Laihia Map

Along the hiking trail.

Along the hiking trail.

The lean -to built 11/2018. The lean -to can accommodate about 20 people. It is worth booking your own trees! Toilets can be found in the adjacent service building.

The trail is about 5.7 km as a loop starting and finishing at Rajavuoren erä- ja retkeilykeskus between Jurva and Laihia in Ostrobothnia. Luontoon.fi lists the route under the compact “5 km” name many maps still use, while the continuous line on the ground is slightly longer(1). For closures, maintenance notes, and the official trail listing text, start from the Rajavuoren luontopolku page on Luontoon.fi(1). Visit Seinäjoki Region presents the same yard as the northern anchor of Kurjen Kierros (Crane Trail): a car park, yard dry toilet, two lean-tos along the nature trail, and a viewing tower a short walk from the buildings(2). City of Kurikka records the wider corridor starting from Rajavuorentie 134, Laihia, with walkers welcome in either direction along the long-distance spine that eventually reaches Kalajaisjärvi along Jurvantie—useful context when you plan longer days from the same trailhead(3). Along the loop you first swing out toward Kaunisharjuntien laavu before curving back through Rajavuoren reitin laavu. About 5 km into the circuit you climb to Rajavuoren näkötorni, a compact wooden tower with views over surrounding forests and fields, then drop back to Rajavuoren eräkeskuksen laavu beside the centre clearing. Those two lean-to shelters bracket the tower and make natural coffee stops if you hike clockwise from the yard. From the tower and yard you can also step straight onto Rajavuori - Levaneva reitin alkuosa or the long Kurjen Kierros stage toward Levaneva duckboards and Maalarinmaa far to the south(2)(3)(4). Visit Suupohja explains that Kurjen Kierros carries orange markings through Laihia and Jurva, while the dedicated bog ring inside Levaneva strict nature reserve switches to blue paint; expect the same colour language whenever you splice this shorter loop into the multi-day traverse(4). Luontoretkiä’s summer 2020 field write-up praises the tidy laavus and tower but warns of waist-high grass, simple ditch crossings, and ageing plank bridges—worth packing gaiters or trekking poles and leaving the mountain bike at home(5). Laihia is a practical base in South Ostrobothnia for combining this circuit with Levaneva’s open bog scenery; read more on our pages for Kaunisharjuntien laavu, Rajavuoren reitin laavu, Rajavuoren näkötorni, and Rajavuoren eräkeskuksen laavu for stop-by-stop detail.

Crane Trail (Kurjenkierros) is about 19.8 km as a point-to-point hiking segment in Laihia, Ostrobothnia. It forms part of the larger Kurjen Kierros network that crosses Laihia, Kurikka (Jurva), and Ilmajoki, with the Levaneva mire reserve as its best-known core. The mapped segment links the Maalarinmaa area in Levaneva with the Peräkylä parking area and the Särkinen wilderness hut, together with the Levaneva bird tower and lean-to along the way. For Metsähallitus trail descriptions, maps, and the latest service information for the Levaneva section, start from the Levaneva trail page on Luontoon.fi(1). Visit Suupohja’s Maalarinmaa and Särkinen pages give practical detail on rest areas, parking, and the hut(2)(3). Visit Seinäjoki Region summarises the whole Kurjen kierros corridor: mosaic bog, Natura 2000 status, birdlife, and how Maalarinmaa and Särkinen fit into the wider route(4). About 5.7 km along this segment from the northern end you reach Maalarinmaa, pysäköintialue — a good place to leave a car if you approach from the reserve side. The Maalarinmaa rest point on the Laihia side pairs with a car park on the Jurva side about 600 m away; the site has Levanevan lintutorni for bog views, Levanevan laavu, and dry toilets(2). The Levaneva nature-reserve section of the full network is about 13 km and marked in blue; on Laihia and Jurva ground the wider network uses orange markings, and on the Ilmajoki side yellow(2)(4). Wet sections use duckboards; they can be slippery in damp weather(2)(3). Further south, around 16.7 km along the line, Peräkylä, pysäköintialue offers another parking option. Near 18.6 km you reach Särkinen tulentekopaikka and Särkinen, autiotupa — a simple wilderness hut where you can overnight, with a campfire place and firewood storage nearby(3). The same cluster includes dry toilets at Särkinen polttopuusuoja - kuivakäymälä. The full Kurjen Kierros loop in our database is about 37.8 km and adds links toward Rajavuori, Kalajaisjärvi beach, and other stops; Leveneva vaellusreitti (~13.6 km) and Rajavuori - Levaneva reitin alkuosa overlap this corridor for day-trip options. Laihia is a good base in Ostrobothnia for planning which combination to walk.

The trail runs in Laihia in Ostrobothnia. Laihia hiking trails is about 13.7 km as one continuous hiking line through the Levaneva mire landscape. For the latest route card and outdoor information, see the Laihia hiking trails page on Luontoon.fi(1). The City of Laihia also lists outdoor sites in a map application and points to nationwide facility search for planning(2). The trail crosses open raised bog and forested mire islands typical of the Levaneva–Kuuttoneva Natura 2000 complex. The Finnish Environment Institute summarises Levaneva as one of the largest intact aapa and raised-bog systems on the west coast in the national Natura description(4). Descriptions of hiking in the reserve often note long duckboard sections and blue-painted trail markings on the ground(3). About 3 km along the route you reach Kaarluoman laavu, and about 6.6 km along you reach Haarinnevan laavu—both are natural break points on a day hike through the wetland. Terrain is moderate: mostly duckboards and soft peat surfaces with forested strips between open mire; footing can be slippery when wet(3). The wider Levaneva area also hosts the long Kurjen kierros trekking route and other access points such as nature centre and parking areas described in regional outdoor writing; those are separate itineraries from this line but help show how Laihia connects into larger Ostrobothnian hiking(3). Elinan matkalaukussa’s Levaneva write-up captures the quiet, expansive feel of the bog and the pace of walking on duckboards(3).

This stage is the roughly 6.3 km northern leg from Rajavuoren erä- ja retkeilykeskus toward Levaneva, in Laihia in Ostrobothnia. Luontoon.fi lists it as its own signed segment within the wider Kurjen kierros corridor that links Rajavuori, Levaneva raised bog, and Pässilä(1). Visit Seinäjoki Region describes mosaic mire and old-growth character around Levaneva strict nature reserve, part of Natura 2000 and the largest mire protection complex in Ostrobothnia and South Ostrobothnia(2). You set out next to Rajavuoren eräkeskuksen laavu and soon pass Rajavuoren näkötorni, a compact lookout that already hints at how sharply the land falls toward the northern lowlands before you drop toward wetlands farther south(1). This segment is the natural bridge into Rajavuoren luontopolku 5 km and into the long Kurjen Kierros and Kurjenkierros variants that continue across Levaneva duckboards toward Maalarinmaa and beyond(2)(3). Visit Suupohja explains that marsh crossings on the main bog traverse use duckboards that can feel slick after rain and that reserve-side rings are marked in blue while Laihia and Jurva use orange markers on the overarching trail(4). City of Laihia looks after the Rajavuori centre: a yard dry toilet plus two lean-tos and the nature tower along the short nature loop radiating from the parking(2). A summer 2020 write-up on Luontoretkiä celebrates the laavut and tower but notes some ageing plank bridges and tall vegetation on close-cut paths at the centre—useful background if you are tightening footwear or poles before pressing on toward Levaneva(5). For the latest maintenance status on shelters, duckboards, and any seasonal guidance, lean on Luontoon.fi first(1) and the regional outdoor pages as they update(2)(3).

Paljon korkeuseroja.

Pistooli-, pienoiskivääri-, hirvi-, skeet- ja trap-ammuntaa.

Tornin korkeus n. 8 m.