Helsinki is a nature lover’s paradise. Not only are there a two large nature reserves within a couple of hours from the city, they are easily accessible by public transport. During my 12 weeks as a Research Assistant at Aalto University (through the AScI summer programme) in the summer of 2022, I went to 6 hikes around Helsinki. Here are some pretty pictures, some notes, and GPX files of these routes! All my trails start and end at bus stops :)
Nuuksionpää
Nuuksionpää (or simply Nuuksio national park) lies about an hour from Aalto by public transport and is the busiest national park near Helsinki. I covered most of the park over two hikes - each ~12KM in length.
Hendrik, getting ready for the grind.
My first hike in Finland was with Hendrik, a German student who had also come through the AScI programme, at Nuuksio. We hiked ~13KM of the well-marked, beginner-friendly trail in ~4.5 hours.
Nuuksion Pitkäjärvi, Nuuksio’s biggest lake right at the beginning of the trail.
A Canada Goose.
I returned to Nuuksio a few weeks later to trek the northern part of the national park. This time, I hiked with Jesse, another German student who had come through the AScI programme. This route was much more challenging and remote, but not as pretty. I loved it. This hike of ~10.5KM took only ~2.5 hours.
Iso-Parikas, the lake that the hike was centered around, in all its beauty.
Luukki
Luukki (also called Luukkaa, I believe) is a small wooded area close to Nuuksio. I chose this as the spot for my first ever solo “hike” (it was a leisurely stroll, to be honest). It is pretty much impossible to get lost on the route. Since a large portion of it is adjacent to a golf course, you are (unfortunately) close to human activity most of the time. The 9KM hike, which touches the banks of 5 lakes, took me under 2 hours to complete.
Daffodils!
I charted a route from Nuuksio to Luukki a couple of weeks later. This was my first foray into solo hiking! I completed this hike in ~3.5 hours (including a 30 minute lunch break) and covered over 12KM without seeing another soul. I will fondly remember this hike for giving me my very first thoughts of “welp, I am going to die on this trail” when I heard some animal rustle a bush behind me. Good times.
Sipoonkorpi
Sipoonkorpi (or simply Sipoo) is a smaller and more remote national park to the northeast of Helsinki. I completed two treks in this area. The first one, which covered the northern part of the park, was the hardest hike I did in Finland. While the route only about 13KM in length, most of it was through marshy and uneven terrain. If you do want to hike this route, I’d suggest (i) waterproof shoes, (ii) mosquito spray, and (iii) not hiking solo. I only ticked the first one in that list. As the saying goes - do as I say, not as I do!
Wilderness in Sipoo.
My last hike (around 11KM) in Finalnd was in the souther part of Sipoo and was much easier. The berry-picking season hadn’t yet fully begun, but I saw a few people out with their baskets on this trail. Since Sipoo is a little more remote than Nuuksio, buses only came by once an hour. I missed one by a few minutes and had to walk another 2.5KM to get to a stop with more frequent bus service.
Here are the GPX files for these hikes: