Meenikunno Bog

Meenikunno is a raised bog in southeastern Estonia, protected as a landscape reserve, and it has the standard Estonian bog arrangement made accessible: a boardwalk of around five kilometres runs out from the car park across the mire, past bog pools and stunted pine, to an observation tower giving the view over the open expanse, and on to Suurjarv, a bog lake with a small beach and a platform where people swim in water stained brown by peat and cold even in August. Cloudberries and cranberries ripen on the mire in late summer. Campfire sites and a forest hut sit along the route. The bog is quiet and sees far fewer visitors than Viru bog near Tallinn.

What you actually see

• The boardwalk - the route out across the open mire.
• The viewing tower - the platform above the bog surface.
• Suurjarv - the bog lake with its swimming platform.
• Bog berries - the cloudberries and cranberries in late summer.

When to go

May to October for the boardwalk; late July and August for cloudberries and swimming. Autumn colours the bog red and gold. Winter allows walking on frozen ground with care.

Honest expectations

The full circuit is around five kilometres and takes two hours or more. Boardwalks are slippery when wet. The lake water is cold and peat-stained. Mosquitoes are severe in June and July. Facilities are a car park and hut.

Nearby

Rapina lies northeast; Setomaa is east.