dog beach – Loslopen.net

Hondsbossche Zeewering, Camperduin – Petten.

There is a huge and very historical dyke running between the Camperduin parking place near Schoorl, which runs about 5.5km along the coastline to Petten. This version of the dyke has stood since about 1880 and has been widened and enhanced many times since then to protect the land from sea surges. Stand on the dyke and look at the level of the road and the land below, then compare to the sea level on the other side of the dyke, you can see how far below sea level the land is, and can really appreciate the need for coastal protection in the Netherlands. It’s quite an “oh” moment!

This whole dyke is almost like a double-dyke, with one side next to the road which is not paved, and the paved bike/foot path on the beach side and both are separated by an artificial valley. Pretty much the whole of the valley area is protected, or part of a construction to reinforce the dyke structure and it is fenced off.

History and engineering aside, this dyke is a little gem of a stroll and with the popular Schoorl dunes close by, this spot seems to be mostly overlooked. With over 5km with no traffic lights or crossings, it’s also an excellent place to go for a long and uninterrupted run if you are so inclined.

Running next to the footpath is a cycle path, which splits away now and then, but when it is next to the walking path then it is also separated by tufty grass which was enough to keep my off leash pup on the right side of things. There are two cycle paths and the one next to the foot path is more or less the scenic route, the high speed/high traffic path is well out of the way.

You don’t have to walk the entire dyke and back in one go! As you drive on the Hondebosseweg towards Camperduin there are several parking bays with steps up to the dyke. We parked at a parking spot called De Putten (Schoorl) and walked up to the dyke on entrance 21, then northwards towards Petten.

Along the way you will find a lovely little pier overlooking a wider, watery part of the valley, which is a detour of just a few metres and makes a lovely picture opportunity.

Continuing on northwards, starting at exit 17F you will start to have connections down to the beach, which is open to off leash dogs from 1 October to 1 April. You can come back up to the dyke at 5 or 6 other exits between here and Petten.

If you don’t fancy the beach then you can walk the whole way back on the non-paved dyke next to the road where you can really see the differences in ground levels between sea and land, and where you have a lovely view of the Harger and Pettemerpolders, which is off limits for dogs but still lovely to look at from high up.

Pros:

Very few people walking dogs
Choice of three paths to choose: beach, pathway or grass
Long enough walk to the next town to make it a day trip

Cons:

No water, take your own for your pup
No shelter at all
Can get pretty windy up there

Location:

Hondsbosscheweg, Petten, Netherlands

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:

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:

De Koog, Netherlands

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: