Category: Day Trips

Het Twiske, Oostzaan

Situated just north of Amsterdam, Het Twiske is an excellent spot to take a break from the city and give you and your pup some down time.

The park has a paid entrance fee of €3.50 for the first 3 hours, and if you stay longer than 3 hours then the parking fee jumps to €6.00, payable as you exit. But once you are inside the park, you can drive everywhere and park in any parking bay at no extra cost, which is useful if you want to explore all the walking areas and cafes without having to walk between them.

We parked at first near the Klimpark/Pannekoek De Appel, where there is a large parking area. Pretty much directly opposite the car park exit to De Zuiderlaaik is the start of a large loslopgebied which is clearly marked with a sign on a blue circle.

At the start of our walk we thought we might be disappointed because the route seemed to be concrete pathways set in a grid pattern, albeit nicely lined with high plants and grasses and some trees, but the dog seemed happy so we followed his nose. And I am glad we did because we ended up in a huge walking area that took us to the football club at the other side of the park, and back through some open fields and wonderful waterways.

There are a couple of signs warning about grazing cattle in one of the fields, but while we were there (in September) we didn’t see any. Even if there were a couple of cows in the field, it would not have been a major issue as we just needed a short hop across the corner of a field to get back to our pathway.

We pretty much walked a loop to the Ringvaart and back, then went over the bridge to the other side of the waterways, almost parallel to the Polderweg and back, and with a coffee and a quick snack in between we just about made it out of the park within the 3 hour price limit.

We encountered a range of park styles, from the concrete grids we mentioned earlier, to huge lakes, wonderful forest pathways, some wide open fields, there were even a few fields with open gates along the side which seem to be open to walkers, at least there was no sign on them to say otherwise, so we gave them a sniff too.

Not all areas are off leash areas, but there is plenty of space for you to let your pup run free, and any other area is simply a leashed zone, I don’t believe I found any area where dogs were completely forbidden. Of course the restaurants are dog friendly.

The entrance fee makes it a little unattractive if you just want to do a quick half hour walk, but if you have the time then it is definitely worth a visit.

Pros:

  • Extensive walking areas
  • Can drive between different walking areas or cafes and easily re-park
  • Variety of landscapes, lovely and watery for hot days

Cons:

  • Entrance fee regardless of how little time you spend there

Location:

Texel – Forests

For a general overview of Texel and how to get there you can go here. This post is only covering the beach areas, if you want to know more about the beach areas, then check out the page on Texel – Beaches.

Once you are in the forest, either follow any of the marked routes, or just follow your nose and work your way through the maze of footpaths down south towards the viewing towers and the nature preservation areas where the leash free area ends. You can easily walk a couple of hours around the forest without re-walking the same pathways.

The dunes between the forest and the beach are restricted for off leash dogs to off season only (September to March), but you will find plenty of other areas to run around in, but once they are open for off leash running, you can extend your walk by another hour if you want to! Just note, depending on your route, at some point you will probably need to walk through a camp site to get to the paths that go over the dune areas. It is a public pathway but you do need to leash your pup when you go through this. Only for a few minutes until you are back outside the camp grounds.

This is one of the few areas where I have seen a “Ruiter-Menpad”, differently to whatever Google translate may tell you, this is not a horse and person pathway, it is a horse and cart pathway, don’t walk down it!

The forest areas have little in the way of water. There are some drainage trenches at the side of the pathways which can dry out in summer, in winter I daresay any water there will be standing and not very pleasant. The only water body we came across was actually in a bird protected area so we unfortunately had to skip it. There is plenty of shade though so if you just bring a small bottle for your pup then you should be OK on a hot day under the trees.

There are a few cycle paths running through the forest that you need to look out for and some paths run fairly close to the road or cycle paths, just make sure you have your pup under control in these parts.

There are some areas with grazing animals (i.e. cows) in one or two fields. You need to walk through a gate to get to them but you can take a detour and walk around this field and avoid them if you don’t feel comfortable. Also keep watch for electric fences around these areas, these have bright yellow tabs on them to make them easy to spot.

We usually park on the car park just off the Ruislaan, close to the Ecomare. Opposite this car park is the Natuurpad Alloo, and in summer this is a leash only area until you get into the forest itself, but it becomes a leash free zone after 1 September the whole way. After September, you can use this path to get into the dune areas next to the forest as well. Alternatively, in summer season, you can turn right along the road and walk along the side of the road towards the forest areas. They are all clearly marked, you will spot the leash free zones after about a 5 minute walk along the roadside.

Of course you can avoid the roadside walk and park in spaces further into the forest and already in the leash free zones, like the one on Monnikenweg but the spaces are limited here to about 10 cars. If you want to be sure of a spot, then go for a larger car park.

Interestingly, even in high summer there are very few people wandering along these paths, you can expect a lovely relaxed walk on a busy, highly touristy island.

Check this out for an overview of the dog areas on Texel. Dark green areas are leash free all year round and the pink area next to the beach is the dune area that is leash free from 1 September to 1 March. The light green areas are nature reserves and dogs must be leashed here.

Pros:

  • Large shaded area in summer
  • Few other walkers around even in summer
  • Easy to combine with beach walks and cafes

Cons:

  • No water to drink or cool off in
  • Avoiding cow areas can be a large detour

Location:

Texel – Beaches

For a general overview of Texel and how to get there you can go here. This post is only covering the beach areas, if you want to know more about the forest and dune areas, then check out the page on Texel – Forests.

There are a number of all year round dog beaches on Texel where you can let your pup spend whatever energy he has. Technically you can walk your dog from the lighthouse at the north, all the way down to the south of the island to around Paal 9. It’s probably about a 25km walk in total and you can make your way back to the starting point using the Texelhopper bus service. Well behaved and leashed dogs are allowed on the busses. Note, you have to reserve the Texelhopper bus in a similar way that you would use an Uber, click here for more information.

FYI, the term “Paal” is not the locals being friendly and neither does it refer to a physical pole that Google translate suggests, it is an entrance to the beach. So Paal 9, Paal 17 etc, are referring to the number of a specific beach entrance. In Texel they start numbering from Paal 6 at the south up to Paal 33 at the northern tip of the island.

Our favourite spot is right at the north near the lighthouse (Paal 31). This is a vast beach, the tide goes out to a point that you can barely see it and half the beach is often covered in edible kelp which makes it interesting to sniff both for pups and people. It has so much space to play frisbee and run around and just get a fantastic feeling of open space and fresh air – enough to blow out the hardiest cobwebs from your head.

The other spot that we tend to visit is the beach next to Pal 17, another wide and sandy beach right next to a large car park, but it is also just a slight detour on the dunes walks so you can slip onto the beach for a coffee and a quick beach stroll before walking further into the dunes or forests, great if it is a hot day and you think your pup needs to be cooled off with a quick dunk in the sea.

Both of these areas have large car parks and a good beach cafe, both of which are very popular in the usual lunchtime or early evening slots so grab a coffee and a snack outside these hours and you will be able to find yourself a lovely cosy terrace spot.

Check out the official map of the dog areas on Texel for the dog beach areas. The sandy coloured beach zones are off leash areas for dogs. The blue spots are leash-only areas in summer but after 1 September and up to 1 March, you can let your pup run free in these areas too. Red is a no-go area.

Pros:

  • An extensive all year round range of dog friendly beaches
  • Easy parking everywhere, especially with the Texel Vignette
  • Excellent dog friendly beach cafes

Cons:

  • Pick your beach, the blue zones can be busy in summer

Location:

Screenshot

Texel

Texel is the largest of the string of islands at the north of the Netherlands. Known for its brewery and beaches, it is a popular holiday resort for both dutch and visitors from over the border. It has to be one of the most dog friendly areas in a busy holiday location that you can wish for. It is a large and diverse island offering some extensive forest areas and, of course, lots and lots of beach. However, it is still within a reasonable distance from North Holland towns to make a day trip.

Texel is about a 20 minute boat trip from Den Helder and TESO ferries leave every half an hour in peak times, every hour when it is quieter. Check the TESO website for the latest departure times – they have been known to adjust last minute depending on how busy they are! We advise anyone making this trip to buy a return ferry ticket online and in advance.

The other thing we would recommend is to buy a Texelvignet parking ticket. It has a fixed daily cost that allows you to park anywhere on the island for the whole day. If you plan to be longer than 4 hours on the island and/or want to drive around and park in different spots during the day, then the parking vignette is not only more convenient, it also works out a little cheaper. Buy it online in advance or on the day you travel.

In addition to the lovely nature on Texel there are also some towns that are worth seeing. De Koog has a nice little high street with many dog friendly cafes and restaurants, and some fun souvenir and home decoration shops. Den Burg is larger and busier, with more of a proper town feeling but an equally interesting array of shops and cafes. With your Texel Vignette, you can also park in any of the shopping area car parks and walk into the town centres.

There are many parking areas to choose from. De Koog is at the Northern part of the park and you can walk easily to the forest from there, Pal 17 is pretty large, it is further south and close to the forest and the also beach. We parked in De Vogelzang, a pretty large car park with only a short street walk to Den Burg town centre, plus there is a pretty neat dog treat shop there! There are smaller car parks dotted around the middle the forest, for example the one on Monnikenweg, but there are only spaces for about 10 or so cars there. You can give it a try or just play it safe in one of the larger parking areas.

There is so much to write about for dog friendly walks in Texel that we have separated it into two posts, one for Beaches and one for Forests.

This is probably the clearest map of the dog areas on Texel we have found. In addition to this, pretty much all restaurants and cafes are dog friendly.

Pros:

  • Diverse island with forests, dunes, beaches and cafes
  • Extremely dog friendly island all year round
  • A full and interesting day out for both people and pups

Cons:

  • Keep an eye out for spontaneous ferry time adjustments
  • Very touristy island, can get busy in some beach areas in summer

Location:

Enkhuizen

Enkhuizen is a lovely little town and well worth the trip, and even if the off leash zones are limited there is simply something quaint and cosy about this town. Situated just at the end of the inner dyke that spans the IJsselmeer/Markenmeer, it’s a convenient place to make a break if you are travelling to or from Germany.

It is a fairly small town with some gorgeous old and historic buildings, excellent pedestrian shopping streets with boutique shops and some lovely little cafes, an enormous yacht harbour, a grassy dyke to walk along and a small park just off the waterfront that allows dogs to stretch their legs. Spend at least a couple of hours if you are only passing through, or make a full day trip out of it.

The park that we usually visit for a little leg stretching is just off the Immerhornweg, between the Oosterdijk and the see. There are a range of parking spaces in or around Enkhuizen and the town is small enough for you to walk through town to the park and enjoy the town on the way.

Pros:

  • Interesting and historic town with many dog friendly cafes
  • Small and with many green spots for sniffing
  • Clean water to drink and swim in

Cons:

  • Not a huge off leash area but nice enough for a little leg stretch

Location:

Scheveningen

This is a stretch of beach about half an hour from The Hague by car. Scheveningen is famous for its pier (De Pier) and promenade, which is wide and full of bars, restaurants and shops. If your goal is to spend a day browsing in the shops, lunching in any of the restaurants and cafes on the enormous promenade, strolling along the pier and then relaxing in a dog friendly bar alongside the beach with a cocktail in your hand then this is the place to be!

The entire promenade and the beach right next to the pier it is a leash-only area in summer, and the beach is only off leash between 1 October and 15 May.

But! There are two all year dog beaches in Scheveningen:

  • Zwarte Pad Parking area
    Right at the north end of the Zwarte Pad car park is the start of a dog beach zone where you can reward your patient pup after a day of shopping and restaurants with a decent beach run around all year round.
  • Zuiderstrand Beach, entrance 2
    We have no personal experience of this section of beach but according to this website, dogs should be allowed all year round. If anyone gives this area a try then please feel free to update us!

There is also a park just behind the car park (Oostduinpark) which you can also let your pup sniff around in, but this is a leash-only area. It’s not a massive area but it does have some nice views from the top of the hill.

Leashed dogs are also allowed on the pier, the top level is open and you can look out to sea, the lower level is under cover and with the usual holiday resort entertainment of pinball machines, slot machines, a few shops and some fried food booths.

If you are coming by car then get here early, the parking spot gets really busy in the afternoon with people going for the beach-side bars and restaurants.

The rest of Scheveningen is not particularly special to walk through, we walked through the pedestrian high street to the fish harbour which is pretty industrial. There are a couple of nice shops on the way, and of course several fish restaurants in the harbour area (we went to the Dagvisser – nice terrace).

Pros:

  • Lots to do for both you and your pup for the whole day
  • Clean beach with lots of space to run around
  • One of the few beaches allowing off leash dogs all year round

Cons:

  • Parking costs for spending the whole day here
  • Beach can get busy in high summer
  • Need to be there early for a parking spot.

Location:

Manteling van Walcheren and Berkenbosch Beach, Zeeland

De Manteling is a large expanse of forest area that stretches along the coastline of Veere, a province of the island that houses Zeelands capital, Middelburg. Although Zeeland is well known for its summer towns and beaches, there are also extensive walking and hiking areas on all of the islands. De Mantling is, as with most coastal landscapes in the Netherlands, a mixture of dunes and forest path but one of the best parts of this walk is a dip into the all year round, dog friendly Berkenbosch Beach! (leash free outside the summer months)

As with most of Zeeland, since it caters primarily for tourism, there is limited access to the beaches, and nearly everywhere dogs are banned from the beaches during the day and need to be leashed through pretty much all dune and forest areas. So although this is not really a “loslopen” area, just the fact that it has an all day beach for dogs makes it worthwhile adding.

We parked at Car park, Domburgseweg 59, 4356 NA Oostkapelle, right next to the Terra Maris museum. Walk towards the public toilet block and follow that pathway into the park. Here it is also signposted for the Strandpaviljoen Berkenbosh – your pups ultimate goal! Every now and then you will also see signs for shortcuts the beach (Strand), or of course you can ignore these signs and take the scenic route there.

You can of course just take a direct line towards the beach, which will take you perhaps 15 minutes or so, or you can make the most of being here and wind around the mixture of open dune pathways and lesser used but much more shaded forest pathways. All on leash but it’s still an interesting walk. Many areas and pathways are open and exposed to the elements but you will find parallel pathways hidden between the shady trees.

And because there are so many other holiday attractions nearby, there are not so many people just ambling through the forest, making the whole place quite relaxing to stroll through.

Very close to the car park is the Castle Westhove (how a hotel) which has some lovely waterways around it for a quick, freshwater plunge or two, but we did not come across any other water en route to the beach, so best to carry extra with you on a hot day.

Pros:

  • Not very busy on the forest walks
  • Interesting range of landscapes
  • The Dog Beach!

Cons:

  • It’s nearly all a leash only walk
  • Limited freshwater pools for drinking

Location:

Westenschouwen, Zeeland

On the island Schouwen-Duiveland, at the Kop van Schouwen (the outermost headland of the island) is a large hiking area that has a small off leash zone in the middle of the dunes.

As Zeeland caters mostly for tourists it is less open to free running dogs than other areas in the Netherlands. However although this whole dunes area may be mostly on leash walking, it is quite lovely so don’t skip it just because your pup prefers his freedom, the pathways and sniffing opportunities are so extensive that your pup will come out feeling very enriched even without running free, and you can always reward his patience with a little leg stretch at the off leash zone. It’s not a big off leash area but there is enough space to throw a frisbee around and have a little fun.

We parked in Westenschouwen, there is a large enough car park there right next to the Brasserie Zeelust (Steenweg 15, 4382 RL). Walk to the roundabout at the car park entrance and then along Kraaijensteinweg for about 10 minutes, and you will come across a kind of large rust coloured barrel with a pointy lid next to a sign saying “Duinen van Schouwen”. Walk up here, past the little cafe and keep going into the park.

The off leash area is north-west of where you start, and can be found in Google Maps, if you just search for “MPJ6+C7 Burgh-Haamstede”. It is clearly marked from all sides. We took a very indirect route there and just enjoyed the lovely shaded walk on a hot day.

Surprisingly, although Zeeland is a hugely touristy area, we met about 2 other people and only 1 other dog on the whole walk in the middle of July. It seems most people aim for the town, or the beaches and cafes which leaves this lovely walking area very peaceful.

There is no water here at all, so do bring a bottle or two with you for both you and your pup.

Pros:

  • Peaceful and extensive walking area
  • Shady on hot days
  • Labyrinth of paths, make it as long or as short as you like

Cons:

  • Mostly it’s a leashed walk
  • No water at all

Location:

Strabrechste Heide, Heeze

Just outside Eindhoven is a lovely large hiking area that is predominantly a leash walk area, but also has a 4km long leash-free zone. Combine the two and you can have a full day of hiking with your hound in this beautiful heathland area.

But since this website is all about leash-free areas we will focus on that. The path you want to take is the Heideroute, marked in yellow on the pathway signs. It is a long narrow circular route that runs almost parallel to the motorway.

After a short, leashed walk from the car park, the little orange sign for “honden loslopgebied” opens up the heathlands to your pup. We visited in March when the weather was sunny and warm but not too hot. Even so, the range of watering holes along the way were very much appreciated by our furry friend.

There is a large lake that you encounter on your way which, depending on the direction you take on the circular route, is the first large water area you come across, however this is fenced off to everyone. But no worries, there are many more smaller lakes, puddles, canals and watery swampy areas for your pup to cool off in if necessary.

The walk does take you through some woodland areas that would offer you shade when the trees have leaves but in March there was very little of that. The heathlands are of course open plains full of lovely long grasses and shrubs that my pup really enjoyed jumping through.

There are a few pathways that are shared with horses and mountain bikes, although I saw neither. There is however a rather busy cycle path near the large, fenced-off lake that you share or walk close to for just a short period, after which you are back to walking in soft pathways again for the rest of the way.

At some point there was a very marshy area with stepping stones to walk and keep your feet dry at the same time. I can only assume after a lot of rainfall, this would be difficult to get through. Also some paths in this area were pretty squelchy so I would recommend waterproof boots even though most of the pathways are pretty sandy and dry.

Parking is free of charge at the Strabrechste Heide Mierlo parking spot, just off the corner where Mierlose Dijk meets Heezerweg.

Pros:

  • Long off leash area for a national park
  • Varied landscape
  • Lots of water

Cons:

  • No poop bins at all, not even in the car park
  • Some paths shared with horses and mountain bikes
  • Potential to get very, very muddy

Location:

Dwingelderveld, Dwingeloo/Ruinen

Dwingelderveld National Park is a huge park situated in Drenthe, between Ruinen and Dwingeloo. It is so extensive that it is not possible to walk the whole area in one day, and for that reason we stayed for three nights in a holiday home site in Ruinen, in the Vacantiepark De Wiltzangh – an Ex-Europarcs location which is now privately owned. We hired a “Sterrenborg Lodge”, dog friendly and plenty of distance from other cabins. Highly recommended!

The reason we chose this place is because it is literally situated at the edge of the park and all the walks we did could be started straight out of the front door, but if you don’t want to make a mini-break then there are several parking areas dotted around the park, for example opposite the Theehuys Anserdennen is a fairly decent parking area.

We visited in late March which was warm and sunny enough to want some shade and water. In high summer the trees will provide even more shade than we had but a large part of the hiking area is open heathland, it’s one of the most impressive views of the park and for most walks, it is pretty much unavoidable to be walking along open heath at some point. I am sure you could adapt your walk to stick to the shade, but we all really enjoyed the novel scenery. We plan to revisit in September but my feeling is that this area is probably most enjoyable outside the summer season.

I am not going to list the exact walks we did because there are so many walks and variations of those walks that you can follow. We used a combination of Komoot and Outdoor Active to select our walks but there are also signs that can be followed, or simply follow your nose/dog.

Not all areas are off leash and these zones are clearly marked, the pink running-dog sign on posts is the off leash sign, and outside these signs your dog needs to be leashed. Some areas have grazing animals, we did not see any in March (just the warning signs) but these areas definitely require you to leash your dog whether the animals are there or not. But there are plenty of off leash areas for you to let your pup properly stretch his legs.

Some of the pathways are shared with cyclists or horses (or both). They are clearly marked with signs, and differences in the pathway make it obvious who belongs where. It’s quite well thought out. Just be sure to keep your pup on the right part of the path!

There are some raised walkways over some marshland. In March it was only wet in patches but I still did not want to let my dog squelch through at the side of the walkway. The raised walkway is covered with a heavy wire, presumably to make it less slippery when wet and my dog was fine walking over it. No snagged claws and he could not see enough through the planks to make him hesitant. And if you are walking with kids as well as dogs, then look out for some fantastic frogs in these areas!

We walked past at least two large lakes with beautiful clear water. There are plenty of other watery areas or smaller pools or mini canals along the way, even in some of the vast open plains there are water pools. Some are inaccessible and only there for the grazing animals, so bring some drinking water for your pup just in case the water you were aiming for on your map turns out to be on of these.

On one walk we came across an enormous radio telescope from Astron, and at the base there are boards with some interesting information about the telescope and its work.

We only saw two potential cafes on the whole weekend, and unfortunately in March, both of these were closed. So if you are walking off-season for the whole day then I suggest you bring your own coffee and lunch! There are plenty of open areas or picnic tables to stop at en route.

It is not easy to just select a few of the 100’s of photos we took, but these should whet your appetite:

Pros:

  • Seemingly endless choice of walks
  • Plenty of stops to rest up and have a cosy snack or picnic
  • Lots of varied landscape, including fresh water lakes

Cons:

  • Some areas have no shade at all
  • Chance of meeting grazing animals
  • Will be at least a full day trip for most people

Location:

Nimmerdor/Zandbergen, Amersfoort

Nimmerdor is a decent sized off leash park just south of Amersfoort. While I would not really make this park the main theme of a day trip, even from Amsterdam (where it is about a 45 minute drive), it is a worthwhile spot if you are in the area.

We have only visited this park in winter, so perhaps we have not seen it in its full glory, but it was a pleasant stroll nonetheless. I think we only strolled through about 3 quarters of the possible pathways in a loop and managed to walk just over 4km, and that’s without zig-zagging between pathways so you can easily extend or cut short this walk to suit you. The whole area is a leash-free zone.

It is quite a popular spot, but there are plenty of turns and wide areas to distance yourself from other dogs or people if you want to. The park is not fenced off and a couple of the entrances are quite close to the road.

There are no watering holes there, so take water with you if the weather is hot. Having said that, I am sure when all those trees are covered in leaves in summer there will be plenty of cool shade.

It actually took a bit of searching to find the little car park at the entrance of the park, it is just off Zandbergenlaan next to the church. Put Zandbergenlaan 42 in your GPS. You will see a sign pointing to the church parking (Parkeren Kerk), but the parking/park entrance you really want is right next to that sign on the left.

Pros:

  • Completely off leash area
  • Free parking
  • Lots of path choices

Cons:

  • No water areas
  • Probably quite busy in summer
  • Not easy to find!

Location:

‘t Leesten, Ugchelen

‘t Leesten is a park and restaurant area in the vast Hooge Veluwe National Park, just outside of Apeldoorn. Although it is not a massive area, it is probably the most well thought out dog area within a national park that we have found so far.

All walks start from the car park next to the restaurant/Info Centre (Bospaviljoen ‘t Leesten). There are two off-leash walks you can do, the dog losloopgebeit, which is a fenced-off area with a range of little paths running through the park, and you can probably cover the whole area in about 30-45 minutes. At the far end of this section you can leave the fenced-off area and follow a route called the Natte Neuzenroute (wet-nose route) which – providing you stick directly to the pathways, adds around an extra 3km to the route, however it is very clearly stated that you must keep your dog under control and not let him wander off the pathways. If you want to extend your walk even further then you can do so, but you must put your pup on a leash. All pathways are very clearly marked, there is no way you lose the way.

There is no water area as such, just a few large puddles because of the recent rainfall, so take water if the weather is warm as these are likely to dry out.

The area is about a 20 minute drive to the centre of Apeldoorn where you will find a lovely pedestrian zone with a whole host of lovely restaurants. Check out the dog friendly beer garden “De Graaf van Vlaanderen” close to the cinema car park…

Pros:

  • Lovely forest paths to snuffle around in
  • Fenced-off leash free zone
  • Restaurant and info centre next to the car park

Cons:

  • No water areas
  • Not all off-leash if you want to do a longer walk
  • If you take your dog outside the fenced-off area you must have your pup well under control

Location:

Bussloo

Situated just outside Apeldoorn, Bussloo is definitely not something close by. Bussloo is only dog-friendly between September and May, after which it is a haven for kids and families.

The whole area is a Leisurelands recreational area. There are about 4 car parks (fixed fee of €3 per day regardless of how long you stay), each of which has kids entertainment facilities close by, such as swings, football targets, water pumps on the water edge, sectioned off swimming areas and bathroom blocks. There are also several beach side cafes and restaurants, meaning you could spend the entire day here if you wanted to. There is also a proper mini golf course on one side of the lake and this is also a good place to park.

It is possible to walk around the entire lake, however there is a spa and wellness centre situated on one part of the waterfront, and you need to walk around that. Directly in front of the spa there is a road, a cycle path and a horse path (interestingly no footpath…) but once you are past it, it’s back to galloping along park pathways!

There are also plenty of open, grassy areas to run around in, some spots seem to be newly forested with young trees, and in some sections there are fixed bbq areas. Just watch out for the Naturistenstrand where, if warm enough, you may encounter one or two totally naked people. It’s just to one side of the Spa. There is a closed off section to the east which is fenced off with barbed wire, and it is not easy to see from a distance. If you see a wooden gate, just keep watch that your pup doesn’t go barrelling into it.

In all the walk around the lake is just short of 10km, but at the eastern end of the lake there is a bridge where you can reduce the walk by around 3km. With all our stops and starts it took us nearly 2.5 hours to walk round.

This was a pretty busy area, even off season and fairly chilly we did meet a lot of dogs, mostly close to the beach areas or car parks, but wander further afield and other people start to thin out.

Pros:

  • Very large area, great for a long walk
  • Lots of clean water – no need to carry bottles!
  • Toilet blocks and dog-friendly restaurants on the way

Cons:

  • Over one hour drive away from Haarlem
  • Dogs only allowed September through to May
  • Can be very busy

Location:

Schoorlse Duinen

Schoorl is a popular touristy area but the walks through the dunes there are lovely. To start with, there is a massive parking area (Parkeerterrein Hargen aan Zee) so no need to rush to get there before anyone else as with other popular dune areas. From 1 March to 1 September, dogs must be on leash in the entire park, but the rest of the year, dogs may run free pretty much over the whole park.

Keep a look out for a large conservation area not too far from the entrance from the parking where dogs are off limits all year. This is clearly separated with barbed wire and electric fences, so you will need to be careful when walking close to the fence.

Otherwise, you will find a lovely range of white sand dunes, mixed with forest areas, beautiful views and beach options. Pathways are a mixture of concrete paths, shared cycle paths and trodden winding routes through the trees and dunes. It is such a vast area, so if it was your intention to have a solo stroll out of the way of everyone, then it is very easy to avoid other people or dogs.

Somewhere in the middle of all this is a lovely cafe with an excellent outside area called Bospaviljoen de Berenkuil. It is of course very dog friendly and even has dog snacks on the menu. Very busy lunchtime in summer, but sadly closed in winter. If you manage to get there in a quieter part of the day then it’s a cosy little spot for taking a break.

There are a lot of horse pathways, and in 2025 there was a flurry of new posts marking new horse routes over the dunes, but they do not seem to be exclusive to horses. It is a popular horse riding area, which means you need to be on the lookout for fresh horse “snacks” left on the paths.

Schoorl is also a popular tourist spot for hikers and a weekend play area in the dunes for families with younger children, hence the summer ban on off leash dog walking, but if you do decide to visit in summer with your leash, then expect kids kicking footballs around, or playing very enthusiastically (i.e. sudden screams) in the dunes.

Pros:

  • Long, rambling walks with dunes, forest and beach in one area
  • Wide range of paths to choose from, make the walk as long or short as you like
  • Always able to find a quiet path or avoid

Cons:

  • No off leash walks in summer
  • Can be busy with horses
  • Watch out for electrified barbed wire fencing marking off-limit areas

Location:

Noordwijk Dunes and Beach

Noordwijk is a lovely mixture of dunes, forest walks and beach in the area. It is an extensive area but since 2022, dogs are only allowed off leash year round in the southernmost part of the park. There is also a section of the beach where you can walk with your dog off-leash all year round, and this spot is pretty much opposite the off leash zone of the forest/dune area, making it easy to combine both into one walk.

There is a parking spot near the beach at the northern part of the dog beach, (Google: Kon. Astrid Boulevard 51, 2202 BD Noordwijk), close to the 101 Beach club. You can walk along the beach here and also enter the dunes at the southernmost point of the parking area. Alternatively park at the Parking de Noordduinen (Noordduinseweg 3, 2221 BL Katwijk aan Zee) which is right at the bottom of the park.

Unfortunately apart from the beach itself, there are no watering holes for drinking or cooling down, so do remember to pack plenty of drinking water for both you and your pup on a hot day. Restaurants on the beach provide refilling opportunities.

You can still walk the entire park if you want to, albeit with your pup leashed.

Pros:

  • Varied landscapes/smells
  • Restaurants on the beach or near the end of the walk

Cons:

  • Difficult parking if you arrive lunchtime
  • No drinking water

Location: