Stay on the trail – enjoy the outdoors responsibly

Would you like to warm up your food over a campfire or set up a tent? Learning about your destination beforehand will make your trip smoother. It will also help you find suitable routes and any services that you might need. Check out our hiking tips and learn about the nature sites of Helsinki.

• Read about mainland nature sites, islands and hiking on the outdoor recreation website: Outdoor activities, parks and nature destinations The website also features hiking services, nature trails and free-of-charge guided nature hikes.
• Some nature areas are protected under conservation orders.  Learn about the nature reserves and natural monuments of Helsinki and browse information about nature in Helsinki on the map. Go to the ‘Nature conservation and biodiversity’ website  
• In addition to the nature sites of Helsinki, you can also find other local nature destinations in the Luontoon.fi service. You can view routes and services on the map. (Link leads to external service)
   

Helsinki’s nature areas are heavily used, which can be seen particularly in wear on the vegetation. Staying on the marked routes and main trails is an easy way to protect nature . When delicate nature areas have plenty of visitors, their vegetation is subjected to wear and the trails tend to widen. The environment and the range of species change, and the environment may never return to its original state. Protect nature from wear – stay on the marked routes and trails.

As someone who enjoys outdoor recreation, you can influence how nature is doing . Taking nature into consideration and hiking responsibly is easy.  Sometimes a single event, such as an unauthorised campfire that has spread into a wildfire or a dog running loose on a bird islet, can cause a lot of damage. 

With these tips, you can enjoy the nature of Helsinki in a smart way

• Making a fire is not an everyman’s right. You can only make a fire in places officially designated for it, such as cooking shelters or barbecue sites. Bring your own firewood or charcoal if needed. Do not remove any tree branches or bark for making a fire. See the City’s official barbecue sites on the ‘Outdoor recreation services’ website.
• When a wildfire warning has been issued, you may only make a fire in a cooking shelter with a flue, and even there, you must practise extreme caution. During warnings, we recommend bringing food that does not require the use of a fire. Check the current warnings on the website of the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Please note that campfire sites may have operator-specific   rules. During a wildfire warning, fires are prohibited even in cooking shelters in the areas managed by the Helsinki-Uusimaa Outdoors (UUVI) association in Helsinki.
• Always keep your distance from wild animals and keep any pets on a leash. During the bird nesting season in spring and summer, make sure that your pet does not attack or scare any animals and their young. Disturbing the nesting of birds is prohibited under the Nature Conservation Act. Birds may nest in the immediate vicinity of our routes and trails. 
• The waste bins of outdoor recreation areas fill up quickly. You can hike without creating litter by packing your food in containers and thermos bottles at home. Bring a bin bag with you – you can pick up any litter that has already ended up in the environment.
• Enjoy the peace of nature and maintain it. The nature services of Helsinki are for everyone. Take other people into consideration and make room for others in cooking shelters or other rest areas. Playing music through speakers is not allowed in rest areas.  
   

Helsinki has about 130 kilometres of coastline and 300 islands. You can also enjoy maritime Helsinki with respect for nature, whether you travel by boat, by kayak or on foot. Around half of Helsinki’s nature reserves are located in the archipelago. Landing on some islands and bird islets is entirely forbidden during the nesting season (usually from 1 April to 15 August). You must also keep a distance of 25–50 metres from these islets when moving about at sea.

An open fire in a nature reserve is always illegal and must be extinguished. If you see a wildfire in a nature area, always call the national emergency number 112. You can also contact the boat police via the same emergency number if needed. 

If you see people landing on protected islands or moving about in protected bird areas in the summer season between 1 April and 15 August, please call 112. If you suspect that someone’s actions may be illegal, you can contact the nature supervisor during office hours (tel. +358 50 364 9001). 

You can send us a message about unauthorised fires and littered cooking shelters via our feedback system. 
 

The primary purpose of nature reserves is to protect the local nature. This is why the use of nature reserves has been restricted with conservation orders. However, many nature reserves also serve as popular recreation areas. Check the map service to see if your destination is located in a nature reserve (Link leads to external service). You can find the site-specific conservation orders in the protection decision by clicking on the site in the map service. The restrictions on nature reserves vary by area, but there are many common rules and recommendations.

• The nature reserves of Helsinki are marked with green and white boundary markers and signs about the protection regulations. Some areas also have white paint markings on the trees. The conservation order signs state the rules that are specific for each nature reserve. These signs are like visitor instructions – read them first and then stop by.
• Making a fire, barbecuing and camping are forbidden in all nature reserves in Helsinki. If there is an official campfire site maintained by the City in the nature reserve, you can use it. 
• Animals or plants must not be harmed in nature reserves. Collecting plants and parts of them is prohibited.
• Picking mushrooms and berries is mostly allowed. However, both mushroom picking and berry picking are prohibited in the following nature reserves: the Östersundom bird waters, Roosinmäki, the Itäniitty valley, Vantaanjoentörmä, the Ramsinniemi grove and the Kivikko fortress rocks.
•   Always keep pets on a leash, like everywhere else in the city.
   

• Restrictions on movement in nature reserves are based on the Nature Conservation Act. These restrictions are based on protecting the biodiversity and nature types of the area.
• Conservation orders prohibit veering off trails in some of the nature reserves. These areas include   the Ruutinkoski grove, the Haltiala primeval forest area, the Pitkäkoski hillside grove, the Ramsinniemi grove, Kruunuvuorenlampi, Tahvonlahdenharju and, when the ground is not frozen, Viikki-Vanhankaupunginlahti. Veering off the designated trails is also prohibited in Särkkäniemi, Uutela, from 1 April to 1 August, in Mustavuori-Porvarinlahti from 1 April to 15 July and in the Östersundom aquatic bird habitats from 1 April to 31 July.
• The delicate local nature cannot withstand constant trampling and wear. The best course of action in nature reserves is to always stay on the marked routes and main trails, even if this is not specifically mentioned in the conservation orders.

• Restrictions on cycling in nature reserves are based on the preservation of nature values, particularly the reduction of wear on the vegetation. Cycling may be prohibited on specific grounds.
   
• The following nature reserves do not allow cycling at all: the Pitkäkoski hill groves, the Haltiala primeval forest area, the Niskala arboretum, the Ruutinkoski grove, Vantaanjoentörmä, the Itäniitty valley (except on Tonttuvuorentie), Kruunuvuorenlampi (except on Zatopekinsuora), the Rastila fen, the Slåttmossen nature reserve, the Östersundom bird sanctuary, and the Stansvik grove and mining area.  
   
• Cycling in nature reserves is often only allowed on marked routes. For example, in the following nature reserves, cycling is prohibited outside the marked routes and trails: Haltialanmetsä, Pakilanmetsä, Meri-Rastila, the Kallahti shore meadow, Särkkäniemi in Uutela, the southern shore of Porvarinlahti, Mölylä, Fastholma, Maununneva, Tali and Vikkulla-Kasaberget. 
   
• Cycling is prohibited on the duckboards leading to Lammassaari due to safety reasons. This prohibition is based on the fact that duckboards are categorised as roads under the Road Traffic Act.