This publification presents insights for developing nature and culture trails based on benchmarking Finnish nature destinations. Advices have been collected from 18 Finnish nature destinations, which include national parks, ecological and cultural trails, and ecological education and visiting centers. Most of the presented destinations are located in Eastern, South-Eastern or Southern Finland. After each of the benchmarked destination there is a compilation of lessons learned from that specific location. At the end of the report, recommendations about actions and other things to take into a consideration for developing trails, are presented more specifically.

Insights for developing nature and culture trails based on benchmarking Finnish nature destinations has been written as a part of the project Kurenniemi – Cultural value of Russia and Finland through M. Agricola trail. The aim of the project is to establish a nature reserve status on the area and create a basis for developing sustainable ecotourism and related business. The objective of the project is to create an ecological tourist route to the area. The project collects and documents historical and experience information of the territory through which the route will pass. Expertise in developing ecotourism and nature trails in Russia and Finland are collected and exchanged during the project.

The project is funded by the European Union, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Finland in the framework of the South-East Finland – Russia CBC 2014-2020 cross-border co-operation program. The duration of the project is 23 months.

All-Russian Society of Nature Protection, Leningrad Region office is developing the area in co-operation with the Directorate of protected areas of Leningrad region, Pushkin Leningrad State University and LAB University of Applied Sciences. LAB will provide expertise in developing sustainable and eco-friendly tourism routes and services based on culture-historical and ecological values of the region. Part of the contribution to the project by LAB University of Applied Sciences is this report which concentrates on the Finnish experience in creating nature parks and hiking trails.

The Cape Kyrönniemi area is located near the Finnish-Russian border in Leningrad Region in Russia. The area is important because of its cultural, historical and ecological heritage. The area plays a part in Finnish history too as Mikael Agricola, the father of literary Finnish, died at the location on the 9th of April 1557 (Häkkinen 2007). In Finnish Kurenniemi translates to Kyrönniemi.