Hiking tips

Are you looking for a hiking destination within The Netherlands? Look no further, I have found you the perfect destination for a weekend get away in The Netherlands.

Let me introduce you to the beautiful area Voorne-Putten. With 375 kilometers of hiking trails, an amazing place to go hiking for the weekend.

Voorne-Putten is situated just south of Rotterdam, in the province of Zuid Holland. Which makes it an ideal place for a weekend getaway. It is rural and has the only south facing beach in The Netherlands, in Rockanje. Add to that all the picturesque villages and you have a perfect setting for fall.

Where to stay?

We stayed in the beautiful old town of the city Hellevoetsluis at Boutique hotel de Oude Veste. A beautiful small scale hotel housed in the building of the old marine school. The building was build in 1878. And you will only find 7 rooms, all in their own beautiful style. We stayed in room 6, which has a beautiful view of the harbor of Hellevoetsluis and the windmill. Which was first located at ‘Droogdok Jan Blanken’ and was later moved to it’s current location.

The hotel is within walking distance of all the sights of Hellevoetsluis, so you won’t need your car while staying here.

What to see?

In Hellevoetsluis you will find the old defense lines. ‘Stichting Verdedigingswerken’ organizes tours along the defense lines from April until the beginning of October. We were fortunate to catch one of the last tours of the season. As they are not allowed to enter the casemates during the winter months, due to bats.

I can highly recommend taking a tour of the defense line in Hellevoetsluis, as it comes with an incredible story about the history of the beautiful city of Hellevoetsluis.

After your tour you can take a hike through the city of Hellevoetsluis, there are different routes possible. You can make your own route with the “knooppunten” which are well marked along the city.

If you stay within the city, I can highly recommend going for a sunrise hike, which is what we did. As the city is still quiet and the boats reflect beautiful in the water.

Where to go hiking?
But of course we came here to go hiking, as Voorne Putten counts 375 kilometer of hiking trails. So let me take you along on the hike “Duinen & Valleien” which starts in the dunes of Rockanje.

We parked our car at the info centre at Tenellaplas, in Rockanje. Where you can easily start the hike, as the first marker is right in front of the visitor centre.

Between the ‘knooppunten’ you will follow the red arrow, which will point you in the right direction to the next ‘knooppunt’.

It is an amazing route which totals 13 kilometers, along the beautiful forest and dunes of the island Voorne Putten.

The route is almost entirely unpaved and it almost doesn’t feel like you are in The Netherlands at all. As you just keep walking within nature.

The trail starts in the beautiful forests, and through the dunes, back into the forest. There is only a small part of the trail that will take you along a bicycle path, but that is only about 1k of the total trail.

There are numerous benches along the trail, so just bring your lunch along and find a beautiful spot for a picknick. While you enjoy the peacefulness of this area.

After returning to the visitor centre, don’t forget to check it out. It has some beautiful displays with information of this beautiful area. As well as a little shop. You can also buy hiking routes for children here, called the ‘knapzak’ route.

There is also a restaurant situated next to the parking lot, for your after hike drinks.

Ravense Hout, Hellevoetsluis

If you are looking for a shorter hike, you will want to visit the forest called Ravense Hout, just outside of the city. A beautiful forests, where dogs are allowed to roam free. And where you will find some amazing lanes and bridges inside the forest. We ended our weekend here with a short hike of 3k. Along the beautiful lanes and water ways that are numerous in this forest.

Where to eat?

Last, but not least, where to eat while visiting Voorne-Putten? I mean, who doesn’t get hungry from all that hiking? So a good and hearty meal will go along way.

We had dinner at restaurant de Beeren in Heenvliet, a beautiful restaurant, in an even more beautiful town. So don’t forget to head over into town after having dinner.