Bikepacking around Estonia’s Jurassic Park
In late May 2023, I decided to organise my first bikepacking trip of the year, and my first one using my Trek Marlin mountain bike instead of the Giant Toughroad gravel bike – and it was a great choice, fantastic scenery, a mixture of terrain, and dramatic scenery made this the perfect 24-hour screen break to refresh me for design projects!
I’d heard about this rugged quarry that had been turned into an outdoor adventure hub, where you can go canoeing, mountain biking, swimming, camping, and a load of other activities, nestled in the middle of Estonia’s beautiful countryside. So with some research, found the location and made a plan to visit it. I’d toyed around with mountain bike packing after watching YouTube videos of epic bike journeys and realised that my bikepacking needed the off-road element to make it more exciting. Don’t get me wrong, touring on roads and seeing quaint towns and villages is great fun, but I missed that extra remoteness that comes from riding trails with your tent and sleeping bag strapped to the bike!
About Aidu quarry
The Aidu quarry, also known as Aidu open-cast mine, is a former oil shale quarry located in north-eastern Estonia, near the village of Aidu in Ida-Viru County. The quarry is situated in the eastern part of the country, approximately 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of the capital city, Tallinn.
My research revealed that the Aidu quarry was active for several decades, from the 1970s until its closure in 2001, and one of the largest open-pit mines in Estonia, playing a significant role in the country's oil shale industry. My geology knowledge isn’t so strong, however I found out that oil shale, a sedimentary rock rich in organic compounds, is an important natural resource in Estonia and is used for various purposes, including electricity and shale oil production.
Pictures on the internet showed me that the Aidu quarry left behind a unique and distinctive landscape characterised by deep craters and vast open spaces – and kinda looked like how I’d imagine Jurassic park to look! These remnants of the mining activities have attracted attention and interest, leading to the development of the area into a recreational centre with the addition of the Aidu Watersport Centre.
Being an adventure fan, I was super excited when I found the centre offers a range of outdoor activities and water sports, such as stand-up paddle boarding, wakeboarding, water skiing, canoeing, kayaking mountain biking, hiking, canoeing, and jet skiing. It has become a popular destination for locals and tourists alike, seeking adventure and recreational opportunities in the unique surroundings of the former quarry.
Getting there
I booked a train journey from the capital, Tallinn, to the Kohtla-Nõmme train station to put me some 10 kilometres away from the centre of the quarry, which would also pass a Riigamets (aka RMK, the forestry management agency that runs hundreds of free campsites around Estonia) campsite for me to check out on the way. I’m keen to get out bikepacking in winter also, so a fatbike is on my buying list when the snow comes back.
Thanks to Estonia being such a bike-friendly country, I get on the middle carriage of the train (which is often the bike carriage), hang my bike on the hook by the front wheel, and sit down. It’s nice that I don’t have to feed a paper ticket into an electronic gate, simply scan a QR code on my phone to recognise the ticket has been redeemed.
Sitting on a training Estonia is a pleasant experience, there is strong 4G network across most of the country, and so I can answer emails and view documents whilst I wait to get to the destination.
Riding to and around the adventure quarry
The quarry is an easy hour ride from the train station and looks exactly like I’d imagine it would do – rugged, prehistoric, and everything I’d hoped for!
It’s late afternoon by the time I arrive, so I immediately start scouting for somewhere to set up my camp. The ground is rocky and hard, so it takes me a while to find mud to dig my tent pegs in. it doesn’t matter though, the scenery is so stunning that I get distracted taking photos!
I eventually find somewhere that’s soft enough to drive the tent pegs in and set up my little base. It’s warm(ish) around 12 degrees centigrade, however I’m still using my 3-season Rab sleeping bag as the temperature will drop down more at night to around 4 or 5 degrees centigrade. On my bikepacking trips at the end of last summer in Estonia, I was sleeping in a pair of boxer shorts on top of a thin jungle sleeping bag, so I know that this one will get swapped out for a lighter one fairly soon.
Whilst it’s a little chilly, I’m exciting to be sleeping in somewhere that feels a little like Jurassic Park yet have a bike that can explore the furthest reaches of the place. It’s great to have a break from my computer, and with it – I fall asleep quickly.
When I leave, I’m careful to check that I leave no trace. It’s a concept driven deep into me from having been a commissioned officer in the Royal Marines, and one that I’ll take with me everywhere after also.
I wake up to a loud chorus of birdsong and get onto making some breakfast - it’s noodles and mashed potato this morning after forgetting to buy packets of instant porridge. I’ve also forgotten my 3-in-1 instant coffee sachets, so I look for cafes that I can stop in to buy a nice coffee before I head back to Tallinn later.
I’ve only got a few hours to explore the place, so I scoff down my breakfast, pack away the tent, and strap everything in the bikepacking bags.
I set off to see the quarry and how much of the place I can explore before I have to get a train back and resume my design work. It’s windy, so going is relatively slow – but this is useful to manage expectations for how quickly I’ll be moving on the Silk Road Mountain race in remote Kyrgyzstan, which this is preparing me for.
I’ve set out to see the dramatic canals that’ve been left after the quarry closed as I’m keen to get an inflatable packraft and explore this place even more. The views are stunning when I do eventually get there, but it’s short lived, as I have to race 10 kilometres to the train station and make sure I get my train back to Tallinn, as the next one is a 4-hour wait and won’t get me home until late evening.
After an adventurous ride exploring more of the routes and a coffee stop, I get on the train, hang my bike up, happy that I’ve explored this cool place enough for bigger trips in the near future. These micro-expeditions are great for reinvigorating the creative process and reminding me what to keep making myself uncomfortable as I enter my fourth decade!
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