Nuuksio National Park

Nuuksio National Park (Finnish: Nuuksion kansallispuisto, Swedish: Noux nationalpark) is one of Finland's 40 national parks.[2] Established in 1994, the park spreads over an area of forests and lakes in Espoo, Kirkkonummi and Vihti. North-west from Helsinki, it is the second-closest national park to the capital behind the recently established Sipoonkorpi National Park. The name is derived from the Nuuksio district of Espoo.

One of Nuuksio's lakes, surrounded by forest.

Nuuksio National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Mustalampi Lake
Location in Finland
LocationUusimaa, Finland
Coordinates60°18′27″N 24°29′57″E
Area53 km2 (20 sq mi)
Established1994
Visitors339,400 (in 2016[1])
Governing bodyMetsähallitus
Websitefinlandnaturally.com/national-parks/

Located less than 30 kilometers from downtown Helsinki, the park can easily be reached by public transportation. Bus 245A leaves from Espoon keskus to Nuuksionpää and Kattila during daytime.

Within the park there are eight marked trails for hiking. These trails vary in length and difficulty, being between 1.5 km and 17 km long. In addition, there are 30 km of biking trails and 22 km of horse riding trails. Designated spots for grilling, camping and skiing are scattered across the park.

The Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans) is the emblem of the national park due to their high population density in the park.[3]

Nuuksio in the autumn

The national park comprises the westernmost part of the so-called Nuuksio lake highlands. Dozens of endangered or near threatened species animals, plants and fungi are known to inhabit the area, for instance the Siberian flying squirrel, the European nightjar and the woodlark.

See also

References
  1. "Käyntimääriä suojelu- ja retkeilyalueilla sekä asiakaspalvelupisteissä" (in Finnish). Metsähallitus. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  2. "Kansallispuistoittain - www.metsa.fi". www.metsa.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  3. "The Flying Squirrel in Nuuksio National Park". Outdoors.fi. Metsähallitus. Archived from the original on 2009-08-30. Retrieved 2005-07-26.
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