"A colony of the poor from the 1800s " a Frederiksoord Travel Page by ATLC

Frederiksoord is in the province Drenthe.
Kallenkote is only about 3 kms from here, but in another province: Overrijssel. I'm adding the link here, because otherwise you might miss this little hamlet with a delightful Indonesian bird/animal park Taman Indonesia!

If you choose Frederiksoord as a base for your weekend out, there is so much to do in the neighbourhood, without once visiting a big city. The Miramar Marine museum in Vledder for instance. Or the museum of false art, also in Vledder. The gardens of Frederiksoord where you can be inspired to garden. The Indonesian toko (shop) for food and arts and crafts, just down the road from the Koloniehof. You can go ballooning with IkeAir. Visit lovely villages and small towns like Steenwijk, Dwingeloo, Diever and Noordwolde where they specialise in braiding reeds.

Personally I loved the Indonesian bird garden at Kallenkote (see link above).

There are quite a few places around Meppel (main town in the area) that are worth visiting. However, Meppel is on the brink of two provinces, so you would not be able to detect that if you look at my Travel Page.

You could easily cycle between these places. It's a lovely rural area.
Like: Meppel-Staphorst-Giethoorn-Meppel
Or: Meppel-Ruinerwold-Frederiksoord-Vledder-Meppel
Or: Meppel-Steenwijk-Giethoorn-Kolderveen-Meppel
Or: Meppel-Ruinerwold-Kallenkote-Schiphorst-Meppel
Or: Meppel-Staphorst-Zwolle-Meppel

So here goes:

Kolderveen (very rural, dairy farm icecream)
Steenwijk (small town, Unesco heritage site)
Giethoorn (Venice of the north)
Staphorst (beautiful old farms)
Ruinerwold(stone's throw from Meppel)
Kallenkote (Indonesian bird park)
Frederiksoord(colony of welfare)
Vledder(small village, museum of fake art)
Zwolle (largest town in the area)
Meppel (lively nightlife, shopping, printing museum)
Schiphorst (stately home as exclusive hotel/restaurant, stork farm)