forest – Loslopen.net

Egmond aan den Hoef

To the left of the main road on the way to the beach and about 20 minutes from Alkmaar, is a secret little spot that only the locals seem to know about, despite it being in plain sight as you drive by!

While it is not a massive area, it is certainly good enough for an hour long stroll, and is perfect if you want to just get away from the constant tourism at the beach or in the popular dunes areas. Having said that, do not expect to have the space to yourself here, the tourists may miss this area but the locals do not.

The off leash area is the section between the Bloedweg bike path and Egmonderstraatweg, west of the Van Oldenborgweg. There is a fence with closable entrance-gates running parallel to the main road, making it safe to let your pup run free without risk of accidents but access to the other sides of the area are not fenced off.

The landscape here is a lovely mix of a large open field, uncharacteristically hilly pathways through the trees and a bit of dunescape. It may not be huge in square metres but the pathways slalom around the trees which means you can make the walk longer than simply walking around the perimeter. At one point the walking area ends with a clearly placed wire fence, and that will lead you down to the Bloedweg bike path, but you only need to walk along it for a few minutes until you find a way back into the forest area. Of course you can simply turn back the way you came if you want to avoid the bike path completely.

The views are lovely when you climb up to the top of the dunes part, you can look over Egmond to the sea and catch some of the sea breeze. Definitely worth the effort!

This area is connected to an official hiking area, so look out for dog-free walkers who may not appreciate being greeted by your four-footer. Also horse paths are numerous in the area.

There is no water here, unless it has been raining and left puddles then there is not even a quick sip, so do bring a water bottle with you for you and your pup on a hot day.

Parking is possible in the Van Oldenborghweg where there are a few parking bays to choose from.

Pros:

Varied landscape
Lovely views from the high points
Not too busy

Cons:

No water
Busy bike path (but avoidable)

Location:

Van Oldenborghweg

Amsterdamse Bos, Amstelveen

While the majority of people seem to walk their pups at the very convenient but leash-only Vondelpark near the centre of Amsterdam, just a bus ride away brings you to the Amsterdamse Bos, a huge area with massive off-leash pathways and wide open fields for running, playing or training in. Don’t forget, dogs travel for free on busses in the Netherlands!

Start at the bus stop “Amsterdamse Bos” and walk towards the Bosbaan, a wide canal famous for its rowing events. If you are coming by car then there is a large car park near the restaurant De Bosbaan (lovely lunches…) but of course you pay Amsterdam parking prices to park there.

There is a pleasant pathway to the side of the Bosbaan, but it is leash-only, and therefore not covered in these pages.

From the restaurant, we walked past the Bosbaan towards the Klimbos (children’s climbing area), and then veered south, following the main pathways. This point is still leash-only, until you come to a painted sign on the floor which marks the start of the loslopgebied. From here on, just follow the extensive labyrinth of pathways, walk around the Kleine Vijver lake and wind your way back, that alone will be around a 7-8 km walk. To the right of the main pathway is a dog free zone which allows dogs on-leash between October and March. It’s up to you if you want to explore them, we didn’t because we were having too much fun running free in the fields!

One thing you need to know, this is not a secret spot by any means. It can be busy. Even on cold winter days on a late lunchtime walk, expect a mixture of private dog walkers, large pack walkers (blatantly ignoring the signs of 3 dogs per person), office workers taking a lunchtime stroll and, surprisingly, horses crossing your path. Having said that, this area is so large and with so many wide open spots, you can find a way to avoid uninvited attention.

There are many cycle paths throughout the areas, but it has been nicely planned in such a way that these paths run parallel to walking areas, separated by grassy banks or trees so that walkers and cyclists rarely cross paths, even over the little bridges in the park.

The Amsterdamse Bos is also a location of several events throughout the year, some of which will close large areas of the park. If your plan was a long, calm walk in the woods, then check the calendar before setting out.

Pros:

Huge area with wide open spaces
Easily accessible from Amsterdam via public transport
Lots of watery areas for hot summer days

Cons:

High parking fees if public transport is not an easy option for you
Can be busy
Hosts a number of large events

Location:

Bosbaan

Heilooërbos, Heiloo

There are two parts to the walking areas in Heiloo that we tend to visit. Heilooërbos, which is a lovely forest north of the Belieslaan, and the other area is Noorderneg and this does have an off leash area but is more of a maintained park. They are connected by pathways and although it is not exactly a short hop from each other, you can walk easily between both areas if you want to.

Heilooërbos is a fairly large forest area just off the Alkmaar south ring road and has a decently sized, all year round off leash zone in the middle of the forest.

Park at the free parking area off Stetlaan which is just a few minutes of leashed walking before getting to the off leash area.

Right at the exit of the car park is a board showing you a map of some walking routes. On this board, you want to aim for the right hand side of the railway track, this is where the off leash area starts and is marked on this map in a green dotted line – which are actually cycle paths, so it’s easy to orientate yourself.

You will need to cross the railway which is an unmanned crossing. A bell rings if a train is coming so keep your dog on a short leash here just in case he is startled by sudden clangs!

You can go anywhere inside the leash free zone, zig-zag along all the pathways and you will easily walk for an hour in this area alone. If you want to extend your walk to include the surrounding areas then you can do that but it is a leash only area.

The forest itself is a little labyrinth of naturally trodden pathways – no paved areas or artificial surfaces and is a fantastic snuffle route. There is a decent forest canopy in summer to keep cool on a hot day or to give some shelter if it rains. If you decide to follow an official pathway then these are fairly clearly marked, but we generally just followed our nose because the official routes are for hikers and take you into the leash only areas.

The nice thing about this area is that dog walkers are limited to a maximum of 3 dogs, so large pack dog walkers are forbidden. Also a lot of the pathways are wide enough so that, even if you did meet a walker with 3 dogs, you have enough space to avoid them, but mostly during the day you will encounter people just walking their solo dog.

In this forest area there is no water at all. If it is so hot that you want to dunk your dog then either walk or drive to the watery areas in Noorderneg.

It is a popular place, a large dog park in a highly residential area means there is no chance you will have the park to yourself, so if you want to limit the amount of people you will meet, avoid the prime walking times – mornings, lunchtimes and weekends.

Pros: