The World's Biggest Disc Golf Park
Updated: Sep 7
Would you have considered a trip to this amazing archipelago of 6700 islands and skerries that make up Åland prior to 2020? Not likely, but then something pretty epic happened during the Covid years.
Eleven disc golf courses were installed on the same day across the islands in 2020 and now there’s 16 courses that range from nine to 18 holes. This is the largest disc golf park in the world and it promises variety, fun, great scenery with accommodation and food never far away.
The creation of this park was to foster disc golf tourism in the Åland Islands, an autonomous Swedish-speaking region of Finland. It was a case of build it and they will come from data scientist Mats Adamczak. In a TED talk, Mats said that when he originally pitched the idea of 16 disc golf courses across the Åland Islands, Discmania wanted to double check that he wasn’t talking about holes instead.
His dream was realised and the disc golf mecca exists. The Finnish are mad for disc golf with around 4% of the population playing on one of the 1100 courses across the country .
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Most people arrive by ferry via Turku or Helsinki in Finland or from Stockholm in Sweden. You can fly too, that's less popular. Also, a cruise ferry through the archipelago is stunning and if you do it overnight from Helsinki, Stockholm or Tallinn in Estonia, you can get a cabin and bank it as a night’s accommodation. To really explore the islands will require a car that you either hire from the mainland or from the region's capital, Mariehamn.
Check costs via the mainland as you might be charged more to take it to Åland (pronounced Ohland) and you’ll also pay for it to be on the cruise ferry. Plenty of people bike around too - so that’s an option. But if time and disc golf lies high on your holiday wish list, we'd suggest using a car.
HIKING AROUND THE ISLANDS
A popular but demanding trail in some parts is the Grottstigen Cave Trail - a round trip of around 4.7km or three miles. You’ll find caves, tranquil bays and lots of cairns with some steep sections in parts. It starts from Getabergen about 40 minutes drive from the capital Mariehamn next to the Soltuna Restaurant & Cafe and wouldn’t you know it, there’s a disc golf park there too?
Soltuna Disc Golf Park is ranked number two on UDisc for the Åland courses. Plus, camping nearby if you want to stay in the area. There are plenty of other walking trails, mostly on the main island. But if you want to go all in on a hike then there’s the 1200km or 745 mile St Olav Waterway trail from Turku in Finland to Trondheim in Norway with a stunning archipelago section through the Åland Islands. Call it a thru hike disguised as a disc golf adventure.
MOUNTAIN BIKING & CYCLING
The Åland Islands are perfect for road cycling because it’s mostly flat. Plenty of disc golfers forego a car and just use bikes/ferries to get around to play. Aside from transportation, cycling is one of the most popular activities on the islands. There’s the 260km Åland Archipelago Trail that mixes cycling along bridges, flat red granite roads with ferry hopping or much shorter trails like the 65km Old Postal Route around the main island that takes in cafes, a microbrewery and a 14th century castle, Kastelholm.
Just near the brewery and castle are more disc golf course. Kastelholm DiscGolfPark is ranked number three on the UDisc for Åland and if you’re at the Stallhagen microbrewery, there’s a nine hole disc golf course, Stallhagen DiscGolfPark, there as well. Throw first, drink later.
PITCH & PADDLE
Where in the world can you kayak to the disc golf course? Skag on the main island is where you can do this and is approximately 40 minutes drive from Mariehamn and you can camp there and rent kayaks. The Skag DiscGolfPark is ranked as number five in the Åland Islands on UDisc and you might want to take care with what discs you use on the rocky terrain. Another beautiful location with plenty to do nearby with camping and kayaking.
SWIM, SOAK & SAUNA
If you were hoping for a beach holiday, this might not be it. The water even in the summer months can be pretty brisk. In June, it’s an average temperature of around 13 degrees celsius or 54 degrees fahrenheit. August, it’s a bit warmer at 17 degrees celsius or 62 degrees Fahrenheit. Thankfully, the Finnish are sauna mad. They even manage to squish them into small apartments in the cities. In the Åland Islands, try a Nordic cycle of a cold plunge and a hot sauna. There are beach saunas and near the harbour in Mariehamn is Sauna Marin, a floating sauna. It’s docked between Pommern and the ÅSS guest harbour on Mariehamn’s western shore.
BEST COURSES
Of course with so much disc golf choice, you can afford to be picky. Plenty of people have their opinion on which of the 16 courses are best. According to UDisc’s top 10, the best consistently and playing the hardest is Vesterkalmare Disc Golf Centre. It’s also the only pay-to-play course at €10. UDisc’s Alex Williamson recommends you play the course twice, the first time to get to know this advanced layout. It’s a five minute drive from Mariehamn or a 13 minute bike ride or if you’re wanting to get out on the water - paddle up the harbour and walk to the course.
The other course that we haven’t mentioned is Lappo DiscGolfPark - it’s the one with all the beautiful images of baskets sitting precariously on rocks beside the water. As number four on UDisc’s ranking of Åland Island courses, Lappo is a course and an island and will require a ferry ride to get there. There are places to eat and stay near the harbour and it’s a short walk to the course once you’re off the ferry.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE
If you’re kicking around Mariehamn and need to kill time for a ferry or you are genuinely interested - there’s quite a bit of maritime history associated with these islands. You can’t miss the four-masted Pommern ship berthed in the harbour at Mariehamn. It’s the only merchant sailing ship of her size preserved entirely in her original condition. Built in 1903, the Pommern transported grain for two decades between Australia and Europe and surviving two world wars, it now serves as a permanent centrepiece for the Åland Maritime Museum.
And just because… there’s a disc golf park right next door. The Mariehamn Disc Golf Park might be a good place to start or end your disc golf experience around these islands, since this is likely where you’ll catch your ferry to put a full stop on this trip and maybe go for an ace run. It’s only nine holes, which are short par 3s, but ranked as number six on UDisc’s rating for Åland.
