Lahemaa — “land of bays” — stretches along the north coast about an hour east of Tallinn. Founded in 1971, it is Estonia’s oldest national park, a patchwork of pine forest, raised bogs, boulder-strewn peninsulas, fishing villages and Baltic-German manor houses.
If Naissaar leaves you wanting more forest and coast, Lahemaa is the mainland answer, and it has one great practical advantage: guided day trips run from Tallinn all year, whatever the island boats are doing.
Top things to do: Lahemaa National Park
Walk the Viru bog boardwalk
A boardwalk of about 3.5 km crosses a raised bog dotted with dark pools and dwarf pines, with a viewing tower halfway. It is the park’s signature walk.
Visit the coastal villages
Käsmu, the “captains’ village”, and Altja, with its thatched net sheds, show the coastal life that Naissaar’s villages once shared.
See a manor house
Palmse, Sagadi and Vihula are the park’s restored manor estates, with parks, outbuildings and museums.
Take a day tour
The full-day Lahemaa tour from Tallinn typically combines Jägala waterfall, a manor, a fishing village and the bog.
How to get to Lahemaa National Park
- On a tour: the easiest way; several depart daily from Tallinn.
- By car: about an hour east of Tallinn along the Narva road.
- By public transport: possible but slow, with few buses to the villages.
Insider tips
- Lahemaa is the best substitute when wind cancels the island boat.
- The bog boardwalk can be slippery after rain or frost.
- Mosquitoes and ticks are part of the Estonian summer here as well.
Best tours & tickets: Lahemaa National Park
These experiences are the easiest way to see Lahemaa National Park:
Day trip from €119 From Tallinn: Lahemaa National Park Full-Day Tour
Estonia’s favourite nature day trip, with more than nine hundred reviews. If Naissaar gave you a taste for pine forest, boulders and quiet coast, Lahemaa is the mainland version — and it runs when the island boats do not.
- Jägala waterfall and the Viru bog boardwalk
- A historic manor estate
- A traditional fishing village on the coast
Day trip from €125 Tallinn: Rummu Quarry, Coastal Cliffs & Keila Waterfall
A day west of Tallinn among coastal cliffs and Soviet-era sites, on the mainland shore south-west of Naissaar. Well reviewed and a good match for the island’s mood.
- The surreal submerged quarry at Rummu
- Limestone cliffs of the Pakri peninsula
- Keila waterfall
