Villa Elba and Rummelö-Harrinniemi nature trails
Address: Sannanrannantie 59.
Getting there
The starting points for the trails can be accessed from Villa Elba Youth Centre’s carpark. The carpark is flat and has an asphalt surface. Accessible parking spaces have been designated with the wheelchair symbol. There are two accessible parking spaces.
The trails begin to the right of the accessible parking spaces. From the Villa Elba carpark, a wooden gate leads to the trail. There are signposts to the trail next to the gate. The signs feature both text and symbols.
Main signboard
The main signboard is on the right at the starting point of the trail, before the gate leading to the path. Immediately in front of the signboard is grass. There is a flat asphalt surface one metre from the signboard. The height of the main signboard from the ground is 93 cm. The centre point of the signboard is at a height of 157 cm. The sign features light text on a dark background with good colour contrasts. Symbols have been used on the map and the paths are distinguished not only by colour but also by patterns. The Rummelö-Harrbådan nature trail is marked on the map with a solid line, and the demanding accessible trail has not been differentiated from the more challenging part of the trail. Villa Elba’s accessible nature trail has been marked separately on the map. The height of the text on the main signboard is one centimetre. The Villa Elba nature trail and the birdwatching tower are marked with symbols on the demanding accessible trail. You can listen to the text on the main signboard by scanning the QR code, and the audio version is available in Finnish, Swedish, English, German, Ukrainian, Russian, Persian, Swahili, and Arabic.
Other services
Villa Elba has accessible toilets and café services that are available during its opening hours. You can check its opening hours on Villa Elba’s own website. An accessible birdwatching tower can be found in the yard area of Villa Elba.
Villa Elba nature trail
- Demanding accessible trail
- Circular trail
- Length: 1 kilometre
- Duration: 30 minutes
The trail begins to the right of the parking spaces and goes through a wooden gate. Please note that there is a higher-level barrier at this gate.
At the beginning of the trail, there is a ramp with a gradient of two degrees. The trail is 110 cm wide and is a plank trail. The distance between planks is less than 2 cm. The height of the raised edging is 5 cm. The planks of the Villa Elba nature trail are partly in poor condition, due to which the trail is uneven and there are thresholds about 2 cm high. The maximum longitudinal gradient is three degrees.
There are several passing points on the trail. The turning radius of the passing points is 2–2.5 metres. From the first passing point, the path forks and a trail punctuated with spurs runs through the middle of the reeds, with a panoramic deck and a bench at the end. There are no handrails on the bench. The seat height of the bench is 39 cm. On the deck, the size of the free space area is 180 x 200 cm. There are handrails at a height of 56 cm on the deck, but no raised edging.
When continuing along the trail, you will reach an intersection. When turning from the intersection to the left, there is a higher-level barrier. The barrier is a roof structure, the edge of which is at a height of 158 cm. When going towards Rummelö, you can avoid the higher-level barrier by going straight at the intersection and immediately afterwards to the left at the next intersection. If you do this, the path will continue to the intersection with the Rummelö-Harrinniemi trail.
After the higher-level barrier, the trail features widened sections, one of which goes around both sides of a tree. There is a bench at the widened section. The height of the seat is 47 cm and there are no handrails on the bench.
When arriving at the intersection, the trail to the right is the continuation of the Villa Elba nature trail. Turn left for the Rummelö-Harrinniemi nature trail.
When continuing along the Villa Elba nature trail, there are widened sections along the way. The path forks after 250 metres. The option to the right goes back to the path you followed at the beginning. You can return to the carpark either by retracing the same path you came along or by continuing straight. If you go straight ahead, you will end up on a sand path, accessed via a strip 86 cm long with a longitudinal gradient of seven degrees. On the sand path, the grain size is at its maximum about one centimetre. The path passes Villa Elba’s accommodation buildings and the playground. The path is two metres wide. After the sand section, you will come to an asphalt section, from here, turning right will take you to the carpark.
Rummelö-Harrinniemi nature trail
- Demanding accessible trail
- Length: To the tip of Harrinniemi and back is 4 km. The length of the duckboard trail is 1.8 km there and back.
- Duration: 1–2 hours
Please note: The space between the boards is 1.8–2.6 cm. The tyres of a narrow-tyre wheelchair could get stuck between the boards.
The beginning of the trail runs along the Villa Elba nature trail. When heading to the Rummelö-Harrinniemi nature trail, at the end of the Villa Elba trail, turn left and follow the signs. On the Rummelö-Harrinniemi nature trail, the plank path becomes a duckboard trail. The height of the raised edging along the duckboards is 5 cm.
The width of the trail is 109 cm. On the trail, the lateral gradient is at some points three degrees. There are three rest points on the duckboard trail before the birdwatching tower intersection. At the rest point closest to the intersection, there is a bench with a seat height of 56 cm and no handrails.
When approaching the intersection, there is a maximum longitudinal gradient of five degrees. From the intersection, the path forks, with the trail on the left leading to the birdwatching tower and the left towards the road Harrinniementie. After crossing Harrinniementie, the path is at its narrowest and is a soil-based path one metre wide all the way to Harrinniemi.
When going straight from the intersection, the duckboards continue towards Harrinniemi. The duckboards are 50 cm wide. There is no raised edging along the duckboards. The duckboard path goes to Rummelö birdwatching platform and Harrinniemi. Some of the path is a natural path without boards.
The duckboards leading to the birdwatching tower are identical to those on the rest of the trail. At Rummelö birdwatching tower there is a widened section with a turning radius of 220 cm.
The stairs of the birdwatching tower are narrow at 63 cm. The gradient of the stairs is 43 degrees or more. The height of the handrails is between 83 and 109 cm.
When turning towards Harrinniementie, the path goes along a bridge, which has widened section, handrails, and a bench. The handrails are 93 cm high and do not continue after the bridge ends. There is no raised edging on the bridge. The bench has a seat height of 55 cm and has no armrests.
After the bridge, towards Harrinniementie, the longitudinal gradient varies up to a maximum of five degrees. The trail becomes land-based. The width of the trail is at its narrowest is one metre. There are roots and stumps and uneven sections along the trail. There are some stones over 10 cm in diameter on the path that can be navigated around with a wheelchair. Along the path, there is a bench with a seat height of 47 cm without handrails. There are uneven sections in front of the bench. Along the route up to Harrinniementie, there are longitudinal and lateral gradients of seven degrees. There is a main signboard along Harrinniementie.
The trail continues on the opposite side of Harrinnementie towards Harrinniemi. The trail is marked with signposts and hiking signs. The path is more than one metre wide. The path features sections where there are roots and stumps or soft sand. Navigating the trail with a wheelchair may be challenging. There are several paths adjacent to each other in the area and it is possible to avoid the most challenging sections. You can also reach Harrinniemi via Harrinniementie.
A more detailed accessibility description of the rest of the trail will be updated later.
The trail runs along a duckboard section in the beachfront forest of the land uplift shoreline, where the forest turns from grove-like to conifer-intensive. Along the trail, there are gloe lakes that have gradually become overgrown. The area is characterised by areas of shallow water, alluvial shores, extensive coastal meadows, reeds and lush deciduous forests. The Harrbådan peninsula is the northernmost visible part of a series of ridges that stretches over 200 km. The diverse birdlife constitutes some of the most valuable nature in the area. The area is popular with resting migratory birds, especially aquatic birds and waders. The part of the trail bordering Harriniementie goes through pine-dominated sandy forest. The leading beacon of Harrinniemi is located at the end of the trail. It is said that the dilapidated concrete beacon structure is haunted.
Deaf and hearing impaired visitors
No advance sign language materials have been produced for the trail. There are signs along the trail.
Visually impaired visitors
The trail information can be listened to on the City of Kokkola’s website. No preliminary information has been produced in Braille for the trail. In 2025, embossed QR code signs will be installed in the lower right corner of the main signboards, through which you can listen to audio recordings of the signs. The signs are not embossed elsewhere. The colour contrast of the signage is good. The signs use light text on a dark background. The font size is one centimetre.
The plank and duckboard sections of the trail have raised edging. The Villa Elba nature trail has some higher-level barriers. At the beginning of the trail, there is a roof structure, the height of the upper edge of which has not been measured. Along the trail, 150 metres from the start point, there is another roof structure, the height of which is 158 cm. When going to the Rummelö-Harrbådan trail, you can avoid the roof structure by going straight at the intersection preceding the structure and turning to the left after 30 metres. There is no raised edging on the bridge leading to Harrinniementie. The lowest railing is 8 cm above the surface of the bridge. The handrails do not continue after the bridge.
Visitors with intellectual disabilities
The guidance on the trail is clear. No advance material in plain language is available about the trail. The trail runs all the way to Rummelö birdwatching tower along wide duckboards and is easy to follow. There are signs at the intersections. On the soil-based section on the other side of Harrinniementie, there are several paths running side by side. Differentiating the nature trail from other paths may be challenging. The path is marked with hiking signs.
Visitors with physical disabilities
The beginning of the trail is an easy-to-navigate duckboard route. On the Rummelö-Harrbådan trail, attention must be paid to the 2 cm gap between the duckboards, where the tyres of a narrow-tyre wheelchair may get stuck. The duckboards transition to a soil path that is one metre wide at its narrowest. There are some roots and stumps and softer sand on the path, where the wheels of wheelchairs could get stuck. Walking may be harder. There are benches along the trail for resting. There are no handrails on the benches.
