Nature trails in Omenapuumaa

There is a marked nature trail in the midst of the beautiful nature in Omenapuumaa.

Nature trails

The total length of the trail is approximately 5.8 km. By using a shortcut the route could be only 2.1 km in length. There are 32 control points along the trail.

The distance from the city centre o to Omenapuumaa is approximately 11 km, which makes it a good destination for a weekend cycling trip, for example. The signs marking the beginning of the trail are found in the north-east corner of Omenapuumaa for those arriving by foot or by bike and in the north-west corner for those arriving by boat. Arriving by bike or by boat is recommended. If you, however, decide to arrive by car, the Ylinen family is kind enough to allow a few cars to park in their yard. Please make sure to park without causing any harm! Parking area can be found in the end of Taipalmaantie. The distance from Hummatus gate to the trail is about 350 metres.

The nature trail requires ability to walk on uneven ground. Rubber boots are the best shoes for the trail, even if it is dry.

A rowing boat of the city of Rauma can be borrowed to reach Reksaari from Omenapuumaa. There are more nature and hiking trails, Rohela cottage, which is available for visitors to reserve, and the old fisher’s house Karttu and its services.

Omenapuumaa strait starting point: N61°11.667′ E021°26.610′, eastern starting point: N61°11.511′  E021°28.376′

Nature in Omenapuumaa

The name of Omenapuumaa (“Apple tree land”) does not necessarily originate from growing apple trees nor from wild apple trees. It is likely that the name of the cape, a former island, is a modification of a Swedish word Åminnebo. In that case, the name refers to a settlement in the mouth of a river. The area has been protected since 1979 and it is old, culturally valuable environment where there are still remains of insular farming. After 30 years of protection, different types of groves have become to be typical of the nature in the area: dry, fresh, and wet groves.

• Dry grove plants: spring pea, linden, fly honeysuckle, wild basil, mountain melick and hepatica.
• Fresh grove plants: bearded couch, Solomon’s seal, sweet-scented bedstraw, wood millet, lesser celandine and spring corydalis.
• Wet grove plants: lady fern, northern buckler-fern, hedge woundwort and guelder rose.

The middle parts of the cape are different types of boreal forests and rocky areas. There are also small bogs in the area. The actions of people can be seen as ditchings and old hayfields and meadows. This can also be perceived in the vegetation: timothy-grass, tufted hair-grass, smooth meadow-grass, sheep’s fescue. The fields and meadows have been forested with different species of conifer. A lot of trees of the area have fallen due to storms. Most of them have been left on the ground to decay and to form new forest nature. In Omenapuumaa, there is also a distribution of the rare clouded apollo butterfly. The modestly beautiful butterfly can be seen near the spring corydalis in the beginning of June.