Hike from Haltia along the Haukkalampi-Haltia Connecting Trail, Around Haukkalampi and Back – A Spring Day Hike in Nuuksio National Park

As a great tit welcomes me with its cheerful song, I lift my camera rucksack onto my back. From the almost empty Haltia carpark I walk to the starting point of the Connecting Trail, from which many other Nuuksio trails also begin. I walk in the direction of the sign to Haukkalampi. The marker for the Connecting Trail is an orange square with a black line in the middle.

• Starting point on the map
• Trail lengths: Connector Trail 4.6 km one way, Haukankierros 3.7 km (Punarinnankierros 2.4 km)
• See Nuuksio trail map
• Accessible: No
• Campfire site: Yes
• Public transport: Bus 245 (A) from Espoonkeskus, stop: Haltia
• By car: Nuuksiontie 84, Espoo

The trail climbs gently uphill mimicking the form of the road next to it. After crossing the road t the top of the hill, I enter a wonderful open pine forest before heading downwards into shadier spruce forest, where I step across the boundary into Nuuksio National Park. The trail is easy to walk, sun shines from a cloudless sky, and the songs of blackbirds, great tits, and blue tits fill the air. I breathe the aromatic, cool forest air deeply into my lungs. A sense of serenity fills my mind dissipating any worries that I had. Before long I reach the still quiet Nuuksiontie, which I briskly cross.

Towering aspens grow on the other side of the road. Their trunks are so thick at chest height that I know my arms wouldn’t reach around them. With my eyes I climb up the trunk to the still leafless canopy of branches that almost touch the sky. As I walk past these impressive aspens, I step onto a boardwalk that traverses a small, lush wetland. Slender birches, alders, and spruces grow densely in the wetland, forming a low-growing contrast to the giant aspens.

Metal steps rise up from the end of the boardwalk, into a spruce-dominated forest. On the drier, boulder-strewn slope, tall birches, spruces, and pines compete for space and light. Impressive, bushy, grey-green beards adorn many branches of spruce trees. This forest is old and moist enough to support lush lichen growth. After the climb ends, the gently descending trail leads me down over a gravel road to a steep walk down to the shore of Nuuksion Pitkäjärvi. I make a mental note to myself to save some energy for the climb on the way back.

Standing on a small jetty I have a short break, while enjoying a new perspective of Nuuksion Pitkäjärvi. I don’t get far after leaving the pier, before still sleeping hepatica flowers stop me in my tracks. The first rays of the rising sun have not yet reached the flowers growing on the forest floor. The delicate flower buds beg me to photograph them, as I do – who could really resist them?

The dark hillside forest changes to an open, wet deciduous grove that I walk through and over the stream Myllypuro. I’m in Nuuksionpää, walking along the north end of Pitkäjärvi. Birdsong fills the air. I open the Merlin Bird ID app on my phone and start the sound identification feature. Merlin distinguishes the songs of redwing, willow warbler, blackcap, and chaffinch from the background chorus. I agree and put my phone back in my pocket.

I follow the trail from the grove into a spruce forest. A steep slope rises on my left. Knowing that at some point I’ll have to climb it, I start wondering how and where. The slope is rocky and difficult to navigate, the forest dense. Perhaps the trail winds its way among moss-covered boulders, fallen trunks and standing trees. Shortly, I see the answer to my question. Wooden steps ascend the slope, disappearing among the large spruces so that their end is hidden from sight. I ascend the steadily rising steps. On both sides is a familiar, impressive mature forest. As I climb through it, I remember times long ago when on summer nights I followed the movements of a flying squirrel up and down the slope. The flying squirrel glided easily up and down, while I, in the twilight of the Finnish summer night, had to pick my way through the boulders and trees to the tree where the flying squirrel was sitting.

At the end of the steps, after a gentler ascent, an open forest view appears. Tall, slender pines reach straight up from the rocky ground. The bright blue morning sky glows between their canopies. After a short walk, the Connecting Trail joins the Punarinnankierros trail. I turn left to walk towards Valklampi and Mustalampi. I’m on a familiar trail that I’ve walked many times before.

The Punarinta trail rises to a dry rocky hill, before descending through a moist spruce forest to the shore of peaceful Valklampi. Striking, steep cliffs rise from the west end of the pond. In places, the high spring water level of the lake water reaches to the trail. From the bright Valklampi, I dive into the dark valley between Valklampi and Mustalampi. In the valley, water covers the trail in a few places, and the humid air feels cooler. Soon, however, I am back in a sunny, open hill-top forest, and Mustalampi, with its picturesque floating islands, comes into view on my left. I scramble down to pond level, where I take off my rucksack and let my sweaty shirt dry in the light breeze.

Mustalampi is peaceful except for the occasional calls of gulls. On one island, both a Canada goose and a common gull are nesting. I look for red-throated divers but fail to see or hear them. The gentle wind ripples the water surface creating thousands of sparkling diamonds in the sunlight. I glance around. In a sheltered bay, the reflection of the opposite cliff and forest in the calm water catches my attention. Gazing at the reflection I feel pulled into the depths of the pond. Occasional light gusts of wind break the surface, creating dappled, oil painting like patterns of the reflection in the pond.

Rested, I continue my journey, and after a short distance, I turn left to join the Haukankierros trail, which immediately rises up a steep slope. I have a choice ahead: do I take the steps or the path? I choose the even climb of the path. At the top is the second rest spot at Mustalampi, but I continue my way down to the shore of the pond.

From Mustalampi, the Haukankierros trail leads me through a spruce forest to the top of the cliffs surrounding Haukkalampi. From the open rocky forest, the trail descends into mixed forest where impressive pines, spruces, and birches grow. A small waterfall by the trail catches my attention, and I stop to photograph it. I don’t have a tripod with me, so I try to keep my camera steady by resting my hands and camera against a rock. While photographing the waterfall, I hear the loud thuds of spruce cones hitting the ground. Strong wind gusts blow them down and luckily none fall close, as I wouldn’t have wanted to get hit by a cone-bomb.

From the waterfall, I wander along the trail to a valley with a stream, from which I follow the path up to the top of another cliff. The path runs along the edge of the highest point of the cliff, so I deviate to the right of the trail to climb up to the viewpoint overlooking Haukkalampi to enjoy a sandwich and the magnificent view. A pair of sleeping red-throated divers drift around on the pond. While I was walking through the forest, the wind has picked up, and I watch, fascinated as strong gusts draw different patterns on the pond’s surface. Fresh yellow-green patches of colour, painted by the newly opened leaf buds of birch trees, dot the landscape around Haukkalampi. 

After enjoying my sandwich with a view, I get up to continue my hike. A raven bids me farewell or tells me to leave its territory, or perhaps something entirely different. Maybe it wants to chat or just command me to continue my journey. Another set of steps awaits, but this time the steep stairs descend into a valley and onto a flatter path.

I walk past a natural forest clearing containing many fallen trees. At some point, strong winds struck here with force, possibly with swirling gusts, toppling many tall trees. In a photograph it is impossible to convey the extent of the clearing and the extent of the damage. Nor are the number of trunks as noticeable in the photograph as they are with the naked eye. In a few decades, the clearing will look entirely different, with moss-covered, decaying trunks.

Continuing on the trail, I lift my head to look up. Tall birches, aspens, and spruces compete for space in the forest canopy. Walking among them, I feel short and small, almost insignificant. As I walk along the winding trail, I approach the next spot for a rest. I am hoping to be there alone, despite more people having appeared on the same trail as midday approaches.

Shortly, I arrive at perhaps the most famous viewpoint in Nuuksio, Purola’s lookout cliff. The view is as beautiful as always on a spring morning. In the Purola valley, I see birches and aspens. The buds of birches have opened, while the aspen branches still stand bare and grey. As I hoped, I am entirely alone to enjoy the tranquillity of nature on a spring day. After photographing the landscape, I sit down to eat my second sandwich and admire the view. I am in no hurry.

Rested and content, I walk back to the Haukankierros trail to follow it through the forest on the ridge and down to the small carpark at Haukkalampi. From there, I walk along the bank of the stream flowing out from Haukkalampi. On my right the roots of large aspens grow over boulders to disappear into the ground. From the large carpark, I turn right to rejoin the Punarinnankierros trail, which gently climbs up to another open pine forest. On a narrow stream flowing beside the trail, I see a picturesque small waterfall. Of course I stop to investigate it, spending plenty of time photographing the waterfall with long exposures to soften the cascading water, before I continue my journey back to the intersection of the Connecting Trail and Punarinnankierros.

From the meeting of the trails, I turn left onto the Connection Trail that leads back to Haltia. By almost completely walking around both the Punarinnankierros and Haukankierros trails, I have enjoyed perhaps the finest, most diverse forests and landscapes that Nuuksio has to offer. Walking down a gentle slope, moving light spots catch my eye. Leaves swaying in the wind open temporary holes that allow sunlight to reach the moss-covered ground. I stop to watch as nature creates moving, living art. I try to take photographs at just the right moment when sunlight lights a small patch of moss like a spotlight.

After a short walk, I reach the long stairs that descend to the bottom of the slope, from where I continue once more to the bridge over Myllypuro. Next, I climb the steep slope up to a ridge before descending the stairs into the wetland on the other side.

After again crossing Nuuksiontie, the walk back to the carpark at Haltia goes quickly. Before I reach my destination however, I notice the opening flowers in the blueberry bushes on the side of the trail. Hopefully, there won’t be any cold, frosty nights before the flowers have been pollinated and the berries are growing. In fact, hopefully, there won’t be any more cold, frosty nights before autumn. There have been quite enough of them this spring when it felt that winter would never end.