85 km
1-2 days
743m
60m
87 %
0.5 %
3
99.5 %
Lean-tos are an essential part of Finnish camping tradition, and when you combine a campfire with a smoke sauna and a dip in a lake, you can’t go wrong. Both days of cycling of the Sipoonkorpi National Park overnight trip are easy, allowing faster cyclists to take the entire trail in a day. On the other hand, the combination of smoke sauna and overnight stay in a lean-to – or smoke sauna and night in a hotel – is the bread and butter of this overnight trip.
The trail runs from the seashore of the Uutelanniemi Peninsula to the edge of the Helsinki region, combining the parks and hiking trails of Eastern Helsinki before the Kuusijärvi oasis and a detour to the Sipoonkorpi National Park along gravel roads. The second day of cycling is a combination of gravel roads along the Keravanjoki and Vantaanjoki Rivers and the verdure of the Central Park.
The Sipoonkorpi National Park overnight trip is the easiest and shortest trail of the South by Cycle routes, so it is an excellent taste of the world of bikepacking. In terms of accessibility, it is also excellently suited as a last-minute trip to nature. You can determine the length of the first day of cycling yourself by choosing to start in the centre of Helsinki, Vuosaari or Tikkurila.
If you think that this trail resembles the Ring G trail, no wonder: the Sipoonkorpi National Park trip is an easier and shorter version of it, with an additional taste of the verdure of the Helsinki Central Park.
- Kuusijärvi smoke sauna and a dip in the lake
- Night in a tent in the Sipoo National Park at the Ångesböle lean-to
- Following the Keravanjoki and Vantaanjoki Rivers from rapids to rapids
- Helsinki Central park’s verdure and lushness
- The trail can be taken with any bike, as long as the tyre size is a minimum of 45 mm and you also have smaller gears. Experienced riders can, however, also cope with narrower rims and tyres that endure cycling on gravel roads.
- The best time for bikepacking in Southern Finland is usually from May to early November, but dry and sunny moments, days and weekends are nowadays possible all year round. The warmest temperatures are usually found from June to late August, and in the midsummer, average night temperatures are often above 10°C while average daytime temperatures are about 20°C.
- When choosing a sleeping bag, you should assume that at least in the early and late summer, night temperatures can drop to 0°C.
- During the summer months, days are long, and in late June, there is no dark. If this is something new to you, getting used to the light and finding a sleeping pattern can take some time.
- The mobile phone network covers the entire trail: in case of an emergency, you can always call the emergency number 112.
- There is only digital signage along the trail; for instructions and tips for successful navigation, see here.
- Always stay on the trail and aim to only use the camping and break locations recommended in the trail description. Read more about the bikepacking etiquette here.
- Camping is permitted and free of charge at the Ängesböle camping area
- Firewood and an outhouse can be found at the Ängesböle camping area
- Water is available at the Ängesböle lean-to, but it is recommended to purify the water chemically, through filtration or by cooking before use.
- High-quality guesthouses and hotels can be found in Tikkurila, for instance, but not in the actual Sipoonkorpi National Park. Prices are from EUR 80–90 for two, but there is a lot of seasonal variation. It is recommended to book in advance and confirm the availability of secure bike storage before arrival.
- Airbnb accommodation options are plentiful in the Helsinki region.
- Restaurants, cafés and shops are aplenty along the trail. You will not need to carry more than a few hours’ worth of snacks and water.
- When cooking outdoors, always remember that making an open fire is absolutely prohibited!
- When forest fire warning is in effect, also campsites open fireplaces will have the prohibitions of making open fire. For information about regional forest fire warnings, see here.
- Using portable stoves is also allowed when a forest fire warning is in effect
- Water is available at the Ängesböle lean-to, but it is recommended to purify the water chemically, through filtration or by cooking before use.
- Tap water is usually high-quality and suitable for drinking in Finland. Restaurants and shops are often happy to fill cyclists’ bottles.
- The start (Vuosaari metro station) of the trail is easy to reach by metro from the centre of Helsinki. You can take a bike on the metro for free, and no advance booking is required.
- You can also get to or away from the trail by commuter train from Helsinki; the Tikkurila train station is along the trail. You can also take a bike on commuter train for free, and no advance booking is required.
The trail starts at the eastern terminus of Finland’s only metro line in Vuosaari with a detour to the Uutela recreational area, which will slow down your pulse accelerated by the metropolitan area with its sea breeze and islets continuing all the way to the horizon. From there, the trail continues north literally on the edge of the city. In many places, you will have the angular concrete blocks of the suburbs on one side and spacious field landscapes on the other.
The trail zigzags between suburban green areas and by old manor areas along gravel hiking trails to Kuusijärvi, the oasis of the capital region. After bathing in the smoke sauna and deep cleansing guaranteed by the cooling forest lake, there are two alternative directions for those considering where to spend the night: under sheets in a hotel in Tikkurila or the Ängesböle camping area in the Sipoonkorpi National Park. The latter adds 13 km to the trail in both directions, but the reward is spending a night in a tent in the shade of a conserved forest.
Day 2, Ängesböle campsite–Centre of Helsinki (50 km, elevation gain 570 m)
The theme of the second day of cycling is largely water, now in a flowing form. From Kuusijärvi, the trail soon reaches the shore of the Keravanjoki River, after which you will follow the river downstream along smooth gravel roads to where the Vantaanjoki and Keravanjoki Rivers meet. From there starts a theoretical uphill trip upstream the Vantaanjoki River to Pitkäkoski, where you will turn south towards the centre of Helsinki across the Helsinki Central Park, which is amazingly green and lush in summer. The green expressway offered by the Central Park continues almost to the very centre of Helsinki, and the first traffic lights will only be met after the Olympic Stadium.