The best MTB trails around Vantaa

King Gustav III's trip to Finland in 1775 It is said about the king's trip that when King Gustav III came to Finland in 1775 at the age of 29, he visited Helsinki and ate with Johan Sederholm. Sederholm had a stone house on Senate Square and also owned the Häkansböle manor. He was a royalist and offered His Majesty a place to stay at his manor when the king traveled to Eastern Finland to establish a new province. The royal convoy consisted of 106 people and 38 four-wheeled horse-drawn carriages. Gustav III had become accustomed to being outdoors in France. While driving north, the royal party stopped at noon on a hill near Kuusijärvi, on Johan Sederholm's land, and enjoyed lunch there. The monarch's brief rest there was such an important event in the history books that the area was later named Kungsbacka, the King's Hill. Based on the map of the main divisions, the king's dining place is located approximately at Vanha Porvoontie 282 – 286. According to the story, after eating, the king climbed a nearby rock to look at the scenery. Gustav III's park, Gustav III:s park, was included in the local plan as the name of the local recreation area south of Kuusijärvi in 1996, and the city council approved the plan in 1999. It is a commemorative name. Source and more info: https://www.retkinikkari.fi/kuningas-kustaa-iiin-penkit/

Exactly 250 years ago, when King Gustav III of Sweden was travelling east along the Great Coastal Road, he stopped at Kuusijärvi in present-day Vantaa to have lunch under the open sky, “sitting on the bare ground”. The incident was so significant that the place was marked on the 1778 map on the hillock north of the road as “Ả detta ställe har hans Kungl. Maj. Gustaf Den Ill ätit middag den 10de Junii 1775 pa bara marken”. Now, based on a municipal initiative, a group of benches have been built at almost the same spot to commemorate that historic al fresco lunch. The benches, made of solid spruce, will offer hikers and other users of the area a fascinating and very beautifully situated resting place near the Kuusijärvi nature and recreation area and the Sipoonkorvi National Park.

A new resting place, Gustav III's benches, has been built on Lake Kuusijärvi in Vantaa, commemorating King Gustav III's historic lunch in the area on 10 June 1775. The benches, made of spruce, are located near the Sudentassu Bridge and offer hikers a place to rest in the middle of nature. The constructed hiking site includes three sturdy log benches. They are intended for resting or as seats for eating snacks. No fires or campfires are allowed at the site. The site follows the principle of litter-free hiking, meaning that visitors must take all their trash with them. There are no trash cans in the area around the benches; the nearest trash cans can be found at the campfire site on the shore.

The Kuusijärvi bridge, Sudentassu, was completed in December 2019 and connects the Kuusijärvi nature and recreation area and the Sipoonkorvi National Park. The Sudentassu bridge is 20 meters high, has a width of five meters and a length of 126 meters. The Sudentassu bridge leads the traveler from one cliff to another and allows easy access to the Sipoonkorvi wilderness. The Sudentassu bridge is about 1 km from the Kuusijärvi parking area. Source& Additional Info: https://www.vantaa.fi/fi/palveluhakemisto/toimipiste/kuusijärven-silta-sudentassu

Haltiala Farm is a popular exhibition farm located in Helsinki that offers visitors a glimpse of traditional Finnish countryside life with cows, goats, sheep, pigs, hens, and lambs. The animals are mostly outdoors during summer and autumn, and visitors can see them from early morning until late evening. The farm also features cultivated fields where peas and flowers can be freely picked in summer, and it has an on-site restaurant called Wanha Pehtoori, providing a welcoming experience for families and nature lovers. The farmyard is open year-round, free to visit, and part of the larger Central Park outdoor recreation area

Varied trail through forests, rocky outcrops, and open moorland. The clearly visible paths connect several small hills, offering beautiful views along the way. Ideal for a quick after-work run or a longer jogging or walking session.

Kuusijärvi is home to the only smoke saunas in the Helsinki Metropolitan area. In winter, the swimming takes on a more daring aspect, when you can try a spot of ice swimming. There's a cafe and restaurant, serving all manner of burgers and platters for that all-important refuel.

In the northeast of Helsinki's Central Park, Niskala arboretum is a great place to explore. Over 750 different species can be found here and the wildlife wonderfully vibrant.