There are excellent opportunities for all kinds of outdoor activities in town, and the ocean and the nature is always close by.

During winter all the locals are eagerly waiting for the ice to form, so they can honour the yearly tradition of skiing to Mässkär. The lit trails, rinks and ice skating rinks (in Swedish/in Finnish) are also available for everyone to use. Smaller ice rinks are also found in different housing areas in town.

During summer, the citizens of Jakobstad go to the beach (in Swedish/in Finnish). The long sand covered beaches in Fäboda are especially popular among everyone who wants to sunbathe. In the Fäboda area there are three big, common beaches with sand dunes. Another very popular beach is the one at Kittholmen, close to the town centre. The love Jakobstad has for the sea and sailing is very evident with all the boats anchored by the guest harbour in Gamla Hamn. Sailing destinations can be found both close as well as further away. One of the most popular ones is Mässkär, there are even cruises arranged to Mässkär in the summer.

The forests of Fäboda provide excellent hiking trails of varying length. They can be used both in winter and summer. The Fäboda-Pörkenäs hiking trail tells about the plant community, history and geology of the area. A non-impediment hiking trail is also found in the area.

The calm of nature can be enjoyed also in the parks in Jakobstad. There are in fact so many parks in Jakobstad that the town is sometimes called the town of parks. In Skolparken you can stroll around and look at and read about a thousand different species of plants. The Aspegren garden is also at walking distance from the town centre. There you can look at the beautifully restored vicarage and the surrounding garden. In summer there are also animals on the property, e.g. sheep and rabbits.

Sport Facilities Both Outdoors and Indoors

In different areas owned by the town there are a number of sand, artificial turf, and grass pitches (in Swedish/in Finnish) as well as a frisbee golf course. The sand fields and the fields in connection to parks are free for anyone to use, as long as they are not booked for events or hobbies. Centralplanen is a great place for track and field athletics in the summer. The running tracks are free to use when they are not booked. If you wish to do some other sport there, you can book the tracks, there is also other equipment available if needed.

Soccer is a very popular hobby in Jakobstad, football associations have a lot of members. The bigger grass pitches are suitable for football and the football field in Tellushallen is also very popular, however they have to be booked at the sports office. During winter, the running tracks in Tellushallen are free to use during certain times and the sports office can tell you if they are available or not.

In town there are also great spaces for indoor sports (in Swedish/in Finnish), e.g. in schools and Idrottsgården. Rettig Sport Center is popular amongst floorball players. The booking of indoor sport areas is also done at the sports office. The public swimming bath (in Swedish/in Finnish), with different pools and a jacuzzi, is open year round as well.

The sports office is responsible for maintaining both the indoor and outdoor sport areas in town, as well as managing the bookings (in Swedish/in Finnish) of these areas and organising sports/exercise groups (in Swedish / in Finnish). On the website of the sports office you can find the opening hours for all sport areas, application times for continuous bookings and the fees for all areas.

Get Acquainted With Sports Associations and Events

In Jakobstad there are also many active associations (in Swedish/in Finnish) that organise indoors and outdoors sports. There are courses, clubs and training opportunities for everyone in different sports and of different skill levels. For instance, you can practice martial arts, diving, floorball, volleyball, hockey, strength sports, gymnastics, swimming, figure skating, horse riding, sailing and tennis.

The main local yearly sport events are Jakob Marathon in the summer and Fäbodaloppet (skiing) in the winter.