The rantaraitti ( Finnish) or strandpromenaden ( Swedish) is an urban

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

and cycling route along the coastline of

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, bordering the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

. 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 () is a Districts of Espoo, district of Espoo, a city in Finland. It belongs to the area of Suur-Tapiola together with Westend, Espoo, Westend, Tapiola, Pohjois-Tapiola, Otaniemi, Niittykumpu, Mankkaa, and Haukilahti. It gets its name f ...

, near the border to

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and then continues through the districts of Laajalahti,

Otaniemi Otaniemi (Finnish language, Finnish), or Otnäs (Swedish language, Swedish), is a district of Espoo, Finland. It is located near the border with Helsinki, the Capital (political), capital of Finland. Otaniemi is located on the southern shore of ...

Tapiola Tapiola (; ) 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 Helsinki capital region. The name ''Tapiola'' is derived from ''Tapio (spi ...

, Westend, Haukilahti,

Matinkylä Matinkylä (; , ; 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 Finland, bet ...

, Nuottaniemi, Kaitaa,

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 habi ...

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 t ...

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 Ji ...

, near the border to

Kirkkonummi Kirkkonummi (; , , Sweden ) is a municipality in Finland, located in the southern coast of the country. Kirkkonummi is situated in the western part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Kirkkonummi is approximately . It is the most populous Mu ...

. 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 serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

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