Distance
122 kmDuration
2-3 daysTotal ascent
1590mHighest point
85m% Unpaved
90 %% Singletrack
2 %Difficulty (1-10)
3% Rideable
98 %Ring G is a 122-kilometre, 1–2-night gravel ring shaped route around the Helsinki region from one end of the metro line to the other via hiking trails and gravel roads. This ring road for gravel cyclists is accessible by metro from the centre of Helsinki, unless you combine it with the Eurovelo 10 trail and ride Ring G as a 2–3-day semi-urban weekend trip.
Ring G combines the green areas, parks and conservation area trails at the edge of the Helsinki metropolitan area into a bikepacker’s ring road that offers diverse nature experiences a stone’s throw away from urban atmosphere. The trail runs from the shores of the Uutelanniemi Peninsula to the Kuusijärvi smoke sauna and from the Sipoonkorpi National Park along riversides to the lake uplands in the Nuuksio National Park. Accommodation options range from lean-tos to luxury – depending on your preferences and schedule, and you do not often need to carry more food and water than you need for a few hours. Cycling the Ring G trail might be the best, most flexible and easiest way to get to know the nature in the Helsinki region.
Depending on the pace, the trail can be ridden as a one- or two-night trip, but faster cyclists can bike it in a day. Read more about the trail and opportunities it offers in the Trail notes.
Note! If you are looking for a shorter trail in this region, check the Sipoonkorpi overnight trip or Nuuksio overnight. Also, if you want to depart Helsinki by bike and pedal back, you can do it by following this trail.
Photos: Teemu Oksanen
- Uutela recreational area gravel trails and seascapes
- Kuusijärvi smoke sauna and a dip in the lake
- Nights in a tent in the Sipoo National Park and Pirttimäki recreational area
- Following the Keravanjoki and Vantaanjoki Rivers from rapids to rapids
- Hynkanlampi beautiful forest lake and Nuuksio National Park
- Experiencing the contrast between nature and city life several times even during a single day
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The mobile phone network covers the entire trail: in case of an emergency, you can always call 112 or use the 112 app.
- Camping is permitted and free of charge at the Ängesböle camping area and Hynkänlampi campsite.
- Firewood and an outhouse can be found at both campsites.
- Water is available at both campsites, but it is recommended to purify the water chemically, through filtration or by cooking before use.
- High-quality guesthouses and hotels are plentiful along the trail, and most of them also serve dinner and breakfast. 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 along the trail.
- Restaurants, cafés and shops are a plenty especially during the first half of the trail when starting from Vuosaari. You will need to plan your meals a little more in the second half of the trail, but you still will not need to carry more than a few hours’ worth of snacks and water.
- If you spend the nights camping, you can have dinner at Cafe Kuusijärvi and the restaurants of Hotel Korpilampi before arriving at the campsites.
- 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 and Hynkänlampi campsites, 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) and end points (Matinkylä metro station) of the trail are 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 transport your bike on any metro carriage.
- You can also get to or away from the trail by commuter train from Helsinki; the Tikkurila and Louhela train stations in Vantaa and the Koivuhovi train station in Espoo, for instance, are along the trail.
- You can also take a bike on commuter train for free, and no advance booking is required. However, bicycles may only be transported in designated cars.
- Transporting a bike in domestic long-distance trains is subject to a fee, but the price is moderate. Booking a bike place well in advance is recommended, because there is limited space for bicycles on long-distance trains.
- Helsinki Airport has a commuter train connection to the centre of Helsinki, but you can also set off on the trail directly from the airport, as the trail passes close to it.
Ring G can be ridden as a slow ramble or a faster-paced overnighter or a long day ride. Here, a trail notes from a relaxedly paced weekeder.
Day 1, Vuosaari–Ängesböle campsite (36 km, elevation gain 670 m)
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 through 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–Hynkänlampi campsite (66 km, elevation gain 880 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 and the Pitkäkoski hiking lodge. Overnight bikepackers will turn south to a trail across the Helsinki Central Park from here, while those with a two-nights-strategy will continue towards Espoo along the Route 2000. We are now following the last mentioned option.
When going deeper into the forest along hiking trails, the elevation gains increase and the hills become steeper: over a distance of a little over 30 kilometres, the elevation gain is up to 450 metres, which is a lot in Finland. Fortunately, the hills are short and there are also a couple of lean-tos offering opportunities for taking a break, if necessary. At the Luukki recreational area, there is a beach and Restaurant Laguna.
After the Luukki recreation area, there are two wet and technical single track sections, which are easy to go around via Nettaa and Pakankylä. The sections are marked on map for clarity. Recommended unless you don’t mind a little hike-a-biking and possibly wet feet!
If the charm of the coast does not lure the cyclist back to the coast metro line to the endpoint of the trail in Matinkylä, there are several accommodation options for the second night. Hotel options are available all the way from northern Espoo to the coast, depending on your pace and preferences. For those wishing to stay in nature for the night, the best experience will be offered by the Hynkänlampi campsite in the Pirttimäki recreational area.
Day 3, Hynkänlampi campsite–Matinkylä metro station (20 km, elevation gain 210 m)
The third day of cycling is a short but pleasant downhill ride from the Nuuksio Lake Uplands back to the coast and Matinkylä metro station, where Ring G ends. The rolling spruce and boreal forests of Pirttimäki escort the bikepacker from the Hynkänlampi ravine lake back to civilisation; the trail takes the smoke-smelling bikepacker inside Ring Road III next to American fast food delicacies and a Swedish furniture wonder. The Kasavuori nature conservation area and Espoo Central Park in particular offer the last doses of immaterial Finnish elixir of happiness before a short metro ride back to the centre of Helsinki.
Day 1, Vuosaari–Ängesböle campsite (36 km, elevation gain 670 m)
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 through 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–Hynkänlampi campsite (66 km, elevation gain 880 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 and the Pitkäkoski hiking lodge. Overnight bikepackers will turn south to a trail across the Helsinki Central Park from here, while those with a two-nights-strategy will continue towards Espoo along the Route 2000. We are now following the last mentioned option.
When going deeper into the forest along hiking trails, the elevation gains increase and the hills become steeper: over a distance of a little over 30 kilometres, the elevation gain is up to 450 metres, which is a lot in Finland. Fortunately, the hills are short and there are also a couple of lean-tos offering opportunities for taking a break, if necessary. At the Luukki recreational area, there is a beach and Restaurant Laguna.
After the Luukki recreation area, there are two wet and technical single track sections, which are easy to go around via Nettaa and Pakankylä. The sections are marked on map for clarity. Recommended unless you don’t mind a little hike-a-biking and possibly wet feet!
If the charm of the coast does not lure the cyclist back to the coast metro line to the endpoint of the trail in Matinkylä, there are several accommodation options for the second night. Hotel options are available all the way from northern Espoo to the coast, depending on your pace and preferences. For those wishing to stay in nature for the night, the best experience will be offered by the Hynkänlampi campsite in the Pirttimäki recreational area.
Day 3, Hynkänlampi campsite–Matinkylä metro station (20 km, elevation gain 210 m)
The third day of cycling is a short but pleasant downhill ride from the Nuuksio Lake Uplands back to the coast and Matinkylä metro station, where Ring G ends. The rolling spruce and boreal forests of Pirttimäki escort the bikepacker from the Hynkänlampi ravine lake back to civilisation; the trail takes the smoke-smelling bikepacker inside Ring Road III next to American fast food delicacies and a Swedish furniture wonder. The Kasavuori nature conservation area and Espoo Central Park in particular offer the last doses of immaterial Finnish elixir of happiness before a short metro ride back to the centre of Helsinki.