The Netherlands has a vast amount of National Parks all unique to their own. However a weekend away to De Hoge Veluwe National Park is a treat to do in any season. With the gorgeous landscape and wild deer, it’s one of the most visited National Parks. This most likely because it is very reachable from cities such as Ede, Amersfoort, Arnhem and Apeldoorn. However easily reachable from the capital Amsterdam and Rotterdam too!
All photos were taken during our March 2019 weekend away.
The Hoge Veluwe
The Hoge Veluwe in Gelderland is the largest continuous nature reserves in the Netherlands. Established in 1935, the privately owned land is possible to visit with a small visitors fee. The 55 square kilometers landscape is made up of woodlands, sand dunes and heath. Established in 1935, it is one of the National Parks in the Netherlands – and the most popular.
There are up to 546,000 visitors a year escaping work life for a long weekend at the Hoge Veluwe National Park, with this year us being 2 of them!
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Fun Fact: Did you know KLM have named a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft “Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe” as it is supposedly the most efficient and environmentally friendly of their aircrafts!
Cycling In The Hoge Veluwe
The Hoge Veluwe has over 40 kilometres of cycling routes to be explored. What is great is that you do not need to take your own bike. There are a total of 1,800 white bikes to be used for free within the National Park. You just need to pick one up at any of the parking areas and off you go! These whites bikes are available for adults and children, as well as special bikes for those with extra needs. All bike paths are also very suitable for cycling on.
Hiking In The Hoge Veluwe
The Hoge Veluwe advertises nine different marked routes. However you can also just go for a hike and see where the paths take you freely. We were interested in some of the long distance routes, as well as seeing as much as the nature as possible. For only €2.50 you can get the official National Park map at the entrance showing the best routes to follow. The park offers different landscapes such as through sand, the forest and the moors.
It was easy to navigate with the map and so we decided to combine a few routes for our day hike. Sticking to the northern part of the park, we combine the red/white route and the red/yellow route for our hiking, reaching 22km in just over 4 hours!
What You Can Do In The Area
We wanted a weekend in the nature, with no plans to see any attractions. However it is the perfect location to stay at if you want to visit the following:
- Burgers Zoo
- Apenheul
- Veluwe Steam Train
- Kroller-Muller Museum
- Doorwerth Castle
Below you can see the Jachthuis Sint Hubertus Museum next to the small refreshments/drinks shop. This is located at the north of the park next to the water. Completed in 1920, it was once the house of Hélène en Anton Kröller-Müller. It is open to the public with tours that you can reserve in advance.
Of course you can also check out the Hoge Veluwe National Park visitor center for more!
Accommodation Tiny House Fred
For our weekend away we wanted to stay in a tiny house. We’ve always been interested in living with minimal belongings and in smaller space, so a for weekend was a good start to try it out. My Dutch partner is more than 6ft tall so we were curious how we would find it.
Since it was a tiny house in the Netherlands, it was also built with the Dutch in mind. We had chosen to stay at Fred, a tiny house situated at the Resort De Wije Werelt. This is situated close to the Otterlo entrance to the National Park.
Fred is a 2 persons chalet-like tiny house that has built in kitchen and bathroom for all your necessary needs. The tiny house included a very decent shower and clean kitchen appliances. Since this tiny house is on the resort, there were already towels, bedding and toiletries supplied for us.
The Resort De Wije Werelt also had a delicious cosy restaurant too, which was very quiet for this time of the year. We treated ourselves to their three course meal and was not disappointed. Highly recommended is the carpaccio starter, beef for main and creme brûlée for pudding!
The Hoge Veluwe was on our travel list for a long while, therefore this tiny house location and the timing of a good deal was perfect. Why not consider checking out Fred yourself!
Summary Of Our Weekend Away
Our stay at the Hoge Veluwe was a fun one. Even though the weather was cloudy and rain showers the whole time we were there, that didn’t stop us from getting our hiking boots on and exploring! Hiking the different landscape was really enjoyable and we kept our eyes peeled the whole time looking for wildlife. Unfortunately we didn’t spot a single deer during our whole 22km! However we did see a red squirrel, wild boar and plenty of birds!
We LOVED the tiny house accommodation called Fred. It was very spacious and luxurious, allowing us to fully rest after a long day of hiking. We felt that we had enough privacy on the resort (some trees just needed to grow a bit taller) and we would definitely recommend to others. And not to forget the delicious three course meal we had at their on site restaurant!
We can’t wait to go back during another season, as well as visit more National Parks!
Other Posts About National Parks In The Netherlands:
Guide To All Dutch National Parks
Weekend Away at Dwingelderveld National Park
And About Other Forest Cabin Locations here:
Tips:
- Dogs are allowed in the Hoge Veluwe, however must be on a lead at all times
- Pack enough snacks and drinks for daily outings in the park
- Take suitable walking shoes!
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Have you ever been to The Hoge Veluwe? We would love to hear what you thought and where you stayed as we plan to go back soon!
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