The Estonian Health Trails Foundation

The Estonian Health Trails (EHT) foundation was established in2005 by Merko Ehitus, Swedbank and Eesti Energia. It serves as the umbrella organisation for the national network of health tracks, advising on the development of such tracks throughout the country, coordinating development activities, assisting with financing, contributing to the network’s communication and cooperation activities in the popularisation of exercise and promoting people’s health. Its long-term partners in developing the network are the Ministry of Culture and the State Forest Management Centre (SFMC). EHT’s mission is to provide the majority of the Estonian population with free access to a network of health tracks close to their homes for year-round exercise. EHT’s vision is for the Estonian population to take regular exercise and for the number of healthy years enjoyed by people in the country to reach the European average. EHT’s network currently includes 129 well-maintained health tracks covering 1100 kilometres, on 30 of which artificial snow production is already possible or is under development. The tracks are maintained by a team of 200 specialists on the payroll of local governments or sports centres. As at 2023, EHT’s founders have invested 6,5 million euros in the development of health track infrastructure around Estonia. Additional funding from the state and local governments and the European Union brings that total to more than 60 million euros.