What can you experience in the Stansvik outdoor recreation area?
In Stansvik, you can explore the area on sand roads and park routes, as well as narrower trails. The manor park and the summer hut areas are part of a public park and outdoor recreation area. In the nature reserves, moving about is limited to trails to prevent wear on the environment and to protect the local nature values.
From Koirasaarentie, you can reach the Stansvik Manor area via Stansvikintie and Stansvikinpolku. The unlit Stansvikintie is also maintained in winter.
Stansvikinpolku
Stansvikinpolku is a park route that is lit outside the summer season. The lights are turned off completely during the summer period to accommodate for bats. Stansvikinpolku will be equipped with motion sensor lighting that will light up when a pedestrian uses the route.
Stansvikinpolku on the Service Map(Link leads to external service)
Tahvonlahti ridge paths
You can walk in the Tahvonlahti ridge nature reserve along the paths marked on the map guideposts. The paths run along sand roads, forest paths and duckboards. At the tip of the peninsula, the paths lead to a stair structure, where you can leave your bicycle in a parking area. There are also guideposts with a map in the area. Please note that in the Tahvonlahti ridge nature reserve, you can only walk on the paths marked on the map guideposts and along the shore.
There is no winter maintenance or lighting on the paths of nature reserves. The Tahvonlahti routes have been mapped in the accessibility app, and the information can be found on the Service Map.
Tahvonlahti ridge paths on the Service Map(Link leads to external service)
Trails in the Stansvik grove and mine area
In the Stansvik grove and mining area, you can walk along two paths marked on the terrain. The easy kilometre-long grove trail (Lehtolenkki) takes you around the area along duckboards and forest paths. The 300-metre mine trail (Kaivospolku) climbs over a rock. The mine trail includes height differences, difficult-to-navigate spots and two sets of stairs. Both paths are marked on the terrain with orange diamond shapes. Please note that you may only walk on the marked paths in the Stansvik grove and mine area. You can see the trails in the area on the map guideposts.
There is no winter maintenance or lighting on the paths of nature reserves. The routes have been mapped in the accessibility app, and the information can be found on the Service Map.
Lehtolenkki and Kaivospolku on the Service Map(Link leads to external service)
Restaurants and cafés
There is a restaurant in the Stansvik Manor area.
Restaurant Pisara (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
Cooking shelters and fire pits
On the west side of Tahvonlahdenniemi, near Restaurant Stansvik, is a barbecue spot with tables, chairs and benches. The barbecue spot is not available and the grill is closed with a lid during wildfire warnings. You can check whether any warnings have been issued on the ‘Warnings’ page of Finnish Meteorological Institute’s website.(Link leads to external service)
Stansvik Manor barbecue spot on the Service Map(Link leads to external service)
Picnic spots
In the Onnentemppelinpuisto park south of Vanhakylä, at the top of a hill, is a gazebo named Onnentemppeli, where you can rest in the shade of a canopy. The historic gazebo has been rebuilt according to the old model. Onnentemppeli has a very beautiful view over Tahvonlahti.
The nature reserves of the Tahvonlahti ridge and the Stansvik grove and mine area feature resting places where you can enjoy a snack and observe nature.
There are benches and tables in the surroundings of the main building of the manor.
WC
There is a toilet in the outbuilding south of the main building of Stansvik Manor. Restaurant Pisara (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service) also has a toilet.
You can visit the Stansvik outdoor recreation area to enjoy nature and fresh marine air. The restaurateur organises various events, and Stansvik Manor also provides overnight accommodation.
Accommodation
You can take advantage of Stansvik Manor’s accommodation services to stay longer in the area.
Accommodation services at Stansvik Manor(Link leads to external service)
Sauna
In addition to sauna slot reservations, the sauna run by Stansvik Manor also provides winter swimming and sauna time slots in winter for season ticket holders.
Stansvik Manor sauna(Link leads to external service)
Stansvik beach
There is no official beach in the area yet, but there is a small sandy beach west of Restaurant Stansvik. There are no lifeguards at the beach, nor is the water quality monitored.
Fishing
See the fishing areas and more detailed instructions:
Fishing areas and restrictions in Helsinki(Link leads to external service)
Historic manor area
The manor area is a nationally valuable built cultural environment. The manor park is a public park, the passageways of which you can navigate freely. Stansvik Manor is a representative example of a typical 19th century summer manor. The manor buildings are privately owned and the immediate surroundings are leased to the owner.
The yards of the Steward’s House and the red Maids’ House on the west side of Stansvikintie are private property. They can easily be distinguished as private yards on site.
From the mid-17th century onwards, the area was the site of the Stansvik croft. The neoclassical main building still standing on the site was commissioned by Navy Captain Fabian Casimir Roswall in 1804. The area was located along steamship routes, and a unique summer housing culture was born there in the 19th century. The milieu of Stansvik Manor was visited by people such as Finland’s national poet J.L. Runeberg, who spent the summer of 1835 as a guest of the manor.
In 1855, the manor was bought by Doctor Knut Felix von Willebrand. He had gazebos and a swimming facility built in the area for the delight of summer guests. Around the 1860s, a beautiful oak-adorned alley leading to the manor was also planted in the area. Von Willebrand had a major influence on the creation of the Neo-Renaissance villa community in Stansvik.
The City of Helsinki bought the Stansvik farm from the estate of Erik von Willebrand in 1938. In addition to the main building, the roughly 100-hectare area features structures such as auxiliary and utility outbuildings, a boathouse, and a gazebo named Onnentemppeli built on top of a rock. Today, the buildings of the manor are privately owned, with the exception of Onnentemppeli.
Summer hut areas
Stansvik features two summer hut areas: Uusikylä and Vanhakylä. The huts are in private use, but all of the land areas are part of a public recreation area. Everyone is allowed to move about in the summer hut areas. However, please remember to be courteous towards the residents of the huts and respect their peace.
Vanhakylä summer huts in Stansvik construction method instructions April 2019 (in Finnish)
Allotment garden
The allotment garden is a public park area where you can freely navigate the passageways. The allotments themselves and their harvest naturally belong to the gardeners leasing the allotments.
The allotment garden sites of the City of Helsinki have been leased to city district or allotment gardening societies, which manage them. The societies then lease the individual allotments to Helsinki residents. Enquiries related to the allotments on this site can be sent via email to
stansvikin.palstat@gmail.com(Link opens default mail program)
Read more about gardening in the city
Mine area
The historic shafts located in the nature reserve of the Stansvik grove and mine area indicate that there was an old mine there in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, the old mine shafts are fenced off and partly filled with water. The Stansvik mine area is protected by the Antiquities Act. You can explore the area by following the marked routes.
View the mine area in the map service(Link leads to external service)
Nature reserves
Stansvik has two nature reserves: the Tahvonlahti ridge and the Stansvik grove and mine area. In the Tahvonlahti ridge nature reserve at the edge of the Stansvik Manor area, you can walk along a unique ridge formation to the tip of a narrow peninsula. The tip of the cape offers a spectacular view of the sea. The ridge is home to age-old scaly bark pine trees that have survived many a storm. The peninsula features a diverse tapestry of tall grass meadows, pebbled shores and sandy beaches.
The nature reserve of the Stansvik grove and mine area north of Koirasaarentie, in the middle of a grove forest, features a steep rock cliff with historic mine shafts. Due to mining operations and the mineral content of the bedrock, the vegetation around the shafts is exceptional. The cold cliffs of the rock are green with maidenhair spleenwort and yellow feather-moss. The lower section of the grove features blooming hepaticas and peach-leaved bellflowers. Come evening, nocturnal insects stir and bats begin their hunt.
In order to protect nature, use of the nature reserves is restricted by statutory protection orders. Read more about the restrictions in the section ‘Rules and recommendations’ .
View the nature reserves on the map(Link leads to external service)
Species sightings in Stansvik
With the iNaturalist app, you can easily record species sightings on your phone. The AI and other users of the app will help you identify species. Confirmed sightings are recorded in the database of the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility to serve researchers, authorities and nature enthusiasts.
Species sightings in Stansvik in the Laji.fi database(Link leads to external service)
Rules and regulations for nature reserves
There are two nature reserves in the Stansvik area: the Tahvonlahti ridge nature reserve and the Stansvik grove and mine area nature reserve.
View the nature reserves on the map(Link leads to external service)
Please adhere to the following rules in the Tahvonlahti ridge and the Stansvik grove and mine nature reserves:
- Do not let dogs, cats or other pets roam free.
- Do not build fires, grill or camp.
- Do not damage plants, fungi or lichens.
- Do not drive a motor vehicle. You can use an electrically powered assistive device to get around (applies to people with reduced functional capacity).
- Do not cycle outside the marked routes. Mountain biking is prohibited.
- Do not veer off the marked routes.
- Do not disturb wildlife or destroy nests.
- Visitors may only use the routes marked on the map guideposts and in the shore area.
See all the protection orders for the nature reserves
- Tahvonlahti ridge protection decision (PDF, in Finnish, not accessible)(Link leads to external service)
- Update to the protection orders for the Stansvik grove and mine area (PDF, in Finnish, not accessible)(Link leads to external service)
General rules – move about responsibly in nature
In all outdoor areas, observe Everyman’s Rights and rules and move responsibly in nature:
Manor area
The routes in the manor park are mainly easy to navigate but not completely accessible. Stansvikinpolku is a wide sandy passageway with one steeper section.
Stansvik grove and mine area
The one-kilometre Lehtolenkki route located in the Stansvik grove and mine area is partly easy to navigate but not accessible. The route follows a forest path and a duckboard structure. The Kaivospolku route located in the same area leads users along the top of the rocks via stairs.
Tahvonlahti ridge
The tip of the Tahvonlahti ridge can easily be accessed from the parking lot of Stansvik Manor. The dirt path to the tip of the peninsula is also easy to travel. The eastern and western paths of the peninsula feature difficult terrain and narrower forest path sections. There are stairs at the tip of the peninsula, but you can view the scenery without going down the stairs.
There is no winter maintenance on the routes of the Tahvonlahti ridge and the Stansvik grove and mine area nature reserves. Stansvikintie is unlit but has winter maintenance. There are some routes cleared of snow by the owner in the manor yard area, but outside these, there is no regular winter maintenance in the area.
Services in Stansvik on the map
The Stansvik area features outdoor recreation routes and nature reserve paths, a barbecue spot and a summer hut area.
Photos of Stansvik
