Kivach Waterfalls are the best-known natural day trip from Petrozavodsk, a stepped cascade on the Suna River inside Kivach State Nature Reserve. The reserve dates from 1931 and protects taiga forest as well as the waterfall, which drops in a broad, rocky series of ledges rather than a single dramatic plunge.
The site is set up for visitors, with viewpoints, short paths, and a small reserve infrastructure, so it is easier to experience than many Karelian wilderness places. Kivach is strongest in spring and early summer when water levels are high, but even later in the season it gives a good sense of Karelia's granite, forest, and river country.