Nuuksio National Park

IN A NUTSHELL

• Location: Espoo, Uusimaa, Finland
• Type: Only lakes
• Hike - Paddle -ratio: 20-80
• Trip length: 1-2 days, ~15km
• How to get there:
• By car: There are several parking lots around the park but this route works best if you don't make a round trip.
• By public transport: The capital area public transport is extremely useful to get into the park and you can use this tool to find your way. The nearest bus stops are:
• Pirttimäki lodge, Espoo (bus #86)
• Meerlammentie 1, Espoo (bus #85)
• Lakistontie 1, Espoo (bus #345)

More info can be found here
There is also a special outdoor map avalable for Nuuksio (1:20 000)

Nuuksio National Park is one of the two national parks near Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. Nuuksio isn't too well suited for packrafting but there are a few nice small lakes which are quite near each other and therefore form a good rafting area. These lakes are Saarijärvi, Sarkkinen, Suolikas, Kattilajärvi, Vääräjärvi, Urja and Kolmperä. There are also two long lakes, Nuuksion Pitkäjärvi and Velskolan Pitkäjärvi but their shores are somewhat populated.

My long-time favorite packrafting trip in Nuuksio starts by taking a bus (86) to Pirttimäki lodge. There's a biking trail which leads near to the east bank of lake Velskolan Pitkäjärvi. On the other side of lake is cape Jänisniemi where's a fixed lean-to shelter and fireplace. There are no paths leading to Jänisniemi and it was missing from the maps for more than ten years. You most likely are not going to meet anybody there.

The easiest way to navigate away from Jänisniemi is by following the power lines to the southern tip of lake Kattilajärvi. Just keep in mind that those lines go straight through and over swamps and cliffs. The way is easy to find but a bit challenging to travel. There's a swimming beach, pier and cooking shelter in Kattilajärvi so feel free to dip in if you like.

Only a narrow strip of land separates the lakes Kattilajärvi and Vääräjärvi making portaging easy. The southern northeast section of Vääräjärvi has a nice little cape with fixed fireplace and a few suitable areas for tents. I personally like to camp in this cape since the water is quite fresh and the solid rock shore makes embarking and disembarking easy.

The next step is to paddle towards the lake Urja. The portage is a little bit longer this time but there's a visible path connecting the lakes. If you want to make shorter trip, paddle to the southern end of Urja, portage to Kolmperä and cross it. There's a road leading to Solvik bus stop where you can take bus number 85. I prefer to take the longer route and paddle to the north end of Urja, disembark there and then continue west towards the lake Ruuhijärvi. There's a wide good trail leading there but make sure you don't violate the property of Mr. Vehkoja who lives on the shore of Urja.

The path to Pöksynhaara starts at the purple crosshair

The next place to be is the lake Suolikas and the best way to get there is through Mustalampi eli Pöksynhaara. A path leading there can be found roughly one kilometer west from where you disembarked Urja. This path is much smaller but visible anyhow. Crossing Mustalampi eli Pöksynhaara may not be the wisest choice since the path to the next lake (Suolikas) goes through thick forest and carrying a filled raft along it isn't easy.

While in Suolikas you may want to explore the narrow northwest tip of the lake before crossing over the narrow land section to Sarkkinen. After the short water crossing there's a bit longer portage to the lake Saarijärvi which is the last paddling section on this route. If you're going to catch the bus (345) you'll want to head towards the northern cove in the east bank where a small road leads towards the crossroads of Vihdintie and Lakistontie. The bus stop can be found right at the crossing