Hiking in the Nuuksio National Park

Nuuksio National Park Well - not really a hike, more like a Nature Walk. Last weekend, a couple of friends and I set out at 10 in the morning to Nuuksio. Antti is a practicing psychologist who also teaches at the local university and Jarko is a Chi-Gung Trainer. A chance conversation at a party a few days ago led to the Nuuksio National Park - also known as Noux. Finland has some really amazing hiking trails. and the Great Outdoors is greatly enouraged as a form of recreational activity. And Nuuksio is perhaps the one closest to the Helsinki city. More a Nature walk, it has jogging and cycling tracks. It also has a trail for horse riders! Just before we started off on the main Walk, Jarko also took us to a more private one - a private hill of sorts so to speak. When I asked about the appropriatness of entering private area, Jarko replied that 'Nature areas' are pretty public - meaning even if a Finn owned a forest area or an island, other Finns have complete right to walk around...they dont get stopped. If you wanted to camp overnight you could, but sometimes it may be appropriate to speak to the owners. But there you go - complete freedom to walk the trails! Our day comprised walking to three destinations - lakes to be precise. The first was a larger one, and there was already a family there by the time we reached the spot. After a brief rest there, we then moved onto the second one. Here, the two of them had no inhibitions getting out of thier clothes to do a little skinny dip. Nudity is not a problem here - with the sauna culture and is pretty much a done thing. I was too Indian to try anything :) Enroute to the third lake, we also climbed this little hill and actually took the time to stop for a while and rest. It was a most beautiful experience - where all you could hear was the wind amidst the trees, a few birds...and this bee that kept buzzing around me! It felt so wonderful, I think we even nodded off to sleep for a while. When we went down to the third - and I decided to take a dip (with my shorts on, of course)... and for those who know I dont swim - i pretty managed to get wet...the water was just right - about 18 I would say. Another break through - my first Finnish Lake Dip. :) Here's the official website with maps and directions to get to Nuuksio - Getting to Nuuksio - Maps and Directions Have fun!