At the southeastern border of the Soomaa National Park, at the Lubjassaare farm in Ivaski village is the childhood home of the founder of Estonian national painting, Professor Johann Köler (08.03.1826 - 22.04.1899).
For studying various nature and culture values of Soomaa National Park and hiking there are eight study paths, with Estonian and English information stands provide information about the attractions. In addition there are 11 campfire sites and camping sites, four forest huts for overnight stays (Öördi, Meiekose oak, Oksa barn), one forest manager's forest hut (Karuskose) and five observation towers (Ingatsi, Riisa and Kuuraniidu study paths, Tõramaa wooded meadow and Läti broad). The Oandu-Ikla hiking trail goes through the national park.
To get acquainted with the Soomaa National Park one should start with its Visitor Center, located in the heart of the protected area in Kõrtsi-Tõramaa. It opened in 1998 and is located on the site of the former Naari tavern and the later Kõrtsi-Tõramaa farm. The Visitor Center provides information about local attractions, hiking trails, campfire sites and other places worth visiting.
The Soomaa National Park and its immediate area offer opportunities for both active leisure and relaxation. The vast space and silence of the local bogs, winding river valleys, diverse forests and species-rich floodplains provide the opportunity to walk by foot, travel along waterways, watch birds, engage in photography, pick forest produce or explore the cultural heritage of this area. At least once a year the flood or the so-called fifth season means that Soomaa's otherwise inaccessible areas can be accessed by a canoe.
The conservation goal of the Soomaa National Park is the protection of the nature, cultural heritage, protected species, wildlife habitats and natural flora and fauna of the forests, bogs and floodplains of this part of Estonia.
The territory of the National Park is divided into:
In the cold season, winter roads were established in what is now the national park, running traditionally between flood meadows and farms, and villages and towns. These direct routes through the forests and mires made it easy to transport heavy loads over frozen ground. The most well-known winter roads were those across the Valgeraba and Kuresoo bogs. The roads between towns were used until they were replaced by railways.
Riisa was a settlement as early as the Stone Age, with the earliest written records of its existence dating to 1599. The village was in its prime during the period before World War II, when people were involved in dairy farming and sales of dairy products. The village had a dairy, a primary school, an amateur acting group and a string band, and various associations were active. Today, the Riisa hydrometric station of the Estonian Weather Service is on the Halliste River, which flows through the village. The station started operating in 1929.
The settlement and cultural traditions of Soomaa have been shaped by the local environment. Due to an extensive river network, human settlements have been present since days of old. This is backed up by findings of fishing spears and arrowheads made from bone and horn, stone axes and a stone burial mound discovered in the southern part of the national park.