Åland Islands is a cluster of islands between Finland and Sweden in the Baltic Sea. Given its strategic location, it has found its place in the pages of history books. Today, it is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland with a predominantly Swedish-speaking population. The island cluster, especially those on the eastern flank, is a popular biking destination. Many often choose to ferry hop through the islands while going from Finland to Sweden or the other way around. Besides the endless natural attractions, there are only a handful of touristy sightseeing places. During the mid-summer weekend of 2023, I planned to visit the island and explore the place on my bike. But instead of ferry hopping between the small islands, I visited the four corners of the main island. This is my take on #BikExploring Åland under the midnight sun!

Mariehamn

Mariehamn is the capital of Åland. It is one of the gateways to the main island of the Åland Islands. I started and ended my journey from this port. I literally sailed with (or rather on) the Vikings. The Viking Line is one of the operators that sail cruise ships between Finland and Sweden with a stopover at Åland. The journey from Turku to Mariehamn took me about six hours. Geographically, the city is located on a peninsula with sea on three sides.

At Mariehamn, I set up my first camp at the Gröna Uddens Camping. This is on the east side of the city and close to the city centre. Yet, the camping ground has a peaceful setup amidst nature. The area is actually close to a protected nature area. You might catch a glimpse of free-roaming peacocks or deer nearby if you are lucky. The best thing about pitching my tent here was that both the forest and the sea were less than 100 m away. Since it was the midsummer weekend, the site was buzzing with people. There was also live music to enjoy at the restaurant during the evening besides good food and alcohol.

Being the capital of Åland, Mariehamn has its fair share of cafes and restaurants to visit. One that is often recommended and that I have visited is Café Viktor. It is housed in a 19th-century wooden building close to the central square. Apart from the food scenes, the natural scenes are also great around Mariehamn. Among the places I would suggest are Vista Point and Strandpromenaden. Both of these are located on the western side of the peninsula offering amazing views of the sunset and the interplay of colours thereafter. While it is possible to bike to the first point, the second one is more of a walking path along the harbour. From Strandpromenaden you can have a closer look at the ships heading to dock at the Mariehamn harbour. Other key places to visit in Mariehamn are the Åland Maritime Museum and the Museum ship Pommern both of which tell about the maritime history of the island.

Bomarsund

On the east end of the Åland main island is a historical place. After Åland and Finland came under Russian occupation following the Finnish War in 1809, the then Rusian emperor ordered to building of a fortress within the current Sund municipality of Åland. However, the fortress never achieved its planned glory. Rather, in the 1850s during the Battle of Bomarsund, even the completed structures were demolished. Among the erect structures remaining today are the walls of the fortress that are always open to visitors. There is also a museum where one can learn more about the history of this otherwise peaceful place.

Bomursund is 35 km from Mariehamn. I would say this was the most relaxing day of the trip not only for the short distance but also for the places to visit in between like the St. Olaf’s Church at Jomala just 8 km into the ride. After another 13 km of hustling I reached Uffe på berget, a cool cafe at Godby. This was suggested to me by an Instagram acquaintance. Here, you can enjoy their delicious Åland style pancakes served with whipped cream and plum jelly. I would also recommend their berry pie to satisfy the sweet tooth. The cafe is located on a hill so you can have a panoramic view of the surrounding areas while having your food. Adjacent to the cafe is a 30-meter-high observation tower if you need to seek what lies in your path ahead.

The Taffel Factory Shop is actually what lies on the path next and is a must pitstop. If you have spent time in Nordic grocery stores, you might be familiar with their savoury snacks. Here you can collect them in bulk at a discounted rate for the rest of the trip. About 3 km from here is the Kastelholm village which houses a medieval castle and one of Åland’s greatest historical attractions. This 14th-century castle is one of the five medieval castles still standing in Finland. While at Kastelholm, you can also visit the prison museum Vita Björn and the Jan Karlsgården open-air museum. Collectively, the two museums tell a story about life at opposite ends of the social spectrum — one as a prisoner and the other as a free man. If the three exhibitions here have overloaded you with information, you can choose to relax at the Åland Distillery restaurant sipping their finest products.

After Kastelholm, the ride is on the Åland Highway 2 until the next camping site about 10 km away. The Puttes Camping ground is located within the ruins of the Bomarsund fortress area. In fact, when you first reach the campsite by road, you will encounter the honeycomb-patterned remains of the fort wall. The camping ground is a long stretch of green field between two hills. It was among the planned sites for the fortress buildings that were never constructed. On top of the hills are the remains of the watch towers but even today they offer amazing views of the area. The north end of the camping ground opens into the sea and has a guest harbour. Bomarsund is along the old postal route biking trail that stretches from Hummelvik in the east to Storby in the west bifurcating Åland into two halves.

Geta

After visiting the eastern corner, it is time to head north. You have the option to either trail back along the highway to Godby and then head north along Åland Highway 4 or go via the Finby-Vivastby-Sibby-Brännbolstad-Sund-Rangsby-Saltvik route. As this is not a major road, the traffic is even quieter allowing a peaceful rendezvous with the villages of Åland. At Saltvik you re-enter the mainstream of traffic flow and continue on an uneventful road till Geta. The only interesting thing I recall from this stretch is riding along apple orchards. There is a bistro at Västanträsk where you can stop by to refuel yourselves. Unfortunately, during my visit, it was closed but this bistro run by Grannas Äppel is a recommended place to visit.

Geta is a sort of hidden gem in Åland. It is about 42 km from Mariehamn and 45 km from Bomursund along the aforementioned route. The place is known for its hills, gorges and caves. The rock formations in the area are attributed to the events of the Ice Age. Currently, the area is a popular rock-climbing and bouldering destination. Djupviken Bay, towards the north, is among the most photographed landscapes in the region. Along the hiking trail that follows the rocky paths to the cave and the bay is an interesting place filled with rock cairns. Although the cairns have been made recently, the rocks date back to 5000 years ago. Besides this, Geta has a beautiful church and I suggest you do your prayers before you start your uphill ride to the campsite.

The Soltuna campsite is located high up on a hill. Once I reached here, pushing my bike along the road, it took me a bit of time to realize that there were no grassy campgrounds that I was used to. I literally had to pitch my tent on the rocks. And since this place was at a high altitude and close to the sea, it was pretty windy. I had to secure the lines of my tent with heavy rocks to prevent it from flying away. But unlike other campsites, there were hardly any people here. Most were here on a day visit to the nature trails or the disc golf park. I must mention here that the campsite has a nice restaurant where you can enjoy a ‘meal with one of the most beautiful views that the Aland islands can offer!’.

Eckerö

Another spot of geological interest is on the west coast of Åland in Eckerö. Close to the photographic old fishing harbour is a hiking trail that leads to a rocky landform that forms the breakwater to the natural harbour. The Rapakivi granite landmass, I would say, is a great location to enjoy the setting sun. But before you can enjoy that pretty sunset, you have to bike about 50 km from the Soltuna campsite. The first part of the ride is a short 6 km ride to Snäckö to hitch the ferry between Snäckö and Skarpnåtö. This is a limited service offered especially for the bikers. So confirm the schedules while planning your trip. While at Snäckö waiting for the ferry, you can enjoy a good seafood brunch at the Lolo’s Seaside Café & Restaurant.

Once on the other side at Skarpnätö starts the actual hustle. It was a decently warm day and riding on the tarmac with limited tree cover was quite tiring. The first stop however came at 9 km from the Skarpnätö ferry pier. The Sålis Battery lookout tower gives a great view of the surrounding archipelago. The tower sits at the site of a demolished coastal artillery battery dating back to the First World War. The next lap is about 14 km long till another historical church on the island. The Eckerö church is believed to be standing there since the 13th-century church. For people island hopping between Finland and Sweden, the Eckerö Port has ferry services to Grisslehamn in Sweden to continue their journey.

I pitched the last tent of my trip at Hummelvik Camping further 7 km from the church. While Eckerö has a more popular and busy Käringsund resort and camping ground, this one was less crowded and comparatively peaceful. However, unlike my previous three campsites, this one had no restaurants on site. Fortunately, the town had a couple of restaurants including a buffet restaurant called Bettys i Eckerö to top up my energy to the max. The restaurant also had a small convenience store attached to get some post-meal snacks.

Nåtö-Järsö-Granö

The final leg of the trip is the return to Mariehamn covering a distance of about 35 km. The journey starts by trailing back along the same route we had taken while coming to Eckerö until Karlholm at 9 km. From here, most part of the ride follows the Åland Highway 1. At the 11 km point, you can find Hugos Livsmedel, a supermarket, to grab a quick snack for the rest of the ride. This was, as I recall, the last store to grab food and drinks along the route before Jormala. If you are interested, you might take a detour to visit the Fire Brigade Museum of Åland about 1.5 km from Hugos Livsmedel. Also along the route to Mariehamn and about 2 km from the supermarket is Hammarland Church. I missed noticing it as it was hidden behind trees and might take a good sight to spot while riding on the other side of the road. Two other stops that I could recommend along the route are the Långträsk rest stop and the road alongside Ramsholmen. The bike track near Ramsholmen is close to the Marieham airport, so you can spot flight take-offs or landings if you schedule your ride accordingly.

This time instead of spending the night at Mariehamn I headed further 12 km south towards Järsö. This bike trail is a recommended route if you are looking for a short ride along the archipelago while staying at Mariehamn. The Nåtö and Järsö nature trails in the area are popular among day trippers and nature lovers for their wooded meadows. A lucky eye might even spot free-roaming deers in the area. Seemingly there was hardly any space to legally camp in this area as they were primarily marked as nature reserves or private land. So I ended up booking a small cabin at the Fågelvik B&B sufficient to spend the night. The place was by the sea where you can either go for a swim or just sit by the shore and enjoy a pizza. By now if you have fallen for Åland style pancakes, then you should stop over at the Nåtö Kiosk while riding along this route.

As mentioned earlier, this post is based on my solo bikepacking adventures in Åland during the week following the midsummer day of 2023. Parts of the post were first published on www.frsthand.com as a part of the ‘Camping is trendy again’ call in September 2023. You can see more pictures from the trip on my Instagram and 500px.com profiles.

Check out the route plan below: