Routes · Gelderland, inside the national park
Hoge Veluwe forest and sand
The one route here with hills, although the sand drifts are the real surprise.
The Hoge Veluwe is a fenced national park with its own network of cycle paths, and the park lends out plain white bicycles at every gate for free. Bring your own if you want gears: the paths roll gently but constantly.
Ride from the Otterlo gate through pine forest to the drift sands in the middle of the park. They are a genuine small desert, dunes and all, with the heath in flower around them from early August.
The return via the Hoenderloo side passes the museum in the woods and a series of long, straight avenues. Deer and wild boar are common at dusk, so ride with your eyes up.
A junction sequence we have used
Numbers repeat between regions, so this string only means something on the map panels near Any of the three park gates. Check it against the panel at the first junction before you set off.
Where to stop
- km 9Drift sands lookoutclimb the dune for the view
- km 17Park centretoilets, water and a restaurant
- km 24Heath at Hoenderloopurple in August
Dike roads are shared with farm traffic and, in summer, with a lot of other cyclists. Ride single file where the path is narrow and give way at the small ferries.