Hiking in Holland and other Netherlands Things to Do Tips

The Netherlands appear to be a small and overcrowded country, however there still is quite a lot of nature to explore!

On my Netherlands page you will find descriptions and links to websites with information about long and short hikes in the Netherlands.

Although these sites are mostly in Dutch, you can easily find information about marked walking routes, for which you only need to know the starting-point.

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Website: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/6117e/312/

The UNESCO World Heritage Site "Defense Line of Amsterdam" (Stelling van Amsterdam) is a 135 km long ring of fortifications around Amsterdam, consisting of 42 fortresses situated 10-15 km from the center of Amsterdam. In combination with lowlands that could easily be flooded with water, these fortresses were build to protect Amsterdam in times of war.

The Stelling van Amsterdam was constructed between 1880 and 1920, and has never been used in combat.

Most fortresses are not open to the public during the whole year, so make sure you check well before you go there. In September, a lot of them are opened every weekend. The fortress Pampus (http://www.pampus.nl/) on an island in the IJsselmeer is the most famous fortress of the defense line.

Several hiking and cycling routes along the forts are available as well.

A selection of fortresses:

- Fort bij Edam http://www.fortbijedam.nl/, can be combined with a visit to Edam and Volendam!
- Fort aan den Ham http://www.fortaandenham.nl/
- Fort-island IJmuiden http://www.fortijmuiden.nl/ or http://www.forteiland.nl/
- Forten Spaarndam http://www.stichting-krayenhoff.nl/
- Fort bij Penningsveer http://www.fort-penningsveer.nl/
- Fort bij Vijfhuizen http://www.kunstfort.nl/
- Fort bij Aalsmeer http://www.fortwachtertje.nl/
- Fort aan de Drecht http://www.fortaandedrecht.nl/
- Fort bij Uithoorn http://www.fort-akademie.nl/

More info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stelling_van_Amsterdam
http://www.stellingvanamsterdam.nl/

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Directions: also see
http://www.hollandsewaterlinie.nl/
http://www.noord-holland.com/stellingvanamsterdam/

Website: http://www.stelling-amsterdam.nl/english/index.htm

Holland is a good country to explore by bike because it is very flat!

You can take your bike on most trains, for 6 euro per day, but not during rush hours (06.30-09.00 h and 16.30-18.00 h). During weekends, holidays and July and August you can take the bike at any time.

The Dutch Railway has several cycling routes starting at train stations. The site unfortunately is in Dutch, but you can download PDF files with maps. See here:

http://www.ns.nl/pages/nederland.html

Choose from the "Nieuws & uittips" the option "Actief". At "Zoek een tocht", choose "fietsen"(cycling) and the province if needed.

The Dutch Touring Club ANWB has many marked cycling routes in Holland. Since the site is in Dutch, the best thing to do is to go one of their shops:

http://www.anwb.nl/azf/zoek.html?azfid=contact

You can also try to find the routes using their site:

http://www.anwb.nl/vakantie/fietsen/routes/fietsdag.jsp

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In the province South-Holland, bordering the province Utrecht, you can find the village Schoonhoven. Schoonhoven is located at the river Lek, half-way the big cities Utrecht and Rotterdam.

Schoonhoven is famous for its silver craftsmanship and there are many silver and gold shops and galleries, and even a Gold, Silver and Clocks Museum.

A visit to Schoonhoven can be combined with a beautiful hike through Dutch pasture and along a picturesque river, including mills and churches. The hike, marked with signs, is called Cabauwse Jacobs route. See the link below for more information.

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Website: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/6117e/6fbc1/

The dunes in the province Noord-Holland are a great place for hiking and several marked trails are present.

Much of the water for Noord-Holland comes from the dunes. The watercompany PWN maintains the dunes and has a visitors center called De Hoep in the Noord-Holland Dunes Reservation (Noordhollands Duinreservaat, NHD). From here several trails start:

Blue route (named Kleintje Johanneshof) 2.3 km
Yellow route (named Leppad) 4 km
Red route (named Rondje Infiltratiegebied) 6.5 km
Green route (named Rondje Bosreservaat) 6.5 km
Orange route (named Beschutte route) 12.5 km
Black route (named Duindoornroute) 17 km

There is a big free parking at the visitors center. Entrance to the dunes is 1.50 euro. You can get your ticket at the machine at the entrance (see the pictures), which ONLY ACCEPTS COINS! Foresters might ask you for your ticket during your stay.

The visitors center is open Tuesday-Sunday 10.00-17.00 h. Closed on Mondays, Christmas Day and New Years Day. The dunes are open to the public every day from sunrise to sunset.

Website of the visitors center: https://www.pwn.nl/PuurNatuur/BezoekersCentra/DeHoep/Pages/default.aspx

Across De Hoep is cafe/restaurant/partycenter Johanna's Hof, where you can have a refreshment or meal. There's also a playground for kids. See: http://www.johhof.nl/.

See my page about the Netherlands for more hiking information: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/6117e/312/.

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Phone: +31 (0)251 661 066
Address: Johannisweg 2, 1901 NX Castricum
Directions: To get there with public transportation, use the address of the visitors center at this site: http://journeyplanner.9292.nl/
Website: http://hoep.shorturl.com/

A visit to the village Montfoort, close to the city Utrecht, can be combined with a 12 km long (3 hour) and marked hike along the river Hollandse IJssel and through pasture.

This hike takes you from Montfoort to the village Linschoten and back. In Linschoten you can visit the leaning church of Linschoten.

The hike is marked by the Dutch Touring Club ANWB.

Start and finish of the hike are officially in Montfoort, at the Castle. Look for small hexagonal signs attached to traffic signs or signposts with "Engherkade route" and two walking cartoons.

The first part of the walk, to Linschoten, is mainly through pasture. The last part of the walk, from Linschoten back to Montfoort, is partly over a asphalt road. As it is a walk with the same start and finish, you can also start in Linschoten (e.g. at the Leaning Church) and keep the most beautiful part through pasture for the end. See the pictures for a map.

Montfoort itself is a pretty city with some monuments that are worth a short visit:

Montfoort Castle
St Jan Church
St John the Baptist Church
Old Town Hall
Old City Gate IJsselpoort
Mill De Valk
Old City Wall

Since the walk is mainly unpaved, it can be wet and muddy after rainy periods.

If you want come by public transport, check http://www.9292ov.nl/. If you come by car, park near the Castle in Montfoort at the address below, or in Linschoten.

See my Montfoort page at the link below for more info.

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Address: Kasteelplein 1, 3417 JG Montfoort
Website: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/6117e/70149/

Every second weekend in September, many monuments in the Netherlands are open to the public for free.

See the website for more information: http://www.openmonumentendag.nl/

Also many fortresses are open to the public in September. These fortresses are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and were used to protect Holland and Amsterdam in particular. See the sites below for more information.

http://www.stellingvanamsterdam.nl/
http://www.fortenmaand.nl/
http://www.hollandsewaterlinie.nl/
http://www.stelling-amsterdam.nl/
http://www.noord-holland.com/stellingvanamsterdam/


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Website: http://www.openmonumentendag.nl/
Other Contact: http://members.virtualtourist.co

Hunebeds, or dolmens, are old graves built about 5500 years ago by the people of the Funnelbeaker culture.

They consist of enormous boulders that were covered with soil. Nowadays, only the stone skeletons remain.

The stones were brought to the Netherlands from Scandinavia, together with the ice during the Ice Ages.

You can find 54 hunebeds in the Netherlands.

More than 10 of them are located near the village Borger in the province Drenthe, in the north-east of the Netherlands.

Also the largest hunebed, called D27, was found in Borger, and an information center was built next to it.

Follow the link below to my Borger page for more information and hikes in the environment of Borger.

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Website: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/6117e/70ff1/