A complete hiking bucket list through every Dutch National Park

Welcome to Fryslân! Home of National Park De Alde Faenen, Frisian for the old bogs. This area was previously seen as not very useful. Because of all that water, you couldn't do anything with the land. Fortunately, nature thought otherwise.



The province has done its utmost to make this area accessible… read more

I always thought that the Biesbosch was only worth visiting by boat, but this walk is an adventure in itself. You go at a wonderfully slow pace. This way you can admire nature even better.



By the way, put on your waterproof walkers. Thanks to the unique up and down fresh water, the hiking trails still… read more

This 14-kilometer hiking trail passes through swamps, heaths and large open ponds of De Groote Peel National Park. Despite the name, this is the smallest national park in the Netherlands, but no less beautiful. Waterproof walkers are also recommended. The walk starts at the De Pelen outdoor center. Here… read more

The Hoge Veluwe National Park consists of undulating grass plains, colorful moors and dense forest. The route starts with a two-kilometer-long avenue: a straight stretch of beautiful oak that is one of the most monumental avenues in the Netherlands.



The Hoge Veluwe is a beautiful nature reserve in the… read more

This beautiful walk through De Loonse and Drunense Duinen starts near Loop op Zand. The tour runs largely through loose sand. The area therefore resembles the largest sandbox in the Netherlands and is jokingly sometimes referred to as the Dutch Sahara. Good walking shoes are recommended.



The route starts… read more

The walking route through the National Park De Maasduinen starts at the visitor center, located in a lock complex. The starting point of the route is easiest to reach by car. In about 16 kilometers you walk counterclockwise around the beautiful Reindersmeer and along sandy heaths. The Maasduinen is the… read more

National Park De Meinweg is located in the centrally located part of Limburg. This park is a unique area thanks to its terraces of different heights. In a distant past, the Maas and Rhine deposited sediment and shifted land in the earth's crust. This has created three different terraces with a total… read more

The Hollandse Duinen National Park is a bit of an odd man out. The park is still in full development. Sandwiched between the beaches of the North Sea and the dunes of South Holland are beach walls and mainland dunes. Governments are busy giving the area the official title of National Park. Special in… read more

Right on the border with our southern neighbors is a beautiful nature reserve, Grenspark De Zoom. On this part of the Belgian-Dutch border you will find heather, fens, forests and land dunes.



This walk starts in Belgium in the forests that grow on the dune landscape. Here you will find many maritime pines… read more

In the Netherlands, a lot of work is being done to restore natural biodiversity. In the Drents-Friese Wold, governments and nature organizations have already succeeded very well in this. After a lot of hard work from the rangers, the beautiful forest now also offers space for sand drifts, fens, heaths… read more

This walk through the National Park Drentsche Aa makes a tour around the Oudemolensche Diep. The park is located east of Assen and is the best-preserved brook valley landscape in Western Europe. In the area you will find beautiful tall ash trees and in the lower brook valley there are flowery hay meadows… read more

The Dunes of Texel National Park is located on the Netherlands' largest Wadden Island. The nature reserve is almost 5,000 hectares and the 17-kilometer walking route leads along the northern dune row.



The route starts in De Cocksdorp. The first part goes along the youngest forest of Texel. The Crimean… read more

To give the animals in nature the necessary rest, most nature reserves are not accessible between sunset and sunrise. But Dwingelderveld National Park is open to nightly research. Natuurmonumenten has set out a special night walking route in the forest here.



This ten kilometer route is an extension of… read more

In the past, fresh and salt water flowed into each other in the Lauwerszee. After the construction of a dam in 1969 to combat water, a completely new landscape emerged on the former seabed. This walk takes you along the edges of the Lauwersmeer. A true bird paradise.



You start the walk along the edge… read more

As the name of this park suggests, this area is relatively new. Only from 2018 this area will be an official national park; New Land National Park. The park consists of various nature reserves in the province of Flevoland. The land was reclaimed from the sea by spraying sand and clay.



The route starts… read more

The Oosterschelde is a unique place where the water really brings life. You can see it directly along the Havenkanaal. At the Kiekuut you can study all birds in the area from a height.



You continue the path to the very tip of the Harbor Head. The best spot for porpoises. Did you know that porpoises are… read more

You don't walk this route of more than 40 kilometers in one day, maybe not even in two if you want to take a bit more time. However, two to three days should be enough depending on your fitness. You walk through beautiful forest, through the polders, along ditches and beautiful estates. Many parts are… read more

The Utrechtse Heuvelrug is probably the most easily accessible national park in the whole of the Netherlands. The location in Utrecht is very central and you can easily get there by train. This is how you start this walk at NS station Driebergen-Zeist and end after less than 15 kilometers at NS station… read more

Schiermonnikoog not only has a National Park, it is also recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is therefore one of the wildest places in the Netherlands and my favorite Wadden island.



The best thing is perhaps that the island (like Vlieland) is car-free. You can park your car in Lauwersoog… read more

The Weerribben-Wieden is a wonderful place for a summer excursion. I have often cycled through this area, but I have never walked here. And that must change quickly. That is why I planned this brisk 18-kilometer hike through the Weerribben.



The route is an appropriate rectangle due to the equally rectangular… read more