Walking is the way to clear your head and get some nice exercise. Looking for a nice place to stretch your legs? There are plenty of them in Groningen. We list a few beautiful spots where you can let yourself go far from the hustle and bustle. Walk through the woods, over the dike or along historical grounds, Groningen has it all.
Smeerling | A picturesque hamlet
Parking: Natuurmonumenten car park, Eemboerveldweg Onstwedde
Surroundings: forest, grain, farms, Ruiten Aa
Distance from city of Groningen: 50 km
Catering establishments: Gasterij Natuurlijk Smeerling, MoeNieks
In and around the hamlet of Smeerling, you can take lovely walks through the old Metbroek forest. And don't forget to take a good look around along the way, because along the footpaths are a number of beautiful authentic regional farms from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.A nice start to your walk is Gasterij Natuurlijk Smeerling, located in one of those restored Westerwoldse farms. From here, you can walk straight into the valley of the Ruiten Aa, one of the most beautiful stream valleys in the Netherlands. It is still really quiet here, an unprecedented luxury.
Noordlaarderbos | Search for traces of the past
Parking: Parking area Pollseweg, Noordlaren
Surroundings: mixed woods, hills
Distance from city of Groningen: 15 km
Catering facilities: Herberg De Blankehoeve
The Noordlaarderbos is a kind of fairytale forest with a rich past. The medieval cart tracks are a reminder of the old trade route between Coevorden and Groningen, which used to be intensively used. This place is ideally suited for lovely walks. A fantastic area if you love cultural history and nature.
Appelbergen | So many landscapes within one nature reserve
Parking: Paviljoen Appelbergen, Hoge Hereweg 33 Glimmen
Surroundings: diverse nature reserve, water, sandy paths, playground
Distance from city of Groningen: 15 km
Catering facilities: Paviljoen Appelbergen
Whether you walk the marked walking route along the yellow posts or explore on your own through nature reserve Appelbergen: you will be amazed by the diversity of landscapes within this area. Dense and open forest, shifting sands, ponds and marshes alternate. The route along the yellow posts can be walked in about an hour to an hour and a half and runs along various sandy paths. If you are less mobile, you can also choose a paved path.
Noordpolderzijl | Clear your head
Parking: Noordpolderzijl car park, Zijlweg 3-4 Usquert
Surroundings: dike, mud flats, fishing port
Distance from city of Groningen: 35 km
Catering establishment: Café 't Zielhoes
In the far north of the Groninger mainland lies Noordpolderzijl, with the smallest open sea port in the Netherlands. An oasis of peace and space, where you can take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Enjoy the panoramic views across the mud flats, with the Wadden Islands of Schiermonnikoog, Rottumeroog, Rottumerplaat and German Borkum in the distance. Near Noordpolderzijl, you can take lovely walks along the dike. As far as you like.
Slochterbos | A forest full of surprises
Parking: Fraeylemaborg country estate, Hoofdweg 30 Slochteren
Surroundings: hilly forest
Distance from city of Groningen: 24 km
Catering establishments: Restaurant de Boerderij Fraeylemaborg
Behind the Fraeylemaborg estate lies a forest full of surprises. You park your car or bike at the borg, then continue on foot along a forest path of almost 1.3 kilometres. A walk in the Slochterbos is worthwhile in every season. In spring and summer numerous bird species sing to you. In autumn, you'll find many kinds of mushrooms and a wonderful variety of colours. Take a rest or eat your sandwiches brought from home on one of the many benches scattered through the park.
Lauwersmeer | An Eldorado for birds
Parking: Activiteitencentrum Lauwersnest, De Rug 1 Lauwersoog
Surroundings: National Park, lake, birds
Distance from city of Groningen: 40 km
Catering facilities: Restaurette Schierzicht
On the former seabed a beautiful new landscape emerged, a real bird paradise. The nature in the Lauwersmeer is so special that the area has been designated as a National Park, where you can go for beautiful walks. Staatsbosbeheer has set out eleven walks in the National Park. These vary in length from 1.5 to 10 kilometres and take you to special places in the area. At Activiteitencentrum Lauwersnest, you can decide what your walking route will look like. Will it be an existing route or do you prefer to go off the beaten track on your own?
Forest Ter Apel | Winding through an ancient forest
Parking: Hotel-Restaurant Boschhuis, Boslaan 6 Ter Apel
Surroundings: woods, streams, heathland, Ruiten Aa
Distance from city of Groningen: 65 km
Catering facilities: Hotel-Restaurant Boschhuis
Walking in Bos ter Apel means walking on winding forest paths, along the waters of the Ruiten Aa and with views of open fields. Through the woods runs the Bosbeek, an extension of the Ruiten Aa. Here you can quietly enjoy the view from the Leidijk and walk between old oaks and beeches that are over a thousand years old. An intimate landscape of woods, heathland, arable land, fens and streams.
De Onlanden | A vast marsh landscape
Parking: De Onlanderij, Borchsingel 43 Eelderwolde
Surroundings: nature reserve, marshlands, birds
Distance from city of Groningen: 9 km
Catering facilities: De Onlanderij
The vast marshland landscape lies under the smoke of the city of Groningen. Yet with a bit of luck, you might spot birds like the great egret, marsh harrier, sea eagle and bittern. But you might also spot Exmoor ponies, foxes and roe deer from the 25-metre high watchtower in the area.
Dollard | On the border of fresh and salt
Parking: At the bottom of the dike, car park Nieuwe Statenzijl
Surroundings: salt marshes, Wadden Sea
Distance from city of Groningen: 54 km
Catering establishments: coffee shop Bakje Doen
Walk through the pristine nature reserve of more than a thousand hectares of salt marsh and seven thousand hectares of drying mud flats. An area where fresh and salt water meet, where many animals live and where you experience a surplus of space. But look carefully around you. For in the brackish tidal landscape, plants and mudflats and water birds feel perfectly at home.
't Roegwold | Over the wooden decks
Parking: parking Dannemeerweg, Schildwolde
Surroundings: nature reserve, rough swamp forest
Distance from city of Groningen: 19 km
The Knuppelpad in nature reserve 't Roegwold is perhaps one of the most photographed spots in Groningen's nature. The Knuppelpad is a 750-metre wooden plank path right through the swamp of 't Roegwold. Some 6,000 years ago, there was forest here; now you find a swamp, with tree trunks sticking out above the water here and there.
