being kind.

Radalla Resort is just one of dozens of lakeside hotels scattered across southern Finland. Many have self-catering lodges, sauna complexes and shiny metal steps leading from wooden piers down into the cold waters of the lake. The gray rain we woke up to made swimming less appealing and we decided to head to our next stop instead, stopping at the arboretum along the way before finding a spot for lunch.

Driving in southern Finland turns out to be very different from driving in other countries. Most of the settlements are located along the shores of the lake, so they tend to be tucked away along side roads leading from the main highway. Instead, the trees—those decidedly green trees—rolled past us, mile after mile, until gradually the fields began to melt into lakes one after another, the road winding along blue-gray waters or stitching together small islands scattered between them.

After Googling somewhere for lunch, Sarah came across Ollinmäki Winery, a surprising find in a country that doesn’t grow grapes at all. Instead, berry wines are hugely popular, and once we were seated at our table we were persuaded to try a flight of six, accompanied by a bowl of hearty elk soup (which tasted significantly better than it looked) and a lettuce topped with local cheese. One wine, the white currant and berry Müllerin Matti, was particularly tasty, with a hint of crisp sauvignon – although I’d hate to find out what a Finnish hangover is.

From the winery it was an easy drive to Sahanlahti as the weather cleared and clear blue skies shone over the shores of Lake Saimaa. The main house, painted toffee yellow and built in the mid-18th century when the owners ran a local sawmill, had a languid, old-fashioned appearance, but dinner at Koskiwahti was anything but: rich mushroom soup, slices of goose confit with lingonberry sauce, thin beetroot carpaccio with tangy goat’s cheese.

The leaves may not have yet begun to bloom, but we arrived right in the middle of the harvest season, when going to the fields and islands to pick wild mushrooms and berries (of which there are 35 different varieties) is practically a national sport. No sooner had we set down our bags at our final stop, the resort of Järvisjudan, than we were racing through Saimaa in a small motorboat, baskets clutched between our legs, hunting foxes and looking for rare ringed seals and ospreys.

The sky was a perfect blue as we raced across the water, landing first to pick the mushrooms, bright yellow streaks among the green undergrowth. During the harvest we were guided by Sebastian, the 12th generation of the Heiskanen family that runs Järvisyudan. “Back in 1654,” he told us, “the Russian Tsar gave my family a plot of land to build a tavern on the route between St. Petersburg and Helsinki.” More than 350 years later, the tavern has become a 100-room resort offering everything from stark modern glass-walled cabins set high in the woods to hexagonal log cabins with bedrooms set in a central fire-lit atrium to camping pods.

This is an extraordinary place: everything from the huge reception, dwarfed by the replica Viking longship hull hanging above the reception desk, to the restaurants, bar and Hobbit-like spa, is built entirely from local stone and timber. A visit to the spa seemed like the perfect way to warm up after our chilly boat ride, with six different saunas to soak in, although the sunken log sauna, where temperatures reached 70 degrees Celsius, gave me some insight into how ice cream might feel if left in the sun.

Of the three resorts we visited, Järvisyudan stood out – for its history, the spectacular scenery of Lake Saimaa that surrounds it, the delicious mushroom soup and the long sunny walk we took on the last day of the day, through a dense pine forest where red squirrels scurried along the branches above. Leaving on our last morning was challenging, but as we drove back along the quiet roads to Helsinki, we found Finland – despite the lack of foliage – to have exceeded our expectations. It was more beautiful, more peaceful, more sunny than we could have imagined.

Ruska (bright fall foliage colors) starts in the north country in early to mid-September, reaching the Lake Saimaa region in the south by early October.

The trip was organized by Discover the World. Four nights individual travel by car accommodation in RadallaSahanlahti And Järvisyudan resort starts operating for £794per person, including accommodation and car rental, but not air tickets.