Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), drawn by Global Adventurer.
The walk
From the car park at the trailhead in Riisa, the RMK trail goes out on a boardwalk into the Riisa bog; the first 1.2 km is wide and level enough for a pushchair or wheelchair outside winter. Our line goes clockwise. On the way it passes bog meadows, wet hummocky pools and the forest at the edge of the bog, with eight rest places and an observation tower, and the tall riverbank forest of the Navesti.
It is 5.1 km round with almost no climb (the bog lies at about 25 m); allow about 1¼ hours. The grade is Easy: boardwalk and forest path. RMK, the state forest authority, gives 4.8 km.
Stay on the boardwalk, as the bog is soft and the pools are deep. RMK also asks visitors to follow its hygiene guidance because of African swine fever in wild boar, and to keep to the national park's rules.
The trailhead has parking for about ten cars (OpenStreetMap maps a free car park of 20 spaces there), an information board and a dry toilet. There is no railway station nearby.
Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.
Good to know
- RMK's Riisa nature trail is 4.8 km through the Riisa bog in Soomaa National Park, by bog meadows, wet hummocky pools and the tall forest along the Navesti River
- The first 1.2 km is a boardwalk 1.2 m wide, renovated in 2013, that a wheelchair or pushchair can use except in winter; there are eight rest places, an observation tower and a dry toilet
- Parking for about 10 cars at the trailhead, where an information board stands (RMK)
Getting there
Start: Riisa trailhead car park · Free parking. 58.48873, 24.98137
Directions to the start
Places to stay nearby
Rooms in and around Soomaa: Booking.com → Expedia → Hotels.com →
Affiliate links: if you book, Global Adventurer earns a small commission at no cost to you.
Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line is drawn along OpenStreetMap paths and the figures are worked out from it; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.