Nuuksio National Park (and Reindeer!) from Helsinki

[trosebery]

We just disembarked from our 2nd Baltic cruise, and I'd like to share some of the activities that we did that were a little off the beaten path and that I haven't seen mentioned here?

 

As we had many city ports on this cruise and we'd visited Helsinki before, we decided to get out of the city and go nature hiking in Nuuksio National Park (less than an hour from the city). We booked with a company called Feel the Nature and our guide picked us up and dropped us off right outside the cruise terminal. He was very knowledgeable -- about Finnish life and wildlife -- and spoke excellent English.

 

The park was gorgeous and since it was August, we could pick and eat the wild berries -- blueberries, lingonberries, and bogberries (which tasted like grapes with a citrus flavour and were probably my favourite)! We also had a snack break with some savoury and sweet Finnish pastries and some coffee or juice.

 

We got some beautiful photos of birds, including loons and marsh tits. And we got to meet the reindeer and feed them some lichen!

 

We had the option of visiting the Haltia Nature Centre -- something to consider if you don't want to hike very far or if the weather is miserable -- but since our weather was beautiful, we spent all of our time outside. My teenage son ranked it as one of his favourite activities from our trip. Highly recommended.

[Wayfairers]

Thanks for posting!  I am just starting to research Helsinki for our visit next year and was looking at a hike in Nuuksio National Park.  I’ll look at Feel the Nature.