Located only a couple of kilometres from the town centre of Mänttä, Mäntänvuori is a great place for exercising, relaxing or seeking peace and quiet in an environment of natural beauty. Three nature trails of different lengths pass through the diverse and untouched nature of Mäntänvuori. The three trails are called Hirven jotos (5.3 km), Vasan polku (approx. 3 km) and Ketunlenkki (approx. 1 km). Along the nature trails, you can see rare plants and trees that are described on sign boards. The trails start from the edge of the Mäntänvuori football field. They circle the entire hill and rise up the hill in several areas. For more information, download the Mäntänvuori nature trail map (in Finnish only).

Hiking to the top of Mäntänvuori is worth the effort, as it will bring you to the Mäntänvuori observation tower designed by W.G. Palmqvist. The tower’s observation platform provides fantastic views of the town and its surroundings. When you come to Mäntänvuori, you should also visit the Vuorenmaja wine tavern. Vuorenmaja, a wine tavern in a former ski hut also designed by W.G. Palmqvist that serves up Central European flavours paired with excellent wines from small European small vineyards.

You can also reach the top of the hill by taking the accessible Ilvestie trail, which starts next to the car park behind the Vuorenmaja wine tavern. With a length of 800 metres, Ilvestie passes through an old-growth forest, past the Vuorenkirkko nature chapel and all the way to the Vuorentorni observation tower. There is an accessible bathroom at the start of the Ilvestie trail.

Mäntänvuori is a significant forest area that includes old-growth forest, mires and rocky outcrops. The vegetation in the area is highly diverse, including semi-broad-leaved forest vegetation, esker vegetation, broad-leaved forests around streams, eutrophic spruce mires and old-growth forest. The oldest pine trees are as old as 200 years.

The Mäntänvuori area also has many other things to offer, such as:

• The Lydia Wideman fitness stairs (218 steps, illuminated)
• Illuminated running and skiing trails
• Vuorenkirkko nature chapel
• Vuorenmaja, a ski hut designed by W.G. Palmqvist that is now home to the wine tavern Vuorenmaja.