Visit Swedish Matkakoski

Swedish Matkakoski is located 38km north of Haparanda in the village of Korpikylä. Here you can find information on how t get there. The adress to the Swedish Matkakoski is Korpikylä, 953 93 Haparanda, Sweden.

At the cultural area in Matkakoski, there is parking, toilets, and Ida’s Café during the summer season.

Matkakoski and Kukkolankoski are wonderful places to visit all year round. However, if you want to watch dipnetting and see life at the rapids, the best time to visit is in summer.

Dipnetting at Matkakoski and Kukkolankoski takes place within the framework defined by the Frontier Rivers Agreement. Whitefish are dipnetted from early July to mid-September, and salmon from early June to mid-July. Exact annual fishing periods should be checked on the Frontier Rivers Commission’s website. During the summer months, you can also enjoy cultural events at the rapids and local food.

Winter is also a spectacular time to visit – the rapids remain open despite the freezing temperatures, and the ice and frost formations that develop around them create a picture-perfect landscape. In the winter silence, the sound of flowing water becomes especially striking.

Idas Café is open during the summer season.
See openig hours in Instagram: matkakoskikulturomrade

Digitally at ifiske.se for salmon fishing with rod.

In the “Rapids Areas” section of this website, you can find more information about the cross-border dipnetting tradition of the Tornio River and its four rapids villages.

It is worth exploring the other sections of this website:

• Dipnet tradition: This section explains cross-border dipnetting and its history.
• More information: Here you can find links to publications, newspaper articles, and research related to the dipnetting tradition, as well as projects that help preserve it. You can also read newsletters called “Dipnet letters” and follow the latest news about the tradition.
• Annual Calendar: This section provides information about life and yearly events in the four rapids villages, including Kukkolankoski and Matkakoski in both Sweden and Finland.

Whitefish distribution can be observed on the Swedish Matkakoski. When turn-based dipnetting is in operation in late summer, approximately from early August to mid-September, the daily catch of whitefish is divided according to an ancient system among the shareholder farms. The sharing takes place next to Ida’s Café at 6:00 p.m. Swedish time (at 5:00 p.m. Finnish time), in connection with the change of dipnetting shift.

Whitefish dividing can also be observed at the Finnish Kukkolankoski where the distribution takes place at the Kukkolankoski rapids field in front of the old fish shed at around six o’clock finnish time in the evening (five o´clock swedish time), when the dipnetting shift changes.

Inherited fishing rights regulate access to dipnetting at Matkakoski and Kukkolaforsen. These rights, which date back to the 17th and 18th centuries, are recognised in both Swedish and Finnish legislation. The dipnetting rights are tied to original homesteads, about 75 in total, which today belong to several hundred individual shareholders.

At Kukkolaforsen in Sweden, you can book a one-hour guided activity during the summer and try dipnetting yourself under the supervision of an instructor.
https://www.kukkolaforsen.se/en/aktiviteter/kukkola-whitefish-fishing-experience/

On the Finnish side at Kukkolankoski, and on both sides of Matkakoski, this activity is not available.