Wijk aan Zee / Velsen Noord

Just north of the canal and ferry port, Wijk aan Zee is quite a cute little town with a dunes area and dog beach. It’s skyline is dominated a little by Tata Steel’s smoking chimneys and in some spots you don’t really want to breath in deeply, however on the shoreline and looking in the right direction you could imagine it is not even there!

We parked at the Rijckert Aertszweg parking place and walked towards the Noord-Pier. Right next to this parking spot is an entrance to the dunes, and we took a long stroll through the dunes towards the canal, only to note on our way out that the gaps in the fence are probably not official… There are many signs all over saying no entry (Only visible from the outside and further down from our “entrance”!), but Google maps shows this section as a dog area. The number of foot prints throughout and wide gaps in the fencing make the signs a little uncertain. Either way, there are pathways through the foliage and it is frequented by locals so we followed them, and it was lovely. We returned via the beach to make the most of the area.

Velsen Noord is the section adjacent to Wijk aan Zee, it runs right up to the canal. Walking along the beach through both sections takes about half an hour not including pooch playtimes. At Noord-Pier there are a few restaurants, and judging by the huge number of car parking spots on the road just behind, it is a popular place to be. Certainly it seemed busy enough even in these Corona times.

Hidden in the dunes are some bunkers, for those who follow the bunker trails. On the whole it is quite a bit busier than the beaches south of the canal, but if you feel like a change in direction for a day, it’s nice enough.