Description
Tapion taival—the English materials often call it the Tapio trail—is about 9.8 km as one marked hiking route through Salmi, a quiet 860-hectare outdoor area in Vihti on the north side of Nuuksio National Park in Uusimaa. The City of Helsinki owns and maintains Salmi; the City of Helsinki's Salmi page describes Tapion taival as about 10 km, marked in green, winding through forest, mire and lake shores with cook shelters and swimming places on Iso-Parikas and Pikku-Parikas, and notes you can take a shorter variant around Iso-Parikas. Visit Vihti's Salmi adventure guide adds weekend opening for Café Pohjoinen Pirtti, a downloadable PDF map, reminder that Route 2000 runs through the same recreation area, winter ski trails when snow is good, and practical access notes including the Salmi th bus stop about a kilometre from the area. Retkipaikka published Luontopolkumies' August outing on Tapion taival: a wide, well-kept gravel path where people walked, ran and rode many kinds of bikes, a short duckboard-style bridge near the start, dense and often humorous nature information boards along the route, steepish hills in places, and very busy rocky shores at Pikku-Parikas on a summer Saturday—useful for pacing and what to expect when the area is popular.
Along the route you pass the Salmen ulkoilualue / Ulkokuntoilupaikka exercise points near Salmentie, Poikkipuoliainen Kalastuspaikka on Poikkipuoliainen lake, and can branch toward the Paratiisi parking and Salmen ulkoilualue (Paratiisi) / Keittokatos cook shelter. Around Iso-Parikas and Pikku-Parikas Kalastuspaikat the trail connects Salmen ulkoilualue (Iso-Parikas) / Keittokatos, Salmen ulkoilualue (Vähä-Parikas) / Keittokatos, and lakeside stopping places. Mid-route, the path comes close to Etelälahden leirintäalue grillipaikat and kesäkeittiö on the Etelälahti camping caravan shore of Salmijärvi. Nearer Salmijärvi again you reach Salmijärvi Kalastuspaikka, Salmen ulkoilualue / Ulkokuntoilupaikka (Salmentie ja Liimassuontien risteys), Salmen parkkipaikka, Salmen ulkoilualue (Kanaholma) / Keittokatos, Salmijärven uimapaikka, and Salmen ulkoilualue (Salmijärvi) / Tulentekopaikka by Koivu. The service cluster at the north end includes Café Pohjoinen Pirtti, Salmen Ulkoilumaja, Salmen matkailuvaunualue, volleyball courts, Salmen ulkoilualue / Taukotupa, and another Salmen parkkipaikka. Dry toilets are spaced along the main stopping points.
Uusimaa offers easy access from the Helsinki region, and Vihti hosts several other Nuuksio gateway trails. Where the path overlaps Route 2000, the same cook shelters and parking nodes appear for cyclists continuing toward the capital area network.