A Hidden Forest Oasis in Hämeenlinna - Discover Ahvenisto nature reserve & lake

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We have barely left the center of Hämeenlinna when we are already climbing up a forest road with rugged terrain. The road descends to an inviting sandy beach of a forest pond, where turquoise waves splash, flanked on both sides by whispering dark forests. We step onto a path, and within seconds, the old forest embraces us and invites us to follow our inner voice along hundreds of little trails. How have we not been here before? Ahvenisto wraps us around its little finger immediately.

Ahvenisto on the map
Trails: approx. 3–6 km. Plenty of paths and a connection to the Häme Ilvesreitti Trail.
Campfire site: Yes, at the beach
Accessible: No
Other: Adventure park, outdoor swimming pool, playground, etc.
Arrival by public transport: 2.5 km from Hämeenlinna’s main railway station.
Arrival by car: Address: Olympiakatu, Hämeenlinna

The turquoise waves of Ahvenisto lap against the yellowish sandy shore as the capricious May wind decides to turn brisk and cool. But as always, a gentle embrace for body and mind is found in the forest.

We spend a moment examining the map at the parking area, where we are welcomed and informed that we might see Eastern Pasque flowers (Pulsatilla patens) here.

Ahvenisto beach. There are swimming piers also elsewhere around the lake besides just the sandy beach area. During our visit, the outdoor swimming pool next to the beach was not yet open. The trails into the forests start immediately from both sides of the beach.

The hut and picnic tables await hikers and those enjoying the outdoors. Ahvenisto also has a café and rentals for sauna, SUP boards, and fat bikes. You can read more about Ahvenisto’s services on its own website. The hiking trail network is maintained by the City of Hämeenlinna.

*The playground does not skimp on offerings.*

The structures of the Adventure Park rise in the forest on the slope bordering the parking area. I almost had to hold back my daredevil hiking companion from climbing already. Read more about the park.

We pass by the hut and the magnificent playground to the point where a trail branches off from the shore of lake Ahvenisto’s presence, leading up the slope. First, a wide path guides us a bit forward, then the trail turns. It feels good to dive into the tranquility of the forest practically immediately. At Ahvenisto, the forest trail network starts right from both sides of the beach.

My friend wonders where on earth we have come.

The moment we step from the lakeside path into the embrace of the forest onto a needle-covered trail, we make a mutual decision: we will disregard official routes and the strict adherence to signposts, and instead let our intuition and childlike enthusiasm guide us. The paths branch endlessly, and my friend estimates there are a million of them. We stay only on clearly distinguishable paths to avoid trampling the untouched nature, but within the trail network, we unleash our inner explorer children and completely relax into the flow state. I couldn’t imagine a better forest for that purpose than this.

The trails of Ahvenisto are also connected to the Häme Ilvesreitti Trail, which is over 200 kilometers long. The Häme Ilvesreitti connects the area even to national parks like Torronsuo and Liesjärvi.

As we might have guessed, the cold wind blowing on the lake becomes just a memory as we walk under the protection of the preserved forest. The uphill climbs also warm us up. From every fork in the path, four or five new ones branch off in different directions. My friend, who had been suffering from a severe lack of forest time, is excited and almost bursting at the seams. The forest of Ahvenisto makes her so happy that it’s visible in her eyes.

Adulthood involves a lot of boring and binding things. Here, the network of fairy-tale-like forest paths, which seems endless and whose signposts are somewhat random, practically invites you to free yourself from constraints and let your inner child run free. The area isn’t so large that you’d need to fear getting seriously lost. Phones work, as does the internet, so you can glance at the terrain map if needed, as well as your own location on it. There’s nothing to fear—only peace and happiness amidst the beauty of nature.

Sunlight filters through the old spruces and warms the intact, verdant, softly inviting mossy mounds along the steep slopes of the ridge, where liverleaf flowers (Anemone hepatica) lift their heads here and there, though slightly closed—perhaps a bit reserved due to the day’s chill.

We come across a section of duckboards along the edge of a bog, built from sturdy, wide planks. The bog beside us is beautifully ochre-colored and grows thin pines. We crouch to look closely at its tiniest inhabitants: tufted stalks and narrow-leaved reddish stems—all so beautiful and different, coexisting in harmonious peace. We inhale deeply the cold, moist bog air until our eyes close almost by themselves and our lungs fill to the last corner. The scent of Labrador tea (Rhododendron tomentosum) is already faintly noticeable.

The terrains of Ahvenisto consist of several different ridges, and the entire ridge area is a nature conservation area—altogether up to 68 hectares. This is beautifully visible and tangible around us: movement is easy when there’s no scratchy underbrush around and no thick branches and deep ruts left by forestry machines underfoot. Around us stretches clear, aged forest as far as the eye can see, which breathes its own peace and transfers it to us as well. The trees are of varying ages, there’s plenty of deadwood, and the trees that have already fallen are adorned with beautiful mosses, lichens, and fungi. On one fallen trunk lying on the ground grows a neat row of tiny new spruce saplings. On the main paths, fallen trees have had a section cut out and moved aside to keep the path easy to traverse. Otherwise, fallen trees have been left to continue fostering life even after their death, right where they fell.

In a nature conservation area, the human soul also sighs with peace and that kind of comfort and security you feel when you know you can always return here—you don’t have to fear that this forest will be lost.

My friend glances at the terrain map on her phone and lets me choose between two different paths. Without hesitation, I choose the one that seems to run along the edge of some wetland. And indeed, the wetland is so enchanting that you could well imagine a Florida alligator living there. The green of the moss stands out amidst the dark water, and the larger trees have already become snags due to the moisture of their environment.

We climb up to Ahvenisto Ridge, whose side stands directly in front of us like a forested wall. The path ascends diagonally upward, making the climb at a more moderate angle. We spot a dog walker in the distance, but he continues on a different route. We giggle that Ahvenisto is a real introvert’s dream, as there are so many paths that if someone threatens to come your way, you can quickly switch to a side path to be hidden by the forest and continue your journey somewhere else.

We marvel together at the area’s feeling of seclusion. The embrace of the forested ridges is tight. So far, not a single edge of a residential area, road, or shopping center has peeked through the trees, even though we are right next to the city center. The feeling is sheltered and pleasantly enclosed by the forest. It’s such that peace will indeed remain here, and we can lull ourselves into it for as long as we choose before re-entering the world of people.

Upon reaching the top of Ahvenisto Ridge, we descend almost as quickly down the other side because the terrain map revealed that there’s a pond down there. Who could resist the call of a pond’s shore! My friend takes advantage of the wide and straight downhill and runs towards the base of the ridge.

This is actually the first time since the beginning that we see something other than forest; on the way to the pond, we pass by Ahvenisto Motor Racing Circuit. The sound carries loudly—not the sound of engines, but the springtime shrieking of black-headed gulls. In the middle of the track are ponds where a colony of these gulls nests.

The beautiful clear-shored Kahtoilampi pond is already peeking ahead of us as we proceed along a fairly wide route towards it. We take a water break at the first bench by the shore. We find the last snows of spring as a flat white blanket and guess that there had been a ski trail there just a moment ago.

*Along the shores of Kahtoilampi pond, there are a couple of benches, boardwalks, and a swimming spot.*

At the other end of the pond, we find well-maintained duckboards that lead over the mire area to a small swimming beach. A couple of people walk past us and greet us—they remain almost the only people we encounter on this whole trip. The sun emerges from behind a small cloud and, with its warmth, encourages us to sit on a bench once again to calmly enjoy the almost wilderness-like scenery and scents of the pond.

We ascend back to Ahvenisto Ridge, and this time we follow the wide outdoor trail along its crest back to our starting point at Ahvenisto beach. The route along the ridge’s spine is wide and level, easy to walk, and immediately on both sides, steep slopes drop down into the mossy and shadowy depths of the forest. We get to enjoy traveling on this majestic route for about 1.5 kilometers.

Since we don’t need to watch our feet for roots and stones as on needle-covered trails, we notice all sorts of other things in the environment: liverleaf flowers, beard lichens, and various plants just about to burst into leaf, which we can’t quite identify for sure.

An unusual feature on the trails of Ahvenisto is the Olympic rings, which you can see here and there. Older folks surely remember what it’s about, but younger ones might be more in the dark. Let’s recap: Ahvenisto served as a venue for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. And indeed, if you want to run the Olympic cross-country course in the spirit of 1952 even today, you can do so using this route map. The route is also marked in the terrain with Olympic rings.

We look at a path that turns down the slope of the ridge at a steep angle. Is that where one should run down in a controlled manner?

After walking about a kilometer, the turquoise figure of Ahvenisto begins to peek again down through the forest. We still try to spot the Pasque flower, but all the purple we find on the ground is the beauty of liverleaf flowers. On the positive side, we didn’t spot almost any litter on the entire loop. Well done, Ahvenisto visitors!

A pine tree invites us to sit at its base after one more steep climb before we descend to the shore.

Upon reaching the shoreline, we start eagerly making summer plans. We have to come back here in summer. We have other plans for Hämeenlinna in the summer anyway, and now on Ahvenisto’s shore, we list why and with what gear we will return here at the end of that future hiking day. I’ll bring a snorkeling mask and an underwater camera and dive beneath the surface. Is it fair to expect that I might meet perch (Ahven in Finnish) in Ahvenisto? My friend plans to bring a SUP board and swing into the water like Tarzan using a hanging rope swing.

The sun strengthens its grip on the landscape as our trip nears its end. A mind pampered by the forest and a body warmed by the ridge hum with happiness. Ahvenisto—or “Appara” as the locals say—has turned out to be a significantly larger destination than its size would suggest and has exceeded our expectations many times over.

Near the beach, there are still a couple of piers and bathing cabins from which to plunge into the water. The bottom is visible deep through the clear water. However, it would be a gross misjudgment to think of Ahvenisto merely as a beach, let alone just a motor racing circuit. The forest is its greatest strength—or at least the combination of a sheltered fairy-tale forest and a turquoise lake.