Loode tammiku nature trail

Pėsčiųjų takas, Saaremaa

This 2.8-kilometer circular study trail runs through the Loode oak stand nature reserve in Nasva village, about 2 km from Kuressaare on Saaremaa, an area protected since 1955. The route is signed with information boards and passes through old oak forest, semi-natural grassland and meadow habitat where 14 orchid species have been recorded. One of its oldest oaks, dedicated to linguist Johannes Aavik, was measured in October 2000 at 450 to 500 years old, and the stand's oldest generation of trees is believed to descend from growth left after Peter I's shipbuilding campaign. A bird observation tower was added in 2003, and the trail, maintained by the State Forest Management Centre, has parking for roughly ten cars or two to three buses.