National park located in northern Estonia
Photo: Aleksandr Abrosimov, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Lahemaa National Park (Estonian: Lahemaa rahvuspark) is a national park in North Estonia. It was the first national park to be created in the now dissolved Soviet Union.
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Viru bog
One of the most suggested place to go there is Viru raba, which has a foot track and observation tower. You can start and finish in same location if you go to the tower and back (2 km) or take a round trip around the swamp (5 km), see trails under #Do. There are good maps and information tables at the track.
The track over the swamp is made of wood; generally, no special foot wear is necessary. Sometimes there may be more water in the bog, and at those times, waterproof hiking boots are recommended.
Not in Lahemaa National Park but at its border, and larger and more diverse than Viru raba. A huge bog with countless water pools and also a wooden plank trails over the swamp.
A small cemetery church built in the middle of the 19th century. If you are lucky enough to get inside, pay attention to the huge and rather modernist picture of the Crucifix in the altar.
The northernmost point/peninsula of mainland Estonia is a stony spit that stands out almost 1 km into the sea. It is about 4 km from Viinistu. Here you wade through the sand and rocks, along the way enjoying the panorama, stones, and pretty paginated birds. Take a stop at the Mähu boulders in Pärispea village. You can climb on it with a special rope, and from it explore the neighbourhood. Excellent panoramas and thickets of dog rose. There are sandy beaches, where you can swim in warm weather.
Boulders in Lahemaa are everywhere, but in Käsmu they are especially numerous and huge. Each large boulder has its own name, indicated on the park's maps placed here and there. One of the largest stones can be seen from the left side on the road to Käsmu, about 1 km before the village. Another interesting place is the northern tip of the peninsula, where the stones form a kind of bridge to the island about 500 m from the Shore of the Devils. You can get there by going to the very end of the road (there is a small parking lot) and further along the path through the forest. Here you will find the largest boulder, Kiasma, which is more than twenty meters in diameter.
Vihula mõis
Perhaps, this is one of the most interesting Estonian estates. It does not have a luxurious palace - on the contrary, both manor houses are small and rather modest. However, a huge complex of outbuildings has survived; barns, stables, a tea house, a laundry, a water mill and even a distillery. All of them from the 19th century and in perfect condition, performing different functions in this spa hotel on the manor. Adjoin a restaurant, a tavern, a cosy café next to the water mill, a swimming pool, a gym, etc. There is no museum. However, the appearance of the buildings, their picturesque pile and the pond with the hammered wooden bridges deserve attention. At the entrance from the west a restored windmill appears.
Palmse mõis
An 18th-century manor house and its park, and one of the most prominent and grand baroque manor buildings in Estonia. The manor and park where inhabited by a Baltic German family before they were ousted in 1913 like many other such families in Estonia. The manor house is still equipped with furniture from the beginning of the 20th century. It was the first fully restored manor in Estonia.
Kolga mõis
The manor is in the village of the same name, directly on the road. It has a rich history. Since the 13th century there was a fortress, which was destroyed in the Livonian War. Later, on the site of the fortress, a manor house was built. The central house of it was built in the 1820s in the style of classicism with a painfully familiar portico. Nowadays, the house is in a semi-abandoned, heavily dilapidated state. Part of the building occupies a shop with the promising name Mõisa Pood (manor shop), but actually it is a regular food store, filled with shelves and refrigerators. In addition to the central house, a well-restored farm buildings is of interest. It, probably, dates back to the 18th century with glimpses of European architecture. Nearby, the local lore museum can be found.
Sagadi mõis
There is a hotel and a pretty pathos restaurant. In the central building the museum of the manor can be found (interiors of the 19th century, and hunting room). There is also a forest museum (with an interesting exhibition about Estonian nature) and a cage; a wooden building for ordinary people, where they tell about the everyday life of the Estonian peasantry. From the end of the 17th century the manor belonged to Baltic Germans (von Fokov). The palace is made in the style of classicism; cornice is decorated with bowls, from a distance reminiscent of samovars. The rest of the buildings are typical for Estonian estates. The eye can overlook this point, the bright pink colour of the palace is slightly annoying, but otherwise pretty. One can walk around the park along the pond located behind the palace. Also, take a look into the apple garden to the left of the entrance, especially in September.
Distance: 5.69 km, flat. Duration: 1.5–2 hr. Grade: Easy. Recommended: comfortable clothes and shoes for walking; waterproof hiking boots during or after rain. This is an easy hike and gives you the opportunity to see the bogs and swamp from the biggest wooden watchtower in Estonia. The first part of the track until the watchtower is even a wheelchair-accessible 1 m wide wooden path. After the watchtower wooden planks continue.
First you walk through a pine forest, then go out onto a wide wooden floor leading through a wet but not yet melted soil with stunted pines. About 1 km from the parking lot you will find the observation tower, which you must climb. From the tower begins a dike that stretches along the most real marsh, winding among small lakes – on one of them even a bathhouse is built. The water is dark, but very clean – you can dip. From the tower it is about 1 km to the eastern edge of the swamp, and then you either need to return the same way, or go through the forest further west, bypassing the swamp from the north. There you will be walking on the swamp's magnificent mosses, quietly, calmly and somehow a little too lifeless.
Download coordinates: GPX, KML.
Distance: 12 km, mostly flat. Duration: 3–5 hr. Grade: Medium. Recommended: comfortable clothes and waterproof hiking boots for walking, the latter especially during or after rain.
This is an extension to the short Viru raba roundtrack for people excited with forests and nature walks. It presents more of the national park, besides just swamps and bogs, and dives deeper into this region.
Distance: 27.50 km. Total climb: 280 m. Total descent: 294 m. Duration: 6–8 hr. Grade: Medium. Recommended: waterproof cloths and hiking boots, sleeping mattress and bag. The trail across the swamp is made up of two wooden planks, which can be slippery when wet.
This trail is not in Lahemaa National Park, but at its border. This is this 1-2 days trail, covering similar landscape, including an even larger swamp, many picturesque bogs, two watchtowers, and several camping grounds. Along the track, depending on the time of year, mushrooms and blueberries can be found.
If you have a good level of fitness, this track can be done within a day from Tallinn. Starting at around 08:00, take the train from Tallinn to Aegviidu, walk the trail, and take the bus back from Loksa tee – or vis-versa. Be sure not to miss the last bus or train, and allow for at least one hour buffer.
Download coordinates: GPX, KML.
Note that the official track has been moved in the North part. It is unclear whether the northern part of this track is accessible; the alternative route is not from/to Loksa tee but from/to the next junction to the east, at the route to Kemba; the path as designated by RMK is to follow the "highway" for slightly less than 3 km up to the junction, which is far from being a nice walk; thereafter it continues on a (boring) mud road for a long time before getting back to the former interesting hiking track.
A café near the bus stop. Looks a little pathetic. The hall is partitioned by a screen that fences the cash desk from the tables. Food at the level of the dining room, but it is cooked soundly. The café is hung up with signs about the cost of using the toilet, but WiFi is completely free.
Family restaurant in Palmse
Family restaurant for about forty places. Without white starched tablecloths and, as a rule, not serving large tourist groups. A country restaurant serving almost all the year round.
There is a nice restaurant specialized in game dishes at the manor. The complex of Sagadi manor is located on the north coast of Estonia in the middle of the park. The history of the manor goes back more than 500 years and now Sagadi has become a well-known centre of nature education, culture and tourism.
Viru raba vaatetorn
This tower can offer space for 10–15 people during the night. It is very clean, due to its soil free location in the swamp, and well maintained, due to its touristic nature.
Kõnnu Suursoo vaatetorn
This tower is beautifully located inside the huge Kõnnu Suursoo. It is clean. The roof has a small hole (as of Sep 2017), which makes one side of the tower not practicable for overnighting during rain, and thus can only offer space for 4-5 people.
Paukjärve vaatetorn
This tower can offer space for 6–10 people during the night. It is a little dirty due to the forest soil around it and people carrying the dirt into the tower. Due to its height and location on top of a hill, there should be fewer mosquitoes here.
By bus
It is easy to reach the borders of the national park and especially the suggested hiking trails by bus, since it is along the major route from Tallinn to the east.
By car
To see also the rest of Lahemaa National Park, besides the beautiful trails starting near the highway, it is more preferable to have a car.
By train
If you intend to hike the trail through Kõnnu Suursoo, Aegviidu is the best starting or exit point for the trail, and along the main railway route towards east, for cities like Tapa, Rakvere, and…
By bicycle
It is also popular to take a bike tour through the park: 1–3 days, 35–65 km, with easy access from Tallinn.
If you came here for hiking then by foot will be your preferred option.
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