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.
Lahemaa National Park is the largest national park in Estonia and about an hour east (50 km) of Tallinn. Given its size it is the largest park in Estonia and one of Europe's biggest national parks, with 1000 km<sup>2</sup>. Lahemaa, which roughly translates as "land of bays", adjoins the coast of the Gulf of Finland. The seaside consists of four peninsulas (Yuminda, Pyarispea, Kiasma and Vergi) and four bays (Kolga, Khara, Eru and Kiasma). Besides that, it is a place to find some nice forests, trails, bogs, swamps, wildlife, and 4 manors.
For more information see: http://loodus.keskkonnainfo.ee (dead link: January 2023) (search for Lahemaa rahvuspark).
The area was once used for properties of several rich German landowners. However, around the First World War, landowners were expelled, and the country houses were used for different purposes.
Most of the park is occupied by coniferous forest and peat bogs. It is mostly flat, and on the coast there are sandy beaches. There are also very exotic landscapes, for example, wastelands, overgrown with juniper, karst fields, and swamps and bogs.
Some parts of the park are off-limit during the breeding season. It is not ensured that people hold on to it, so take responsibility and use your mind. Especially annoying can be the mosquitoes, which during cycling, are not much of a problem as long as you do not stand still.
The "speciality" of the Lahemaa National Park are the huge water reservoirs called bogs. They get their water supply from the rain. Their surface is often covered with a thick and soft Sphagnum moss, which absorbs water into its empty cells. The lack of oxygen and acidity in a bog is the reason why dead plants deposit as partially decayed vegetation matter, the peat. A water drainage through the peat works very slowly. During the process of growth of a bog, wet hollows are enriched with oxygen, decomposition is accelerating and bodies of water, called bog pools, form. The process takes several thousand years. The depth of bog pools is generally less than 2 m, but can reach a maximum depth of 3–4 m in Viru raba. The humin acids found in the peat give the brownish hue and acidity to the bog water. Due to its acidity, this environment is unfavourable for the growth of many organisms.
There are no entry fees, all the trails are free to hike.
The park is large and has many interesting places to go to. Therefore, it is hard to give only one set of directions for getting there.
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. Many buses, often hourly, leave from Tallinn (along Pärnu/Narva mnt) and stop at Loksa tee 📍, the exit for Loksa town at the highway. Price: €3.50.
Some buses should also go into the smaller villages inside and around Lahemaa national park, or connect from Loksa tee. They are however more sparse and might not go exactly where you want to.
All connections are available online, especially through Peatus.ee. See Estonia#Get around for more information.
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.
Drive from Tallinn towards Narva via Peterburi road. About 50 km from Tallinn, there is a sign for Loksa (left), aka Loksa tee. You may want to turn there, as after a few hundred metres via this smaller road towards Loksa (direction north), the starting point to Viru raba will be on your right. Or you may want to drive to Loksa, further on to the seaside, or to the various other villages.
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 Narva.
Many trains per day leave from/to Tallinn, see Elron.ee and Estonia#Get around.
Price from Tallinn to Aegviidu: €3.
It is also popular to take a bike tour through the park: 1–3 days, 35–65 km, with easy access from Tallinn. City Bike (bicycle rental and tours) organises daily tours and also offers self-guided packages to the park. But you can also rent a bicycle and do the tour an your own, if you have figured out all the sights. Check whether it is possible to take the bikes onto the bus at least until Loksa tee.
If you came here for hiking then by foot will be your preferred option.
To travel between the villages and from the highway, not so frequent buses can be used. See Estonia#Get around.
But for the latter, a car or bicycle might be your preferred choice.
One of the most widely recommended places to go there is Viru raba, which has a 5-km foot roundtrack and observation tower. The following two trails cover this sight. The third one is longer, more diverse and includes a larger swamp than Viru raba, south of the highway. The projected walking times depend on whether you are just there for the hike, or also want to take your time for bird watching, longer breaks and such. All three allow for day tours from Tallinn, depending on your level of fitness. The tours partly correspond to sections of the "official" RMK matkatee (hiking path by the forest authority).
Viru raba (short) (<span style="color:#22CA54; font-weight: bold;">green</span>). 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.<br/>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.<br/>Download coordinates: GPX, KML.
Viru raba (long) (<span style="color:#615CF3; font-weight: bold;">blue</span>). Distance: 14.13 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.<br/>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.<br/>Download coordinates: GPX, KML.
Kõnnu Suursoo (<span style="color:#FFC41F; font-weight: bold;">orange</span>). 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.<br/>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.<br/>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.<br/>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.
Remember to take nothing but photos and memories, and leave nothing but footprints.
It is said that swimming in one of the water pools of the bog is one of the strangest but also interesting experiences that you can make, but can be equally refreshing in summer. While it is possible to do so with depth between 3 and 4 m in Viru raba, not all places are safe for swimming, because you need to know where to safely enter and (most importantly) exit the water pools. There are some wooden mountings for entering pools, especially in Viru raba. However, Kõnnu Suursoo does not offer these.
Along the entire shore of the Bay of Jara (Loksa) is a nice sandy beach.
You will not die of starvation in Lahemaa, but there are fewer eating points here than you might think.
Several accommodation options exist in the villages and towns in Lahemaa National Park and around it. Though, no budget accommodation is available so far.
You can put up tents free of charge in the official "RMK" camping sites. Consult OpenStreetMap (dead link: February 2023), which many mobile Apps like OsmAnd or Mapy.cz use, or any other preferable map, to find them. Also there is nothing wrong with camping outside the special site, but remember not to have any fires in places that are not meant for making a fire. Putting up a tent on private land is not allowed – you must ask permission from the owner.
Sunsets and sunrises in the swamp are unforgettable. And on a warm summer night you may want to experience the feeling of sleeping in one of the (at least three) observation towers in the area. The towers have a roof, so worries about the rain are not that big, although wind may spray rain to parts of the "covered" areas. Sometimes there may be mosquitoes here, which are annoying but carry no disease but. Even in spring and fall, the towers could be used, depending on your equipment. Bring your own water and food. Please note that the towers south to the highway (located on the yellow hiking trail) are much quicker to reach from North than from South (if you intend to sleep there, just consider the time needed, from Loksa tee it's probably about 2-3 hours to walk).
In these forest there is a great possibility of catching a tick that can carry a disease (TBC or ehrlichia or borreliosis). Therefore a sufficient repellent is highly suggested. Also it is recommended to wear long, light clothes and examine your body in the evening to find any ticks.
The bogs may be tricky to get out of, and even dangerous, so better not step off the track. If you intend to go swimming in one, no not go alone and go where the is at least a provisional entry.