Gunnarsörarna by boat – an outdoor island on the open waters west of Hanko

The City of Hanko built a jetty and a nature trail on Gunnarsörarna with a state grant. The nature trail was restored and cleared in summer 2021, and the jetty and gangway were built in spring 2022. Waymarkers and information boards were added along the trail, one of which is about the island's birds.

There were three smallholdings on the islands until the Soviet occupation of Hanko in 1940–1941, and no one has lived on the islands since 1941. Former garden plots, where currant bushes and ash trees grow, are still a reminder of the old archipelago way of life.

Under the Moscow Peace Treaty of March 1940, the Hanko Peninsula was leased to the Soviet Union as a naval base, and the last Soviet soldiers left Hanko on 2 December 1941. During the occupation, a four-gun anti-aircraft battery was built on the island's highest rock, and the trenches in the area are well preserved.

The island's nature is varied: lush groves contrast with pine forest growing on the rocks. Gunnarsörarna suits a day that combines a picnic, hiking and military history in the peace of the outer archipelago.

The trip suits independent hikers, people interested in hiking and military history, and anyone who wants to spend a day in the middle of nature without services. The island is large and in places difficult to get around, so good footwear is a must.

The guest jetty is on the north side of the island, on the western edge of the bay in the middle. You can reach the jetty in your own boat or a chartered boat. The water off the jetty is deep enough even for a small sailing boat, and with a canoe or kayak you can land in front of the lean-to shelter, where it is shallow.

The island is large and in places difficult to get around, so take a map, a phone, rubber boots and a packed lunch with you on the nature trail. You can also print out a map of the island from the City of Hanko's map service.

The nature trail is about 3–4 kilometres long and has information boards along the way. Allow plenty of time for the walk.

The island has a lean-to shelter, a campfire site and a dry toilet. There are no other services, so bring food and drink for the whole day and take your rubbish away with you.

You can grill at the lean-to shelter. Only light fires at the campfire site, and do not light a fire when a wildfire warning is in force.

In Hanko, the St1 stations are at Itämeren Portti off the Eastern Harbour and in Hangonkylä harbour, but agree on refuelling with the boat owner before you set off.