Visit Sipoo
Delicacies and splashing in the Sipoonkorpi National Park – without a car!
Text and images:
Kristian Meurman
firstname.lastname@sipoo.fi
If you are looking for a lovely meal in a picturesque countryside environment combined with a lovely walk in the eastern parts of Sipoonkorpi, I recommend you to read the following!
HALF A DAY’S TRIP WITH SWIMMING IN A LAKE AND A DELICIOUS LUNCH:
Restaurant Tila – Fiskträsk – Bakunkärr
Total time: Approximately 1 hour of walking
Overall walking distance: 3,2 kilometers
Level: Easy, but not accessible
The bus arrives at restaurant Tila (Korvenportti) bus stop at 12:23
The bus departs from Bakunkärr bus stop at 16:17
Notice: Remember to bring a water bottle, there is no drinking water available at Fiskträsk lake. Bring your own coffee thermos and coffee mugs with you, for a small feel you can fill your thermos bottle with fresh coffee at Ravintola Tila.
NB! The bus does not stop and wait for passengers, you must be on time at the stop.
Tell the driver which bus stop you want to get off at.
Conveniently to the National Park from Tikkurila station
The journey begins at Tikkurila station at the bus station’s platform number ten. It is easy to navigate there, and the bus can be recognised from the Sipoonkorpi Hop-On Hop-Off logo at the front window and the timetable stand next to the platform. I board the Packalén bus company’s neat and tidy bus, where hand disinfection gel is available and if necessary, also double packs of face masks could be purchased, if one would not have remembered to bring their own. I am content with just a day ticket. My card is charged with eight euros, which is cheaper than a round ticket within three zones in the local metropolitan area public traffic. Very well worth its price indeed! Exactly according to schedule, at 11:15 the bus departs from Tikkurila station.
Complimentary Sightseeing onboard the bus
The Hop-On Hop-Off bus leaves the urban milieu surprisingly quickly, driving through more rural settings and stopping for instance at the popular Kuusijärvi swimming beach and passing two stops in the northern part of Sipoonkorpi. After this the bus drives towards the central area of Sipoo, Nikkilä, where in front of the library, more passengers get onboard the coach.
Nikkilä is easily accessible from the direction of Porvoo, so passengers arriving east of Sipoo towards the Sipoonkorpi National Park do not necessarily have to travel all the way to Vantaa. When arriving to Nikkilä, the beautiful two churches can be seen, and on the way back towards Sipoonkorpi, the wolves guarding Sipoo can be seen in a roundabout. The wolf sculptures are a part of the open art collection of the Municipality of Sipoo.
At 12:12 the bus passes a second time by the Byabäcken bus stop. If I would have felt like taking a walk, I could have gotten of here at the first time, make a little half an hour walk through the beautiful scenery of forest, pasture and fields and then board the same bus at the exact same spot. However, I am hungry for the delicacies at Restaurant Tila and did not want to miss the small Nikkilä sightseeing either, so I pass and leave the walking to the afternoon.
Close by produced delicacies in a beautiful setting
At Restaurant Tila, at the Korvenportti bus stop, the Hop-On Hop-Off bus stops exactly at 12:23. It might be a good idea to book a table, because the restaurant is very popular during lunch time. Especially, if you wish to enjoy lunch at the big terrace, overlooking the sheep walking in the pasture.
At the yard of Ravintola Tila, there are also freely walking ducks, hens and a friendly dog. That is plenty to look at for children and adults alike! Tila’s menu is simple and strongly based on nearby produced, organic and seasonal ingredients.
The menu is simple and speaks of quality
I choose the summer platter, featuring today crisp lettuce, new season potatoes, local sausage, slightly salted salmon, organic egg, herring, fried onions and lovely mouth watering local cauliflower. The beautiful portion is filling, but there is not too much to eat. Along the main course, fresh local bread is served. There would be more than plenty of choice also when it comes to beverages. And as with the food, it is high quality that is the main thing with the beverage menu as well. On a hot summer day just plain fresh water can be quite enough nevertheless. No matter that hunger is but a vague memory, I can’t keep myself from having a serving of homemade strawberry ice cream for dessert.
Bring your own thermos and cups!
Coffee will have to wait until lake Fiskträsk shores, but you do not need to bring your own coffee with you. All you need is to have a thermos bottle and some cups and for a small fee, Restaurant Tila’s kind staff will fill your container. I strongly recommend, because fresh, high quality coffee in the thermos bottle is a much more appealing idea, than having to drink something you brew in the morning at home.
The food sets during a little walk
Happy and satisfied, it is lovely to walk the around 900 meters from the restaurant down to lake Fiskträsk. Fiskträsk is a wilderness lake with clear water. In the bottom there is a spring, which keeps the water cool even when the rays of the sun heat the top layers of the lake water. Along the tables and benches it is a true joy to enjoy a nice cup of coffee, every now and then taking a refreshing dip in the water. Fiskträsk is a natural lake area in the true meaning of the words, therefore there are no services available around it. But what would one need more than the beauty of the nature around oneself? However, this means that you need to bring your garbage with you from the area and setting up fires is strictly forbidden.
Rejuvenated towards the next bus stop
After about an hour and half of relaxing at the beach, it is time to pack up and start walking towards the next bus stop, which is at Bakunkärr parking lot. It is a good idea to reserve around 40 minutes for the walk, since you need to be at the stop in time before the bus. The bus only stops at bus stops, where there are passengers signalling for the bus to stop.
At 16:17 the bus brakes next to the Bakunkärr parking lot and I take out my day ticket from my wallet. On my way back I can still see parts of the Sipoonkorpi National Park in east, southeast and south, before the Hop-On Hop-Off bus slides via the Kuusijärvi stop towards the urban centre of Tikkurila.
Back at starting point, platform ten, we arrive just after five o’clock in the afternoon. My own delicious experience in the Sipoonkorpi National Park is over, but the Hop-On Hop-Off bus still makes a final journey to Nikkilä.
Links:
National Railway Company VR long haul train schedules and route planner
HSL Helsinki Region Traffic local bus and train schedules and route planner
Sipoonkorpi Hop-On Hop-Off bus service
Last modified 04.07.2022