Located in the western
archipelago of Uusimaa province, this national park extends from the open
marine area right across to the island of Älgö in the inner archipelago. No
part of the Finnish mainland lies inside the park.
The rather large island of Älgö
is covered with dense coniferous forests; gloomy spruce forests composed of
large trees occupy the ravines, but on the exposed bedrock there are
well-illuminated Scots pine stands. Small bogs lying in depressions add to the
general atmosphere. There are three small lakes Storträsket, Näseträsket
and Lillträsket on the island of Älgö. The eastern side of Älgö features
a type of shallow, sheltered bay (flada) characteristic of the inner
archipelago. Älgö ("elk island" in Swedish) actually numbers elk
among its fauna, but this animal is neither as common on the island, nor as
conspicuous as the white-tailed deer.
The nature trail passes
through all the most interesting sights on the island. It starts, and ends, at
the old fisherman's home at Rödjan on the south shore of Älgö. Today these
buildings serve as the national park's 
nature
cabin. They have been restored to their former state. In summer, sheep once
again graze on the meadows at Rödjan.
South of Älgö the
archipelago is like a labyrinth. Sheltered sounds and narrow inlets separate
islands composed of bedrock and covered in forest. The busy boat route between
Helsinki and Hanko passes through this sector of the park. It is possible to
spend the night, camp and make a campfire on the islands of Modermagan and
Fladalandet.
The park's southern region
belongs to the so-called marine zone where the islands are small, treeless
islets widely separated. Many such islets provide nesting places for a dense
and highly diversified bird fauna. Commoner species include the eider,
great-black-backed and common gulls, terns, tufted duck, red-breasted
merganser and herring. Due to the presence of many rare and endangered bird
species, landing on islands and islets in the marine zone is prohibited
throughout the spring and summer.
The largish island of Jussarö
on the eastern boundary of the park is also in general closed to the public.
However, visitors are permitted to land on the northern shore of Jussarö on
those weekdays when a guide is in attendance. Among the island's attractions
are an old pilots home complete with meadows, a nature trail in one of the
most magnificent old growth forests in the outer archipelago and the remains
of iron ore mining carried out from the early 1800s until 1966.
