Veerplas is a relatively small beach area, popular in summer as a play and swimming area for children. For that reason it is only open to dogs between 1 October and 1 April.
However in winter it is a lovely little piece of the Spaarnwoude Park and apart from the beach area and cafe, it’s pretty much empty to dog walkers after 1 October..
Park at the Veerplas parking area just off the A. Hofmanweg. When you enter the park, the beach is ahead of you. It is not a circular route, if you go to the right, you can run around some fun areas and follow the lake side until you eventually run out of land. Turn back the way you came, and then go in the opposite direction, along the beach and open area, and to the left of the beach (Veerplas Noordzijde) you will find a little pathway just behind a notice board that takes you further around. You eventually get to a road (Veerpolder) which is very quiet, if you are unlucky you might see a couple of cars driving past, but keep to the raised mini-dyke to the side of the road and walk as far as you like. If you feel adventurous, you can walk pretty much around this area, but you will end up by the side of a train line and then you will be walking a bike path. It’s also quite a hike, we’ve not done it completely, so if anyone has then let me know how it is!
One lovely thing about this walk is how easy it is to couple it up with Schoteroog. After you are done walking around Veerplas, from the car park take the pathway (Karperpad) alongside the canal towards the windmill (Molen de Meer). Cross over the road and then just follow that one path from the carpark to the Mooie Nel/Schoteroog.
Pros:
- Can be extended to Schoteroog and make a very long walk
- Clean water
- Maintained pathways means it is not too muddy in winter
Cons:
- Large part of the walk is on a dyke next to either cycle paths or a road
- No off leash walks in summer
Location:
Loslopen.net 