The rantaraitti (
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
) or strandpromenaden (
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
) is an urban
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
and cycling route along the coastline of
Espoo
Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, bordering the
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
. The approximate total length of the route is 27 km.
Most of the route goes very near the coastline. At some places, it has to divert inland to public roads, because the coast is inaccessible or private property. The rantaraitti route starts at
Laajalahti
Laajalahti ( sv, Bredvik) is a district of Espoo, a city in Finland. It belongs to the area of Suur-Tapiola together with Westend, Tapiola, Pohjois-Tapiola, Otaniemi, Niittykumpu, Mankkaa, and Haukilahti. It gets its name from the bay on which ...
, near the border to
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
and then continues through the districts of Laajalahti,
Otaniemi
Otaniemi (Finnish), or Otnäs (Swedish), is a district of Espoo, Finland. It is located near the border of Helsinki, the capital of Finland.
Otaniemi is located on the southern shore of the Laajalahti bay, next to the district of Tapiola near th ...
,
Tapiola
Tapiola (; sv, ) is a district of the municipality of Espoo on the south coast of Finland, and is one of the major urban centres of Espoo. It is located in the western part of Greater Helsinki. The name ''Tapiola'' is derived from '' Tapio'', w ...
,
Westend Westend may refer to:
* Westend (Trevilians, Virginia), an historic house in Virginia listed on the NRHP
* Westend (Berlin), a locality of Berlin in Germany
* Westend (Frankfurt am Main), a borough of Frankfurt am Main in Germany
* Westend, Espoo, ...
,
Haukilahti
Haukilahti ( sv, link=no, Gäddvik) is a neighbourhood in Espoo, Finland. It is located on the seashore of the Gulf of Finland in the southern part of the city.
Haukilahti is quiet and has many forested areas and parks. Right across the road fro ...
,
Matinkylä
Matinkylä (; sv, Mattby, ; both literally translated the "village of Matt/ Matti") is one of the major districts of Espoo, a city on the southern coast of Finland. Matinkylä sits between the Länsiväylä highway and the coast of the Gulf of F ...
,
Nuottaniemi,
Kaitaa
Kaitaa (Finnish) or Kaitans (Swedish) is a district of southern Espoo, Finland, located south of the ''Länsiväylä'' highway, with a population of 6000.
Kaitaa mostly consists of detached houses, and contains the Hannusjärvi recreational area ...
,
Soukka
Soukka (Finnish) or Sökö (Swedish) is district number 33 of Espoo, Finland, located in southwestern Espoo in the main district of Suur-Espoonlahti.
Early history
Soukka is part of the oldest area in Espoo. The oldest discovered signs of habitat ...
and
Espoonlahti
Espoonlahti (Finnish) or Esboviken (Swedish) (literally ''The Bay of Espoo'' or ''Espoo Bay'') is one of the five major urban areas of Espoo, a city in Finland. It lies along the south-western coast of Espoo, bounded to the west by the bay of the ...
to
Saunalahti
Saunalahti (previously Jippii) was a Finnish mobile phone operator and an internet service provider.
History
The company was founded in 1996 when three middle-sized internet operators merged.
In 2009 the Helsinki Court of Appeal convicted J ...
, near the border to
Kirkkonummi
Kirkkonummi (; sv, Kyrkslätt, , Sweden ) is a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of inhabitants () in southern Finland. The literal meaning of the words "''Kirkkonummi''" and "''Kyrkslätt''" in English language, English is "church heath".
...
.
From 1 May to 30 September 2008, the city of Espoo organised an event called ''rantaraittipatikointi'' ("rantaraitti hike") to celebrate the city's 550th anniversary. The event included people to hike through all or part of the rantaraitti route. There are twelve coastside
café
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
s along the route that serve as marking points. In each of them, a participant could punch a stamp through the bottom edge of a specific leaflet called the "rantaraittipassi". A completed leaflet could then be sent to the city of Espoo to receive prizes.
There is an intention to continue the Rantaraitti trail for about ten kilometres, once the zoning plan of the area is completed. There are about one hundred spots about nature, cultural history, and about residential life in the past along the trail.
Rantaraitti received an honorary mention in the annual awards ceremony by the Finnish municipal technology organisation SKTY.
Kuntatekniikan saavutus
''Kuntatekniikka''. Accessed on 21 August 2017.
Rantaraitti from west to east
Meritorni Kivenlahti Espoo 020719 c.png, In Meri-Kivenlahti Rantaraitti goes on concrete slabs and occasionally makes 90-degree turns.
Espoon rantaraitti Espoonlahti 190519 b.jpg, Slightly to the south the trail goes on gravel-paved beach.
Espoon rantaraitti Kaitaa rantametsikkö 300519 b.jpg, In Soukka, the trail goes mostly on streets; from Riihilahdentie in Kaitaa it returns to the beach. Shown here is a beach forest in Kaitaa.
Kävelysilta Nuottaniemi rantaraitti 300519 b.jpg, In Matinkylä the trail makes a detour to inland. A view to the east.
Espoon rantaraitti Haukilahden silta 070619.jpg, The trail connects to the Haukilahti boat harbour, where it continues to the east towards Westend.
Westendin rantaa 250719 d.jpg, In Westend the trail does not always follow the beach, but there are several opportunities to visit the beach with usable alternative routes.
References
External links
Rantaraitti at the city of Espoo
Rantaraitti photogalleries
Espoo
Hiking trails in Finland
Geography of Uusimaa
Tourist attractions in Uusimaa
{{finland-stub