The Herman Renfors hiking trail, 3-10 km Kajaani Finland

The route is marked counterclockwise with signposts. 

Right at the Scandic Kajanus Hotel you go through an underpass, after which you walk a short distance through a small forest. On the left, you can catch glimpses of the river repeatedly. Later the forest clears and the castle ruins come into view. At this point by the river, numerous ducks and swans gather in winter and spring. After crossing a road at the bridge that leads over the castle ruins, you reach the first sight: the tar canal. An information board tells the story of this unique structure in Finland. Following the signposts, you pass through the residential area Karolineburg, which owes its name to the Kartanohotel Karolineburg along which the path runs. After a while, the path runs along the Kajaani cemetery and leads us back to the river. We cross it on a pontoon bridge, which at one point is a lift bridge that also allows larger ships to pass through. On the other side of the river, we are on the site of the former paper mill – today the Renfors industrial area. We walk back along the road. On our right is Kaupunkilampi – the city pond. Not long after, we turn left again onto a gravel path that takes us directly to the river. One of the most scenic sections begins here. We have a wonderful view of the landing stage of the steamship "Kauta." In summer there is a summer terrace here that invites you to linger. The following steep but short ascent brings us to the back of the city library. From here, we go past Restaurant Sirius to the statue of Elias Lönnrot. 

We go under the road and already stand before the next important sight, the castle ruins. It is worth taking time to explore the ruins. The river park continues upstream, leaving the city center and the statue of the writer Eino Leino to the right. (From here, you can return directly to the start point at Scandic Kajanus Hotel.)

After crossing the main street, we stand in the market square, with the pirate ship children's playground to our left, immediately followed by the city founder Pietari Brahe in the form of a statue. We follow the path along the river for a long time. In doing so, we pass the Prisma shopping center on the right and reach the residential area "Onnela" (where happiness lives). The complex was planned and built in 2001 on the occasion of the national housing fair. Here is also the city swimming beach with a diving tower. After this, the path crosses the river again on asphalted paths. Shortly after the first bridge, we cross a second, smaller one, which crosses the so-called Hunger Canal (nälkäkanava). Built during the famine years 1867-68, it enabled the boat transport of tar all the way to Oulu. 

From here, we start the return journey. Along the road, we go back through the districts Kätönlahti and Kuurna to the hotel. Before reaching there, the path leads back onto a gravel path to the river. On the right side appear the Kaukametsä Congress Center and the newly built Kaukavesi Water Sports Center. Right behind this is our starting point and the route closes.