Those who like flat picturesque walks through green countryside along coasts and rivers will find it hard to beat trekking in Netherlands. The Dutch are known worldwide for their love of walking and cycling, and their country has some of the best tracks anywhere for these activities.
Everyone’s image of the Dutch countryside teeming windmills, Dutch barns and dykes. As with all stereotypes this is somewhat of an exaggeration but you’ll certainly walk past all these features trekking in Netherlands. With 50% of Netherlands below sea level it is very flat but there is a good deal of variation in the habitat from river deltas to lowlands.
Even if you’re on holiday in one of the Netherlands urban heartlands you’ll find great scenic and quiet day hikes that often don’t even require use of the country’s superb public transport infrastructure. The towns themselves are also popular with so called urban hikers due to their spectacular merchant architecture. The Netherlands has excellent camping facilities so those who love multi day hikes will have no shortage of choice of where to pitch tent after a long day walking.
A popular area for walking in the Netherlands is Zeeland which is the river delta in the far South of the country where it’s possible to walk between the causeways and islands across the storm barriers connecting them.
Another popular area for coastal walking is the Dunes of Texel National Park where sand dunes extend into the North Sea. The other Frisian Islands offer their own delights and some trekkers walk each island in turn, getting the ferry between them although some require a permit to access.
