For studying various nature and culture values of Soomaa National Park and hiking there are eight study paths, with Estonian and English information stands provide information about the attractions. In addition there are 11 campfire sites and camping sites, four forest huts for overnight stays (Öördi, Meiekose oak, Oksa barn), one forest manager's forest hut (Karuskose) and five observation towers (Ingatsi, Riisa and Kuuraniidu study paths, Tõramaa wooded meadow and Läti broad). The Oandu-Ikla hiking trail goes through the national park.
To get acquainted with the Soomaa National Park one should start with its Visitor Center, located in the heart of the protected area in Kõrtsi-Tõramaa. It opened in 1998 and is located on the site of the former Naari tavern and the later Kõrtsi-Tõramaa farm. The Visitor Center provides information about local attractions, hiking trails, campfire sites and other places worth visiting.
The Soomaa National Park and its immediate area offer opportunities for both active leisure and relaxation. The vast space and silence of the local bogs, winding river valleys, diverse forests and species-rich floodplains provide the opportunity to walk by foot, travel along waterways, watch birds, engage in photography, pick forest produce or explore the cultural heritage of this area. At least once a year the flood or the so-called fifth season means that Soomaa's otherwise inaccessible areas can be accessed by a canoe.
The conservation goal of the Soomaa National Park is the protection of the nature, cultural heritage, protected species, wildlife habitats and natural flora and fauna of the forests, bogs and floodplains of this part of Estonia.
The territory of the National Park is divided into:
The natural conditions here have played a major role in the formation of local cultural traditions: extensive mires, floods, the abundance of rivers, and river floodplains have influenced the peculiarity of the region. People adapted their lives to nature.
There used to be five villages in Soomaa, three of which remain today.
The settlement and cultural traditions of Soomaa National Park have been influenced by the natural conditions here. Due to the extensive river network, this area has been inhabited for countless generations. This is evidenced by the discovery of fishing spears made of bones and horns, arrowheads, stone axes, and a funeral cairn dating from the second millennium BCE in the southern part of the national park.
The terrain of the Soomaa National Park is relatively flat, but habitat to diverse lifeforms. Over 80% of the protected area is made up of wetlands.
- The surface of the national park covers 39,844 ha and is on the territory of two counties (Viljandimaa and Pärnumaa).
- The predecessors of the Soomaa National Park are the botanical protection area of the Halliste wooded grassland set up in 1957 and the protection areas of Kikerpera, Öördi, Kuresoo and Valgeraba bogs created in 1981. The Soomaa National Park was set up in 1993.
- The name Soomaa is older than that.