Reflecting on the paths of the Westerbork Trail
Hiking Collection by Marieke Duchatteau
22
Tours
90:04 h
220 mi
3,050 ft
The Westerbork Trail is a long-distance route from Amsterdam to Camp Westerbork. On the trail, you'll encounter many relics from WWII and the persecution of Jews. You'll regularly stop at monuments that commemorate resistance fighters, allies, and persecuted Jews. You'll also pass places where these groups hid in the hope of not being found by the enemy.
1940-1945 was a dark period in history. In this Collection, you'll regularly confront this time. The sections of nature along the way give you space to reflect and process your impressions. Sometimes, you’ll take detours from the official trail to seek out more rural places where you can let your thoughts run free.
The final destination of the Westerbork Trail is Kamp Westerbork, a former concentration camp. You’ll get an impression of life for the prisoners and walk between the remains of barracks and past memorials. Here, you can reflect on the dramatic events and stories once more.
The total distance of the Westerbork Trail is officially 340 kilometres (211 mi). This route differs slightly due to the occasional detours. You mostly follow the railway line from Amsterdam to Camp Westerbork in 22 stages.
The day hikes differ in distance and character. There’s something for every type of hiker, whether you’re after an educational trip for your whole family or a long-distance adventure that tests your stamina. You can also check the highlights in advance to get an impression of whether the route focuses on contemplation and nature or culture and history.
Of course, you can also choose whether you walk the whole trail, just a part as a day hike or several stages in a row. The big advantage of this Collection is that the day trips, with a few exceptions, all run from station to station and are thus easily accessible. Where this isn't the case, a bus always goes from the endpoint to a nearby station. Most of the stages end in larger villages or towns, so finding a place to stay overnight won't be very difficult.
I wish you informative walks as well as relaxation and reflection in nature.
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Last updated: June 21, 2023
Tours & Highlights
- 03:469.22 mi2.4 mph125 ft125 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
Today you walk the first stage of the Westerborkpad. The route runs over 15 kilometers from Amsterdam Central station to Diemen station.
In the authentic capital of Amsterdam you can walk along the unique canals and monumental buildings. A very special building that you pass by is the Anne Frank House…
- 03:248.34 mi2.5 mph100 ft100 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
Today's route takes you from Station Diemen to Station Weesp in over 13 kilometers. You leave the urban area behind and go on paths through quiet nature.
Nature gives you the space to give a place to the information you gain during the trip about the past. Today you can also give space to your thoughts…
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- 04:5912.2 mi2.5 mph125 ft100 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
Are you ready for the third stage of the Westerborkpad? Today, almost 20 kilometers of beautiful trails await you from Station Weesp to Station Naarden-Bussum.
You walk along the meandering Vecht and the IJmeer, and on to the Naardermeer where you can enjoy forest and grassland. Anyone who loves birds…
- 02:476.83 mi2.5 mph75 ft75 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
Today you walk a route of 11 kilometers from Naarden-Bussum station to Hilversum station. For a large part your path goes over beautiful heathland.
After about 3 kilometres, you will walk past sand mill 't Sleevetje. This used to be a sand excavation, nowadays it is a beautiful walking area. If you feel…
- 03:388.77 mi2.4 mph225 ft225 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
The Westerborkpad leads you today from Hilversum station to Hilversum Sportpark station. As the crow flies, these two places are not far from each other, but the route still covers a length of 14 kilometers.
You start in the built-up area in urban Hilversum, where you visit the resistance monument, in…
- 04:5612.1 mi2.4 mph175 ft150 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
Today you continue the Westerborkpad. You start at Hilversum Sportpark station and end a mere 22 kilometers away at Amersfoort station.
Nature and history alternate on this route. The first Highlight of the day is the cross pond. Especially when it has just rained, it is full of water and makes the landscape…
- 05:5314.3 mi2.4 mph225 ft275 ftExpertExpert Hiking Tour. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
Put on your walking shoes again, because today the seventh stage of Het Westerborkpad is ready for you. It runs from Amersfoort station to Nijkerk station and passes various historical points.
Today's route is no less than 23 kilometers, but you can use that length to give everything you see and learn…
- 03:469.23 mi2.5 mph100 ft100 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
Put on your walking clothes, tie your laces and get back on the road today. The eighth stage of the Westerborkpad has 15 kilometers of varied landscape in store for you, between Nijkerk station and Putten station.
Before you leave Nijkerk behind, take a look at the harbor here. From this spot you not…
- 03:509.38 mi2.4 mph125 ft125 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
In this ninth stage of the Westerborkpad you walk in 14.5 kilometers from Putten station to Harderwijk station.
Not quite awake yet? At the start of the route you will wake up cheerfully in the picking garden in Putten with a cup of coffee among the greenery. People can harvest and pick their own fruit…
- 04:4911.8 mi2.4 mph200 ft200 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
Today's tour takes you over 19 kilometers through the woods and over the heathland and sand dunes between Harderwijk station and Nunspeet station.
In Harderwijk you first walk towards the monument for allied pilots. During WWII, 117 pilots crashed near Harderwijk. The bombers flew here over the open water…
- 05:1212.6 mi2.4 mph225 ft225 ftExpertExpert Hiking Tour. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
Today you will walk a varied route of more than 20 kilometers. A difference with the other stages is that this is a circular walk: you start and end at Nunspeet station and walk through the special Hidden Village.
Right at the start of the route you climb the Nunspeet watchtower to inspect where the walk…
- 02:597.31 mi2.4 mph100 ft100 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
Are you ready to go again? Today you follow the Westerborkpad for 11.5 kilometers between Nunspeet station and 't Harde station. The kilometers take you through serene nature reserves.
You first pass an authentic farmhouse that feels nostalgic. Walk around here for a while before continuing to the second…
- 04:2310.7 mi2.4 mph150 ft150 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
Put on your walking shoes quickly, because today there is a circular walk of 17.5 kilometers on the program. The Tour runs from station t 'Harde to the cozy village of Elburg and back to 't Harde along a different road.
There is plenty to see on the route. You first walk along and across the beautiful…
- 03:198.08 mi2.4 mph150 ft150 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
Today's route runs from 't Harde station to Wezep station and is all about quiet nature for 13 kilometers.
You start the Tour along the serene heath. If you make the trip between mid-August and mid-September, this area turns a breathtaking purple due to the flowering heather.
Can't get enough of that soothing…
- 04:0910.1 mi2.4 mph175 ft225 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
Tie your shoelaces again, because today a Tour of more than 16 kilometers awaits you. The tour goes from Wezep station to Zwolle station.
The first part of the route you walk over the beautiful Wezepsche heath. Especially when the heather is in bloom, this path is a real spectacle because of the purple…
- 03:529.54 mi2.5 mph50 ft75 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
The sixteenth stage of the Westerborkpad leads from historic Zwolle to Lichtmis. There is 15.5 kilometers on the program, so quickly put on your shoes.
Today you first walk through the old Sassenpoort. This gate was built at the end of the 14th century to defend the city of Zwolle. At the end of the nineteenth…
- 05:5514.5 mi2.5 mph150 ft125 ftExpertExpert Hiking Tour. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
Today's route is not wrong: you walk no less than 24.5 kilometers from Candlemas to Meppel. With this number of kilometers, this is the longest of your stages on the Westerborkpad.
You walk across the Bisschopsschans: it functioned long ago as a defense against the enemy, but in the twenty-first century…
- 03:067.65 mi2.5 mph50 ft50 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
This eighteenth stage of Het Westerborkpad is 12.5 kilometers long. You start in Meppel and end the tour in Koekange.
In Meppel you say hello to the town crier, perhaps he will surprise you with some news. Don't listen to him too long, because you still have a few kilometers ahead of you today.
Your next…
- 03:489.30 mi2.5 mph125 ft100 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
The end of the Westerborkpad is slowly coming into view. But you still have a few miles to go. Fortunately, because today's stage is also worth it. You can walk from Koekange to Hoogeveen station in 15 kilometers.
After barely 6 kilometers you will pass through the old village of Echten. The village consists…
- 02:557.14 mi2.4 mph100 ft100 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
Today you walk from Hoogeveen station to Beilen station over the Westerborkpad in more than 11 kilometers.
During the first kilometer you will come across an impressive monument. The monument stands here in the Spaarbankbos in memory of five people who were executed on this spot during the war.
The monument…
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Collection Stats
- Tours22
- Distance220 mi
- Duration90:04 h
- Elevation3,050 ft
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