Härmälänranta opens sandy beach, reserves 700 m² site for year‑round public sauna

Tamperelainen reports residents had campaigned for the shoreline for years after promotional visuals promised a beach that never appeared. A local residents' association even handed the city a petition signed by several hundred people.

The new stretch is about 100 metres wide and includes a hammock, a workout area and other park amenities. Early visitors have already been testing the loungers and changing rooms. Local resident Eeli Käyhkö praised the facilities, saying the spot “is great” and could become his regular beach. It may get crowded in high summer. Eight-year-old Alisa Jurakova, who lives beside the shore, has already taken multiple dips and said the water feels cold but that she "could come here every day."

A 700-square-metre lot beside the beach has been set aside for a year-round public sauna to be operated by Saunatemppeli Oy, whose yurt sauna moved this year from Rauhaniemi to Kaupinoja. Aaretti Nieminen Park, surrounding the beach, features benches, bike parking, perennial plantings, meadows and an expanding apple orchard. Some park benches and bollards reuse I-beams from older Härmälänranta buildings. An EU-funded meadow project is planned for the Pirkkala end of the area in autumn.