Rummu Quarry Cafe, Sauna and Waterpark: A Day at the Flooded Quarry

• Top choice Rummu, Cliffs & Keila from US$144 Duration6 hours^[7]Group sizeLimited to 7 participants^[7]Rating4.76 from 133 reviews^[7]GuideLive guide in English^[7] Check availability
• Paldiski & Rummu from US$127 Duration7 hours^[8]Group sizeLimited to 8 participants^[8]Rating4.15 from 6 reviews^[8]GuideLive guide in English^[8] See this tour
• Jägala & Harju County from US$135 Duration4 hours^[9]Group sizeLimited to 7 participants^[9]Rating4.86 from 114 reviews^[9]GuideLive guide in English^[9] See this tour

A Flooded Quarry That Became a Lake

Rummu is a place where industry did the rough work and water finished the picture. Limestone was cut here for decades, and when the prison beside the quarry closed after 1991 the pumps that kept the quarry and the prison dry were shut down, so water filled the pit.^[12] What is left is a bright blue-green lake with roofless concrete blocks, staircases, pillars and walls standing in it, half submerged and doubled in the reflection, like scenery left on a stage after everyone went home.

The lake is deep and cold rather than ornamental. The maximum depth of the lake at Rummu quarry is 14 metres.^[13] Around the water the landscape is plain and generous: pine and birch forest, sandy tracks, small bog pools further inland, and the long limestone shelf of the north Estonian coast a short drive away. The stone this corner of Harju County is known for is a whitish-grey detritic limestone with a marble-like structure and texture, locally called Vasalemma marble.^[14]

Seasons change the mood more than the place does. In summer the shore fills with swimmers and picnics, in autumn the forest behind it turns rust and gold, in winter the lake freezes and steam lifts off the open patches, and in spring the whole coastline smells of wet earth and birdsong. Even on a grey day the concrete looks bleak while the water still glows, which is a strange trick to watch.

Rummu Quarry Cafe Menu: How to Eat Well at the Quarry

Think of food at the quarry as a picnic you organise yourself. You will be walking on gravel, sand and stone, so a flask, a bottle of water, bread, cheese, fruit, a few napkins and a bag for your own rubbish do more for the day than any restaurant booking. A rug or a folding stool helps, because a seat at Rummu is whatever you bring or find, and there is plenty of shoreline to spread out on.

If you would rather have at least one stop served to you, one of the coast tours includes a call at a local café between the hidden gems of the Pakri coast and Keila Waterfall.^[15] Otherwise the towns on the route, Keila and Paldiski among them, are the easy places to pick up supplies and a hot meal before or after the quarry. A cooler bag in the boot makes the whole day more comfortable, and it saves you queueing anywhere at lunchtime.

Water is the other thing to plan. You will find shops and taps in the towns along the way, but at the quarry a full bottle is worth more than you think, especially in high summer. In cold weather a flask of something hot changes the mood of a shoreline walk entirely, and there is no queue to join or table to book at the end of it.

Concrete walls standing in the flooded quarry

Rummu Quarry Sauna: Steam by the Lake

Estonian sauna is not an add-on to a day out, it is often the whole point of it, and the Rummu area has its own version. Sauna rituals are offered at Paekalda Holiday Center.^[1] The rhythm will be familiar to anyone who has sweated in the north: heat, a cool rinse or a plunge, a rest with tea or something cold, and then back in for another round. The lake can supply the cold half of that loop if you are brave enough to walk down to the water.

Book ahead if sauna is part of the plan, especially at weekends and around midsummer and Christmas. Take a towel, a change of dry clothes, flip-flops and something to tie your hair back, and expect to sit and talk rather than rush. Afterwards, a slow walk down to the shore in cold air is the classic combination, and it works at any time of year, although in winter you will want to move quickly from hot room to warm car.

If you have never done a proper Estonian sauna, keep it simple. Go in clean, sit on a towel, and follow the people around you: a short first round, a cool-off, then longer rounds if you feel good. Drink water, skip alcohol, and leave the phone outside. The point is not endurance, it is the long, slow, warm quiet between rounds.

Rummu Quarry Waterpark: What the Water Really Is

The name suggests slides, queues and a ticket desk. The reality is better and stranger: a flooded quarry lake with drowned buildings and a shore of gravel, sand and concrete, where the water itself is the attraction. Rummu quarry is an unofficial and unguarded place for swimming or diving, where locals usually come to swim in summer.^[2] Floating over the sunken walls of a former prison quarry is not something you do twice in a lifetime.

Swim sensibly. A quarry lake shelves away quickly, deep water is cold, and nobody is watching from a chair with a whistle. Go in with other people, keep children close, wear old trainers or water shoes on the stony entry, and get out before you are chilled through. The summer water temperature at Rummu Quarry is 15.0-20.0 °C^[3], which is refreshing rather than warm, so a towel and a dry layer on the shore earn their place in your bag.

Photographers tend to walk the shoreline twice, once in each direction, because the view changes completely when you turn around. Late afternoon and early evening give the best light, when the sun sits low and the concrete throws long shadows across the water. Watch the ground as much as the view: the terrain is uneven, and the lake edge can be slippery after rain.

Diving, Courses and the Winter Ice

For divers the quarry is a proper site rather than a novelty: submerged staircases, walls and machinery, calm freshwater at easy depths, no current and no swell. Rummu Diving & WaterSports organizes weekly dives for certified divers at Rummu quarry, as well as open water dives for incomplete courses and full OWD courses.^[11] If you have never dived, this is a contained place to learn the basics, with a bottom you can usually see.

Winter rewrites the place completely. Steam lifts off the open water at dawn, the light stays low and long, and people skate on the ice that forms over the lake. A ticket to the Rummu skating rink includes access to the Rummu quarry in winter, along with the skating rink, the prison and an audio guide.^[10] Bring layers, spare gloves and a head torch, and start early, because useful daylight in an Estonian winter is short.

The equipment question sorts itself out. Dive operators supply what you need for courses and guided dives, and the water is fresh rather than salt, so your gear and your skin both appreciate it. If you are only visiting for a day, a swim and a walk may be enough. If you are certified and carrying your own kit, a weekly dive here is a good reason to pack it.

The Tallinn Day Tour to Rummu, Cliffs and Keila Waterfall

The tour we book from this site is the simplest way to pair the quarry with the coast in one day. Tallinn: Rummu Quarry, Coastal Cliffs and Keila Waterfall runs 6 hours with a live tour guide in English, in a small group limited to 7 participants, and there is free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.^[7] It is rated 4.76 from 133 reviews and starts from US$144.^[7]

The van works through a sequence of stops rather than one long drive: Suurupi, Keila Waterfall, Paldiski, Pakri Lighthouse and Rummu Quarry, with the van between each.^[7] Keila waterfall is 6 metres high^[16], a wide curtain over a limestone ledge with a park and a river walk beside it. Saving the quarry for last is good timing, because by then the light softens and the water goes deep and still.

Take a day bag rather than a suitcase: water, a snack, a waterproof layer, sunglasses and a power bank cover most of a coast day. Wear shoes you can walk in on sand and gravel, and leave a dry layer in the van for the drive home. It is a full day out of Tallinn, so a relaxed dinner beats a tight evening booking.

Getting There, Opening Hours and When to Go

Rummu is close enough to Tallinn for a half day out and far enough to feel like another country. FlixBus runs 2 rides each day between Tallinn and Rummu.^[5] If you drive, the transfer from Rummu Quarry and Prison to Tallinn is listed as 45 km and 50 min.^[6] At the site itself, Rummu Quarry is open all year round every day from 10:00 to 20:00.^[4]

Summer is for swimming and long evenings, autumn for colour in the woods, winter for the rink and the steam, and spring for birds and high water. If you want to stay over rather than rush back, Rummu Caravan Park, located in Rummu Quarry, offers overnight accommodation for motorhomes, caravans and tents.^[17] Whichever season you choose, wear shoes with grip, take a layer against the wind that comes off the water, and leave time to walk the shoreline slowly.

Parking by the quarry is straightforward, and the walking around the lakeshore is easy going if you are steady on your feet. Bring a card for the big things and a little cash for small stops, and check the weather the night before you go: the coast can be windy when Tallinn itself feels calm.

Planning your Rummu day

1. Book the day tour

   The six-hour tour from Tallinn is limited to 7 participants and can be cancelled up to 24 hours ahead.^[7]

2. Pack a picnic

   Bring water, bread, fruit and a bag for your rubbish; seating at the quarry is whatever you bring.

3. Wear grippy shoes

   Sand, gravel and wet stone underfoot make grip the most useful thing in your bag.

4. Reserve sauna or dives

   Sauna rituals are offered at Paekalda Holiday Center, and weekly dives run at the quarry.^[1]

5. Swim with company

   The lake is unguarded, so swim with other people, keep children close and stay within your depth.^[2]

Common questions