A lakeside town of 18 000 on the Kymi river. Every ice hockey final is played here, at the Heinola Sports Park. Winter disc golf plays at Kippasuo. Group games run at Vierumäki, ten minutes down the road.
Three waves of ice hockey, and every one of them ends in Heinola. Group games at Vierumäki, finals at the Sports Park ice hall, a short walk from the hotels, the river and the sauna.
Heinola gives you an authentic, calm taste of Finnish winter life. The town sits between two lakes, Ruotsalainen and Konnivesi, with the Jyränkö rapids running open through the middle all winter. Frozen lakes, snowy forests, wooden houses and a strong sports culture. Once a spa town; the spa is still here.
Two sports, one town. Ice hockey across Vierumäki and Heinola with the finals at the Sports Park. Winter disc golf at Kippasuo. Heinola is a full Games location with its own service point and medal ceremonies.
Games sport
Ice Hockey 14–23 January 2028
Three waves, each from group games to a final in Heinola. Team age is set by the youngest player, goalkeepers can be five years younger. Mixed-nation teams welcome.
Games sport
Winter Disc Golf 20–22 January 2028
Three days at Heinola DiscGolfPark World, Kippasuo. Open round on Thursday, pairs on Friday, singles on Saturday. PDGA rules, snow on the fairways. Open to everyone.
Part of Heinola
Vierumäki Sports resort · 10 min
The Finnish Sports Institute, ten minutes south of the town. Two rinks for the hockey group games, hotels, restaurants and forest trails on site.
Vierumäki page →
Games centre
Lahti 11 sports · 30 min
The Opening Ceremony, the Masters Hub and every evening's Winner's Celebration. Accreditation for all host cities is collected here.
Lahti page →
Next host city
Levi Alpine skiing · 14–18 January
Slalom, giant slalom and Super-G above the Arctic Circle. Via Helsinki Airport, one flight to Kittilä.
Levi page →Every venue has its own page with maps, opening hours, spectator areas and the shuttle stop.
Competition · finals
Heinola ice hall Sports Park Heinola
The town's ice hall at the Sports Park. Play-offs and every wave's final, with the medal ceremony on the ice. Games service point, locker rooms and the Heinola welcome evening.
Competition
Vierumäki Arena Two rinks · 10 min
Group games of all three waves on two rinks at the Finnish Sports Institute. Warm-up, gym and recovery in the same building. Shuttle from Heinola and Lahti on game days.
Competition
Kippasuo Heinola DiscGolfPark World
The disc golf park on the edge of town, played on snow. Open round, pairs and singles over three days, with the medals at the course.
Heinola sits on the motorway north of Lahti. Games shuttles run between Lahti, Vierumäki and Heinola on every game day, and coaches from Helsinki Airport stop in Heinola on arrival days. No railway station: the nearest is Lahti.
Merch pre-orders are collected at the Heinola ice hall service point or the Lahti Games Centre, whichever you reach first.
Picked with Visit Heinola for a game week: short, close by, and worth the evening.
01The river never freezes. Walk the old 1932 bridge at sunset, watch the current under the ice edge, and come back when it is lit.
Town centre · 20 min
02Parks, ridge and riverbank in one protected walk through the town. Lit paths, old wooden houses, the 18th-century Kivalteri house.
From the hotels
03Heinola was a spa town before the war and still is. Kumpeli Spa for the pools and dinner, the Rantakylpylä public sauna for the real thing.
Every evening04Snowshoes and skis on the lakeshore trails, or the forest routes of the Finnish Sports Institute ten minutes away. Recovery walk, Masters style.
Half a dayThe Heinola bird care centre next to the old bus station, where injured birds recover and sometimes talk back. Free, and ten minutes from the ice hall.
Town centreBookable experiences and restaurant tables appear in the Heinola marketplace once it opens. Prices and times from the operators.
Each wave ends with a final in Heinola and the medals on the ice straight after. The town's own Games evening follows at the Sports Park: teams, companions and the whole town, then the shuttle back to the Winner's Celebration in Lahti. The last final on Sunday 23 January closes the hockey tournament.
The questions we get about Heinola. Hockey and disc golf rules are on the sport pages.
Cold and mostly dry. Expect −5 to −15 °C, colder on clear mornings, and about seven hours of daylight in Lahti. Lapland days are shorter. Pack for real winter and warm arenas.
At the Games Centre in Lahti or Levi (Alpine Skiers) before your first competition day. Opening times are published in 2027. One accreditation covers every host city and every sport you enter. Service points at the other venues are listed in the arrival guide.
Fly to Helsinki Airport and take the train to Lahti, about one hour. From Lahti it is 35 km by local transport at a reduced rate with your accreditation, or by the paid shuttle. There is no railway station in Heinola.
Either works. Vierumäki puts you next to the group-game rinks with hotels and restaurants on site. Heinola puts you next to the final, the river and the town. Shuttles connect both on game days. Both are in the marketplace.
Yes, most people do. Each hockey wave is three days. Before or after, Lahti is thirty minutes away with eleven sports and the Masters Hub every evening. One accreditation covers both.
Yes. Spectator stands at the Heinola ice hall and rink side at Vierumäki are free. The disc golf course is open to walk. Accompanying persons get the Opening Ceremony in Lahti free as well.
Hockey medals on the ice in Heinola after each final, on 17, 20 and 23 January. Disc golf medals at Kippasuo after the singles on 22 January. The nightly Winner's Celebration in Lahti shows both.
Host city Lahti Games centre. Eleven sports, the ceremonies, the Masters Hub and every evening's celebration. Lahti→
Host city Levi Alpine skiing on World Cup slopes above the Arctic Circle. One flight from Helsinki. Levi→
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