heiloo – 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

Noorderneg/Het Maalwater, Heiloo

There are two parts to the walking areas in Heiloo that we tend to visit. Noorderneg is essentially a long pathway or two that runs parallel to the water ways and this is a lovely spot in summer to cool off, and the other area is Heilooërbos, which is more of a forest area.

Noorderneg is a section of the Heiloo park, close to the children’s play areas and in summer it is popular with children swimming and playing in the park. However on the south side of these water areas is a long pathway with where dogs are allowed to run off leash all year. These pathways are mostly a simple pathway through a park, but there are some open grassy areas and trees alongside the pathways which makes it pleasant to walk and sniff. The lack of shade in summer is compensated by the enormous number of swimming opportunities.

The off leash paths start at Het Maalwater and running pretty much parallel to De Omloop up to the Zeeweg. You can either walk back the way you came and stay off leash which makes the distance you walk more flexible – you can simply turn around and go back if you are short on time – or cross over to the north side of the water and walk your leashed pup back to wherever you started from, but do note, you may encounter the odd sheep in fields very close to the pathways.

You can park for free at the open air swimming pool Het Baafje, or if you want to make it a longer walk, then park at the Wandlestartpunt Nijenburg just off Stetlaan, then walk along Belieslaan until you reach Het Maalwater. If you feel so inclined, once you have done the water round then you can continue into Heilooërbos by walking on past the Stetlaan parking area and really tire your dog out!

The handy thing about this area is not just the fantastic water scenery but the pathways are mostly maintained or even paved, so in winter when everywhere else is too muddy to enjoy, then this is still a good option.

In contrast to the limits in dog numbers per person in Heilooërbos, you can walk here with more than 3 dogs and this is therefore also a choice for dog walkers, but the pathways mostly have grass areas to the side so it is easy enough to make a little deviation if necessary.

Pros:

Beautiful watery area, perfect for hot days
Firm, non-muddy pathways
Good spot also for a short walk if you don’t have time

Cons:

Not much shade for people

Location:

Het Maalwater, Heiloo, Netherlands

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: