Soomaa National Park

Soomaa is best known for its extra season. The fifth season, as it's called, occurs when water from the spring thaw or heavy rain floods fields, roads, forests, and farmland, making boats the most reliable form of transportation.

More than half of the area of the Soomaa National Park consists of bogs and rivers surrounded by forest groves and colorful wooded meadows.

Even though the area floods several times a year, residents have adapted rather than fled—homeowners always have boats at hand. During the floods, you can take a guided canoe trip, paddling between the trees and gliding over the marshes. When the flooded water freezes in winter, it creates a magnificent skating rink, and you can get around on skates!

Soomaa is one of the best places in Europe to admire beavers in the wild. The shallow waters provide a stunning setting for watching sunrise or sunset, especially during spring and autumn. If you’re lucky, you may also see moose, roe deer, wild boars, lynx, and many bird species while boating through the forest groves.

Soomaa is charming all year round. Even if there are no floods, plenty of hiking trails and boardwalks take you through the park’s bogs and wetlands.

A wooden dugout canoe—called haabjas in Estonian—exemplifies how Soomaa's ancient traditions have survived to the present day. UNESCO added it to its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2021.

What to do:

• Go beaver watching—Soomaa is one of the best places in Europe to admire beavers in the wild.
• Take a canoe, kayak, or SUP board trip on the Raudna River, Mulgi Meadow, or Halliste River.
• Try a snowshoe or ski trip in the Kuresoo and Riisa bogs.
• Walk on hiking trails with boardwalks, like in Kuresoo bog.