Hiking Trails
Starting Points for Trails
At the north end of the nature reserve trails start at Villa Elfvik. At Otaniemi at the south end of the nature reserve a trail starts at Konemiehentie road 2.
Nature Trail
- A 700-m-long the Nature Sanctuary nature trail has its starting point on the grounds of Villa Elfvik. It leads through herb-rich forest and shoreline reed beds and has boards with information on Laajalahti. There is also a bird watching tower on the trail. The trail is accessible by wheelchair and with a baby pram.
- Services: The starting and end point of the nature trail is at Villa Elfvik (www.espoo.fi), which houses the Espoo nature centre. There is a café at the villa. An old boat shed by a stone pier has been transformed into a bird information point. The view of the bay that opens from the bird watching tower is breath taking. During summer visitors can also observe from the tower as cattle graze below. The bird watching tower is accessible by wheelchair.
- Sights: The starting and end point for the nature trail is at Villa Elfvik a nature centre run by the town of Espoo. At the villa visitors can see a nature themed exhibition. In the area's park forest stands the rebuilt "Uranuksen temppeli" (Temple of Uranus). There is a miniature model of our galaxy built in the Helsinki metropolitan area and this villa is located where the planet Uranus is located within the model.
- The Nature Sanctuary - leaflet (pdf-file 1034 kB, www.espoo.fi)
Other Trails
- A 3-km-long duckboard trail has its starting point at Villa Elfvik and leads to Otaniemi, where its end point is at Konemiehentie road 2. The trail follows the shore of Laajalahti Bay and there are two pastures along the route. The trail combines with Espoo Waterfront Walkway (www.espoo.fi) at halfway. At the Otaniemi end of the trail there is a bird watching tower. During summer visitors can observe grazing livestock as they follow the trail.
