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Hiking trails of Helsinki Region: Laaksolahti sports track and Lähderanta beach trail
Welcome to Lähderanta in Espoo. The Laaksolahti fitness trail connects to the shoreline route along Lake Pitkäjärvi at Lähderanta, and it's quite impressive. But just out of curiosity, I took the first picture along the way, combining a great vantage point with ruins, which makes it a bit tempting, doesn't it...
But let's start the story. Here is a picture from Lähdepurontie, the road leading to the newest buildings of the Laaksolahti sports park. The impressive old trees are surely a remnant of the Dalsvik Manor garden. The manor was located to the right of this picture, where the Lähderanta daycare center now stands.
One more boring picture before we get to the main part. On the right is the newer ice rink, and behind it, the old one. In between is the Laaksolahti beach. A great beach suitable for all ages, although it does feel a bit "squeezed" between the road and the buildings.
It's no accident that I walked the route with a camera at the end of April - without leaves on the trees, the landscapes are more visible. Doesn't it make you want to go down to the shore and take a look?
Well, it tempted me too. Here's the view roughly northeast, towards the far end of Lake Pitkäjärvi, towards Vantaa.
I don't know the purpose of this platform. I doubt they've held mini-dances here. And while it's understandable that sitting by the shore is popular with young people, building structures like this seems a bit excessive.
At this point, the fitness trail, which could also be called a recreational trail, follows the shore but doesn't run right along it.
There are also rest spots available.
On the northern shore, the water is shallow, and in the spring, some of the trees are practically in the lake.
As you approach Lähderanta, the slopes get steeper. Well, at this point, you're tempted to climb up. Part of the way, I literally crawled - I didn't choose the best route up, and the wet slope requires caution. But it's worth it.
Because you don't have to climb very far for the view to open up. Spring is the best time for landscape photography.
The ruins on top of the rock are intriguing. I've never heard what used to be here. It's obvious that it has something to do with Dalsvik Manor - the manor was only a couple of hundred meters away, and there was a direct road from there to here.
My guess is some sort of pavilion or gazebo. However, the foundation is almost ten meters wide at its largest, so this would have been quite a large gazebo.
All good things must come to an end. It was time to return to the shoreline route and continue towards Lähderanta. Soon you'll come across low townhouses with a nice lake view and everything.
At this point, it's pretty much the shoreline route.
I'm not really a nature photographer; it's much harder to photograph if the subject is small, moves