Frequently asked questions about nature and outdoor activities

There are several designated campfire sites in Nuuksio National Park, such as those near cooking shelters and lean-tos: Services in Nuuksio(external link, opens in a new window). When a wildfire warning is in force, making a fire in Nuuksio is only allowed at certain designated campfire sites, and even then with extreme caution.

Making open fires anywhere other than designated campfire sites is prohibited. An open fire refers to any fire that can spread through sparks or along the ground. Open fires include kettle grills, disposable grills and campfires.

There are no designated campfire sites in areas owned by the city. In city-owned forests, making open fires – such as building a campfire outside a designated campfire site – is prohibited.

However, portable stoves that are raised off the ground can be used without the landowner’s permission. Please be careful when using a portable stove. This will prevent accidental wildfires and ensuing hazards and damage.

Espoo has several great destinations for camping and hiking. The designated camping areas in Nuuksio National Park can be found on the Services in Nuuksio(external link, opens in a new window) page.

Espoo also has recreational islands suitable for day trips or overnight stays. You can reach these islands by your own boat or the archipelago boat, which operates in the summer. Camping is permitted on the islands of Bylandet, Gåsgrund, Knapperskär, Rövargrundet, Rövaren, Stora Herrö, and Torra Lövö.

Camping in Espoo’s nature reserves is generally not allowed. The services in Espoo Central Park are designed for day hiking and recreation, not for overnight camping.

In Espoo, official mountain biking trails are available in Oittaa and in Espoo Central Park near Puolarmaari.

Mountain biking is included in ‘everyone’s rights’, meaning you can ride your bike in areas where you are allowed to move around anyway. However, in nature reserves or national parks, mountain biking is not permitted outside of official mountain biking trails. Mountain biking code of conduct in the national park.(external link, opens in a new window)

Rock climbing is allowed in areas that are accessible to the public under everyone’s rights. However, attaching permanent structures such as bolts requires the landowner’s permission. Permission is also required for removing moss, lichen or trees, as well as for recurrent climbing activities. You can request permission for these activities on city-owned land from Espoo’s Building Site Services.

Rock climbing is not allowed in nature reserves, as they have been established to protect our valuable natural environments.

You are free to move around with a metal detector on city-owned land. However, if retrieving a find requires excavation or altering the terrain, you must obtain the landowner’s permission. To obtain an excavation permit, you must contact Building Site Services.

If there is a fire burning that is spreading uncontrollably and you cannot extinguish it yourself, call the emergency number 112 and report the situation to rescue authorities.

In city-owned forests, making open fires – such as building a campfire outside a designated campfire site – is prohibited. The same prohibition applies to places like Nuuksio National Park. An open fire refers to any fire that can spread through sparks or along the ground. Open fires include kettle grills, disposable grills and campfires.

An illegal campfire site is, for example, a campfire circle built in an unauthorised location or a scorched spot on the ground with remnants of a fire. Illegal campfire sites cannot be found on maps. Such illegally made fires pose a significant wildfire risk and can degrade the rock underneath.

If you find an illegal campfire site in the forest, you can dismantle it yourself: move the fire remnants and stones away from the site, for example into the forest. If there is water nearby, you can try washing away the ash and fire remnants from the rock surface. Finish by covering the area with forest debris. You can also report the issue through Espoo’s feedback service. Click on ‘Parks, nature and environment’ and select ‘Environmental protection and conservation’ as your subject.

Under everyone’s rights, picking unprotected plants, wild berries and mushrooms is allowed, provided it causes no more than minimal harm to nature or the landowner. Only pick plants, berries and mushrooms you can confidently identify! Collecting protected plants is prohibited. In nature reserves, collecting plants or plant parts is prohibited.

On city-owned land, small amounts (about one litre) of spruce shoots may be collected for personal use. If you want to collect a larger amount, you must request separate permission through Espoo’s feedback service(external link, opens in a new window). Click on ‘Parks, nature and environment’ and select ‘Parks and nature’ as your subject.

Tapping birch sap or collecting spruce resin are not covered by everyone’s rights, as these activities damage trees. To carry out these activities on city-owned land, you must request permission through Espoo’s feedback service(external link, opens in a new window). Click on ‘Parks, nature and environment’ and select ‘Parks and nature’ as your subject.

You also need permission if you want to collect more than a few branches of willow. You can request permission through Espoo’s feedback service(external link, opens in a new window). Click on ‘Parks, nature and environment’ and select ‘Parks and nature’ as your subject. You can collect a small number of willow branches for personal use, for example for Easter decorations. If willows near roadsides have already been cut, you may collect those branches for personal use. Cutting willows without permission is not allowed. Willow thickets are important shelters and feeding grounds for birds and pollinators, for example. Please do not collect willow branches from nature reserves.

Do not collect branches from living spruce trees, as cutting them damages the trees. However, each year, Espoo has several active forestry work sites, which you can find through the Espoo map service(external link, opens in a new window). On these sites, branches from already felled trees can be collected in small quantities for personal use.

Reeds can be collected for personal use from city-owned shores except in nature reserves.

Invasive species, such as lupines, may and should be collected. However, be careful not to spread their seeds into the environment. You can, for example, gather a bouquet of lupines for putting in a vase. Transport the flowers in a sealed bag and dispose of the bouquet as mixed waste. This way, the seeds of invasive species will not spread. Large-scale removal of invasive species always requires the landowner’s permission. On city-owned land, invasive species may be removed, but in other areas, permission must be obtained from the landowner. Read more on the Invasive species webpage.

You need the landowner’s permission to hang a birdhouse. You also need permission to hang a birdhouse in a city-owned forest, such as Espoo Central Park. If you want to hang a birdhouse in a forest owned by the city, please contact Espoo’s Environmental Protection Unit through Espoo’s feedback service(external link, opens in a new window). Click on ‘Parks, nature and environment’ and select ‘Environmental protection and conservation‘ as your subject.

Remember that the maintenance and safety of a birdhouse are the responsibility of the person who installed it – the city is not responsible for birdhouses placed in forests, with or without permission. Hang the birdhouse securely in a place where it does not pose any danger to passers-by if it falls.

Birdhouses should ideally be emptied and cleaned in winter before nesting season begins. Birds cannot remove old nesting materials or eggshells themselves. Cleaning also helps eliminate parasites that may harm birds.

BirdLife Finland has prepared comprehensive instructions for building birdhouses (in Finnish): Building a birdhouse(external link, opens in a new window) 

If you want to hide a geocache on land owned by the city, you need the landowner’s permission, which you can request from Building Site Services. A cache hidden in a forest or another natural area, as well as access to the cache, must not cause damage to the environment.

You are not allowed to make changes to the terrain on city-owned land to build a mountain biking trail or similar structures. The city’s recreational areas are intended for all residents, and our valuable forests suffer from trail building. Self-built mountain biking trails may also pose safety risks to their users and other people in the area. You can find mountain biking trails maintained by the city on the Mountain biking routes page.

If you find structures built for mountain biking or similar activities on city-owned land, you can inform us through Espoo’s feedback service. Click on ‘Parks, nature and environment’ and select ‘Parks and nature’ as your subject.

Dogs must be kept on a leash in built-up areas, i.e. urban areas. This rule also applies to dogs that are friendly towards other people and dogs and obey their owner. Other people may be scared of or disturbed by dogs running free.

You must also keep your dog on a leash in Espoo’s Central Park and local forests as they are part of the urban area. Dogs must always be kept on a leash in national parks and nature reserves. You must also keep your dog off fitness trails, beaches, children’s playgrounds and ski tracks.

Dogs must be kept on a leash outside of built-up areas, with some exceptions, from the beginning of March until 19 August. This will ensure that dogs do not disturb birds and other animals during their breeding season.

We have a separate, partly fenced swimming area for dogs in Toppelund, at Mellstenintie 4. Dog beaches are fenced or unfenced areas where dogs can go swimming.

Dogs can also swim elsewhere, with the exception of private properties, public beaches, marinas and nature reserves. Do not let your dog swim in the water if it contains blue-green algae because it is a health risk. Also take nesting birds into consideration. For example, Matalajärvi is an important wetland area for birds and part of Nuuksio National Park.

Every winter, we have a few ski tracks in Espoo where people can ski with their dogs. It can be challenging to organise tracks for dog skijoring, especially when there is not much snow and artificial ski tracks are full of other skiers. The location of our skijoring track varies from year to year, so we ask you to check the track situation under FAQ about ski tracks and ice-skating fields before you go skiing.

City-owned dog parks are intended for all dog owners and cannot be reserved for private use. In Espoo and nearby municipalities, there are some private dog parks and forests that you can book for private use, such as breeder meetings and play dates.

Here are some of the private dog parks and forests in our area:

• Private dog park Pikkutähti(external link, opens in a new window) (Nuuksio, Espoo)
• Snettans dog forest(external link, opens in a new window) (Röylä, Espoo)
• Kirkkonummi dog forest(external link, opens in a new window) (Kirkkonummi)

The city’s nature management unit removes trees that have fallen on official nature trails or built recreational routes. You can inform us of fallen trees through Espoo’s feedback service(external link, opens in a new window). Click on ‘Parks, nature and environment’ and select ‘Parks and nature’ as your subject.

The goal of forest management in Espoo is to protect biodiversity and ensure the diverse recreational use of forests. Some trees that have fallen or have been felled in connection with forestry work are left in the forest to decay. They are important for biodiversity and species that need decaying wood.

Living or fallen trees found in city-owned forests cannot be collected for personal use, irrespective of whether they have fallen on their own or been felled. A small number of broken twigs and branches can be collected for personal use. However, make sure that you do not damage living trees.

Espoo’s Public Works Department is responsible for the maintenance of nature trail structures. If a structure (e.g. steps, duckboards or benches) is in poor condition, you can inform us of the situation through Espoo’s feedback service(external link, opens in a new window). Click on ‘Parks, nature and environment’ and select ‘Parks and nature’ as your subject.

Espoo’s Environmental Protection Unit is responsible for nature trail markers and information boards. You can inform us of problems or suggest improvements through Espoo’s feedback service(external link, opens in a new window). Click on ‘Parks, nature and environment’ and select ‘Environmental protection and conservation’ as your subject.

If you want to propose the establishment of a new nature trail on city-owned land, you can contact Espoo’s Environmental Protection Unit by email at ymparisto@espoo.fi.

Nature trails are often established in places where it is necessary to guide people onto marked paths to prevent and reduce damage to the environment. Nature trails also provide information about nature.

Nature trails can also be established on privately owned land. You can propose the establishment of a nature trail directly to the landowner.

Branches that arch or spread over streets are cut to make snow ploughing and other winter maintenance work easier. For the same reason, we sometimes cut down roadside bushes and willows. Twigs and branches are left on the ground because the city does not have the resources to collect them. Our maintenance crew is responsible for thousands of kilometres of roadside areas in Espoo. Twigs and branches are also an important part of the nutrient cycle and provide wintering sites for insects.

City-owned shore areas are not dredged or mowed for resource reasons. Leaving shores untouched also has a positive impact on the biodiversity of lake and marine environments. Waterside vegetation and reeds are important for lake and marine ecology, as they protect shores from erosion and provide shelter and nutrition for aquatic organisms. Many waterbirds also nest in the shelter of the reeds. Espoonlahti, Finnoonlahti and Espoo’s Pitkäjärvi, among others, are nationally significant nesting areas for waterbirds.

You can report all invasive species found in Espoo through the Invasive Alien Species Portal(external link, opens in a new window). Landowners are responsible for getting rid of invasive species on their land, so you should also inform the landowner of your observation. The City of Espoo receives information about invasive species observations through the Invasive Alien Species Portal.

The city mainly controls invasive species in and near nature reserves and other valuable natural areas, as these are areas where invasive species cause the most harm to biodiversity.

Resident participation in the control of invasive species is very important because the city only has resources to focus on the most important locations. We encourage all residents to take part in our joint efforts. Read more about community efforts to control invasive species in Espoo under Invasive species. You can read more about invasive species and their control on the national vieraslajit.fi(external link, opens in a new window) website.

The authority responsible for monitoring compliance with the Act on Managing the Risk Caused by Alien Species is the Uusimaa ELY Centre, not the City of Espoo. The ELY Centre may, if necessary, order the landowner to remove the invasive species from their property. If an invasive species is growing on a neighbouring plot and could spread to other plots, you should first discuss the issue with the neighbour. If necessary, you can contact the ELY Centre’s customer service for environmental matters(external link, opens in a new window).