This is a pleasant run through four adjacent, centrally located parks in Turku. They’re each fairly modest in size, but added together make for a 7.5 km loop. Use our mapped route as a guide for creating your own route on the parks’ paths.Note: puisto=park
Vartiovuori Park. cc-by-2.5: Samuli Lintula
Start right near downtown Turku in Urheilupuisto, which is more of an ‘athletic park’ featuring sports fields & facilities and the Paavo Nurmi Stadium, which has a running track. A loop of the perimeter path is ~1.4 km. Connect to the adjacent Samppalinna Park (Samppalinnanpuisto), a smaller park with a large outdoor swimming pool. Continue east to Vartiovuori Park, which is a bit more wooded, with paths around an observatory and a theatre. Head out the southeast end to connect to the largest of the parks, Kupittaa Park (Kupittaanpuisto). Here, you can do a ~2.5 km loop on allée type paths. The park has sports fields, a pool, ice skating rink (and restrooms). For the return, our route has you retracing your steps through Vartiovuori, and then the river path for 0.5 km, for variety.
Add-Ons: Additional paths in the parks, and more paths along the Aura River.
This is a pleasant run through four adjacent, centrally located parks in Turku. They’re each fairly modest in size, but added together make for a 7.5 km loop. Use our mapped route as a guide for creating your own route on the parks’ paths.Note: puisto=park
Vartiovuori Park. cc-by-2.5: Samuli Lintula
Start right near downtown Turku in Urheilupuisto, which is more of an ‘athletic park’ featuring sports fields & facilities and the Paavo Nurmi Stadium, which has a running track. A loop of the perimeter path is ~1.4 km. Connect to the adjacent Samppalinna Park (Samppalinnanpuisto), a smaller park with a large outdoor swimming pool. Continue east to Vartiovuori Park, which is a bit more wooded, with paths around an observatory and a theatre. Head out the southeast end to connect to the largest of the parks, Kupittaa Park (Kupittaanpuisto). Here, you can do a ~2.5 km loop on allée type paths. The park has sports fields, a pool, ice skating rink (and restrooms). For the return, our route has you retracing your steps through Vartiovuori, and then the river path for 0.5 km, for variety.
Add-Ons: Additional paths in the parks, and more paths along the Aura River.
A nearly 5 km loop along the Aura River in central Turku on dedicated paths. Great views of the water and central Turku. Great add-on options with more paths along the river, and paths in several parks lining the east bank of the river.
A gravel path at the northern end of the Aura River, forming a 6 km loop on the east and west banks, crossing over at the Hallisbron Bridge. Fairly open landscape, passing through fields and some sections of allée type paths lined with specimen trees.
Further north along the Aura River, there's a scenic trail through Virnamäenpuisto (park). The trail runs for 2.5 km between the Karalan Bridge & Hallisbron Bridge, passing through a landscape of open fields & farmland. Good add-on options.
In the eastern part of Turku, the Varissuo residential neighborhood features an extensive network of wooded trails through parks and a nature preserve. There are athletic facilities, and a designated 'fitness track'. 6-7 km of trails.
Island just southwest of Turku is one large conservation area. Wonderful combination of forest trails featuring massive English oaks and 'accessible' trails featuring more open, farmland landscape. Villa Promenade path is Ruissalo running highlight.
Run on the pleasant, quiet roads passing by fields and farms in this residential community south of Turku that's also the site of a golf course, and a small ski resort/sledding hill. Create your own route or run the 14.5 km perimeter loop.
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