Lemland with kids

What can families do in Lemland in summer?

Lemland is countryside and archipelago, and most of what a family does here happens outdoors: swimming, short walks, boats to watch. Here are places the municipality itself lists.

Swimming spots

According to the municipality’s list of outdoor areas:

• Hellestorp beach (municipal): beach with a changing hut.
• Klockarholmen (municipal): a headland with beaches and a changing hut.
• Söderby Kopnäs (municipal): a partly raised shore facing southwest with a 120-metre beach.
• Herröskatan (Åland government): a nature reserve with footpaths, picnic spots, a bird tower, ruins of fortifications from both world wars and swimming on both sides of the headland. Read the rules on the information board. More in our guide to Herrö.

The Åland Environmental and Health Protection Authority (ÅMHM) monitors bathing water at Åland’s beaches.

The Lemström canal and the Lemland trail

The Lemström canal is a popular outing in summer, when boat traffic is busy and the swing bridge opens for passing boats. It is an easy way to let children see boats up close. Read more in our guide to the Lemström canal.

The Lemlandsleden trail, the municipality’s hiking route, starts at the canal. It is about 25 km long and runs to Lumparsund via Lemböte, Knutsboda, Söderby, the church, Norrby, Bistorp and Granboda, with eleven information boards along the way. With children you will naturally pick a shorter stretch. The trail is marked with white bands and white-topped posts.

Nature trails

The Nåtö nature reserve has a marked nature trail through wooded meadows where Åland’s provincial flower grows. Maps of the trail and of Herröskatan are on the municipality’s website. For Nåtö, see our guide to Järsö and Nåtö.

In Mariehamn, a short trip away

Visit Åland highlights Lilla Holmen with a pirate ship, sandy beach and rabbits, the Mariebad indoor pool with an adventure pool and water slide, and the Åland Maritime Museum with the sailing ship Pommern. The bus from the Lemström canal to Mariehamn takes ten minutes.

What playgrounds and sports facilities are there in Lemland?

• The obstacle course by Valbohallen, built in wood, was finished in summer 2020 and officially opened the same year, according to the municipality.
• Valbohallen is the municipal sports hall, 43 x 22 metres. Badminton slots are booked through the municipality (bokning@lemland.ax).
• Bengtsböle sports ground has a grass pitch, a sand pitch, jumping and throwing areas, running tracks and a beach volleyball court.

The municipality’s own photos also show playgrounds, including one with a nest swing, but we have not found an official list of which playgrounds are open to the public. Ask the municipal leisure office.

For children living in the municipality, the leisure leader runs activities such as a sports school (Starka barn) and an open youth club at Vinden, and the local sports club Lemlands IF has football and floorball in Valbohallen (according to the autumn 2025 programme).

Is there anything to do when it rains?

Lemland library in Söderby is normally open Tuesday 9 am to 3 pm, Wednesday 2 pm to 8 pm and Thursday 9 am to 3 pm (municipal website, June 2026). Adults can also sign an agreement for self-service access outside opening hours. Mariehamn has the Mariebad indoor pool.

What is winter like in Lemland for children?

A cold winter brings skating and skiing. The municipality’s own photos show children on a flooded outdoor rink and ski tracks out on the sea ice. Where and when there is flooded ice depends on the weather, so ask the municipal leisure office. For ice winters and the climate, see our guide to Lemland weather.

Safety on the ice

Sea ice is unpredictable: it can be thick in one spot and thin a few metres away. The Finnish Swimming Teaching and Lifesaving Federation (SUH) gives this advice:

• There must be at least 10 cm of clear ice under an adult walking alone. Clear ice is the hard, transparent ice formed directly from water.
• Never go alone. Tell someone where you are going and when you will be back.
• Everyone wears ice picks around the neck, ready to use.
• Carry a phone in a waterproof bag, a whistle, an ice pole and a throw line, and pack your rucksack so that it floats.
• Avoid danger spots: currents, narrows and shoals, bridges, jetties and outflows, reeds and stones, and ice under snowdrifts.
• If the ice breaks: shout for help, turn towards the direction you came from, haul yourself out with the ice picks and roll away from the hole.

The emergency number is 112. Check FMI’s ice conditions before heading out.

What is it like to live in Lemland with children?

For families thinking of moving here, a few facts:

• A young population. According to ÅSUB, Lemland had 2,139 residents on 31 December 2025. Of these, 430, or 20.1 per cent, were aged 0 to 14, against 15.7 per cent for Åland as a whole. The average age was 42.1, against 44.9 for Åland.
• Day care. The municipality has four day-care centres: Smultronbacken in Bengtsböle (four groups, 70 children), Gullvivan and Bullerboda in Söderby, and Saltkråkan on Järsö. They are open from 7 am to 5 pm, by arrangement until 5.30 pm, and all provide pre-school teaching for six-year-olds.
• School. Lemland’s school for grades 1 to 6 is in Söderby. Lower secondary school is Kyrkby högstadium in Jomala, shared by the South Åland education district (Lemland, Eckerö, Hammarland, Lumparland and Jomala). Children in the Järsö-Nåtö area go to school in Mariehamn.
• Leisure. The Starka barn sports school and the Vinden youth club are free of charge, and the municipality lists which buses children can take home afterwards.