Features:
The island of Ruissalo is located just southwest of central Turku and is easily accessible by public transport. The 7 km long island is a great spot for a run. Most of the island is a conservation area, part of Turku National Urban Park. There’s a wonderful combination of forest trails, with gorgeous birch trees and massive English oaks. There’s also a network of gravel roads passing fields and farms. This interactive map is a good resource to plan your run. Click on the ‘nature trails’, which then gives you the option to click on ‘forest trails‘, which are narrower and more wooded, and ‘accessible trails‘, which are the wider gravel roads that pass by more open terrain (and are lit at night!).
One of our favorite spots for running on Ruissalo is the gravel-surfaced Villa Promenade at the southern end of the island. It’s a great combination of open views & farmland, some wooded sections, and some parts along the water. There are two sections: Rantapromenadi runs for 2 km between the ferry terminal and Runsala folkpark, near the beach. Then continue for another 0.7 km to the beach and pick up Pikku-Pukinpromenadi, which runs along the water fir another 1 km.
Ruissalo is especially pretty in autumn colors and is also one of the nicest places in Turku to run when there’s snow.
- Create your own route. The island is 7 km long. The Villa Promenade route is up to 4 km one-way
- Generally flat
- Depends on route chosen
- See the map for parking information. Ruissalo is also accessible by Föli bus and ferry
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