Bike Park, adventures and blueberries – in Levi, everyone finds their own favourite.

A summer day in Levi with former alpine ski racer and World Cup winner Tanja Poutiainen-Rinne and her family is filled with speed, heights and a little friendly competition – followed by the perfect way to wind down: the forest, blueberries and a sauna.

When the family arrives in Levi for a summer visit, everyone already has their favourites. For their 10-year-old son, it is downhill mountain biking; for their daughter, the Adventure Park. And the parents are more than happy to join in on both.

– Our summer days are definitely active. There is always something to do, Tanja Poutiainen-Rinne sums up.

The Levi Summer ticket gives the family plenty of freedom to shape the day as they go. One pass includes activities such as Levi Bike Park, the Adventure Park, summer sled track, minigolf, scenic lifts, tennis and padel. The Poutiainen-Rinne family does not even try to fit everything into a single day – they simply choose what they feel like doing.

Everyone has their own favourite

The family’s 10-year-old son has recently become particularly enthusiastic about downhill mountain biking. With experience has come confidence, and he is already comfortably riding the blue trails at Levi Bike Park.

Tanja also enjoys the Bike Park, although she prefers the more relaxed blue trails. Her husband Vesku, meanwhile, joins their son on some of the more challenging trails.

Their daughter’s favourite activity takes place a little higher above the ground.

– If downhill mountain biking is number one for our son, the Adventure Park is definitely number one for our daughter.

So the family sometimes naturally splits into two groups. Tanja heads to the Adventure Park with her daughter, while Vesku and their son take their bikes to the Bike Park. Their daughter is now older, tall and heavy enough to challenge herself on many of the Adventure Park courses and on the Free Fall. In the future, she also has her sights set on Santa’s Zipline, the park’s long zipline adventure.

For Tanja, this is one of the best things about summer days in Levi: everyone can choose what they enjoy most. Spending the day together as a family does not mean everyone has to do the same thing all the time.

Minigolf gets competitive

After the family’s more action-packed favourites, it is easy to continue the day at the Activity Park. The trampolines, skate park and other activities keep drawing the children back, even when they have similar things to do at home.

– We have a trampoline at home too, but they still always want to go on the trampolines here. With so many different activities in the same area, they can happily spend a long time there.

Minigolf, meanwhile, brings out the family’s competitive side.

A relaxed round sounds like a good idea – at least until the game begins.

– We definitely keep score, and whoever loses might be a little grumpy about it, Tanja laughs.

Minigolf is also one of those activities where the whole family can genuinely do the same thing together. Age and differences in skill level matter very little, making it easy for everyone to join in.

Time for lunch – and dessert

An active day calls for a good lunch break, and for the Poutiainen-Rinne family that often means stopping at Gondola Restaurant.

One detail earns a special mention from Tanja.

– They always have amazing desserts. The children love them – and something sweet with coffee certainly goes down well with the adults too.

After a break, the pace can pick up again. The summer sled track is another family favourite, and sometimes padel makes it onto the day’s programme too. A little shopping may also be involved, as Tanja says they rarely leave the Brand Store at Zero Point without finding something to take home.

There is no need to do everything at once, however. For the Poutiainen-Rinne family, that is one of the benefits of the Summer ticket: they can build their day around whatever appeals to them at the time.

From high-speed adventures to the peace of the forest

After a day filled with downhill mountain biking, climbing and other activities, the evening is a good time to slow things down.

One particular moment from the family’s latest visit to Levi has stayed in Tanja’s mind. When they returned to their cottage in the afternoon, the surrounding forest was full of blueberries.

The children joined in, and before long the family had picked a couple of litres of berries right around the cottage. Some went into the freezer, while the rest were eaten with porridge and yoghurt.

For Tanja, picking blueberries is the perfect counterbalance to the more action-packed activities of the day.

– With downhill mountain biking, you have to concentrate all the time, and you can’t exactly let your mind wander in the Adventure Park either. But when you go into the forest to pick blueberries, your mind can rest. It somehow grounds you.

Then it is time for the sauna.

After spending the entire day outdoors and on the move, the evening does not need much more. According to Tanja, by nine o’clock there is little left to do but wait for sleep – and usually, there is not much waiting involved.

Everyone finds their own thing in summer Levi

The children are the ones asking when the family can go back to Levi. And it is easy to see why.

For one, Levi means the trails of the Bike Park; for another, the Adventure Park. For the parents, it might mean downhill mountain biking, the summer sled track or sharing new experiences with their children – followed by a quiet moment in the forest at the end of the day.

Perhaps that is what makes a great summer day.

Everyone does not have to enjoy the same things. A day together can be made up of individual favourites, action-packed moments and the time spent together in between.

And sometimes, one of the best experiences of all is waiting just outside the cottage door.