Pulkkilanharju Trail, Päijänne National Park, Asikkala

Visitors can explore the esker nature on a nature trail of about two kilometres that is mostly easy terrain. The nature trail begins at Karisalmi rest area by going under Karisalmi Bridge to the other side of the road and then heading up to the esker. The information boards along the trail describe how the esker was formed and present the plant species of the area. You can also leave the nature trail and take a longer marked trail. This lengthens the walk back to the Karisalmi starting point to a total of about 4.5 kilometres. Most of the terrain is a fairly easy forest trail through the beautiful esker and lake landscape.

The 8-kilometre-long Pulkkilanharju Esker consists of esker islands and underwater ridges. The islands are connected to each other by bridges. Part of Pulkkilanharju Esker belongs to Päijänne National Park, which was established in 1993. The narrow Pulkkilanharju Esker, running across beautiful Lake Päijänne, is part of a nationally valuable landscape area and an important birdwatching site during the spring and autumn migrations. The Päijänne scenic road was named Finland’s most beautiful scenic route in 2014. The winning route begins in Vääksy and continues via Pulkkilanharju, Sysmä and Luhanka to Korpilahti.

Pulkkilanharju is part of an esker stretching from the Second Salpausselkä Ridge in Asikkala well into the Sysmä area. It is an internationally significant example of traces from the last Ice Age and one of the most important sites of the Salpausselkä UNESCO Global Geopark. Pulkkilanharju Esker was formed from layers of gravel and sand deposited by meltwaters at the site of a glacial meltwater stream flowing within the continental ice sheet. This took place at the end of the last Ice Age, about 11,500 years ago.