Walking through historic territory
Walk the ferns
Opposite the Appelbergen pavilion, you walk straight into the forest. The yellow posts help you find your way. At the start of the route, these lead you to the left side of the nature reserve. Walk through the dense forest and watch the many ferns pick up the sunrays shining through the foliage. After a short stretch, you come to more open terrain. Where blackberry bushes are busy growing their fruit and flowers with bright colours are blooming.
Overlooking a rustic lake
Further on, the first sand drift can be seen. Because this wild land has never been mined, the abundant sand has had years of free play to form sand hills together with the wind. A little later you come to the second clearing: a rustic little lake where time seems to stand still. On your left you will find a wooden bench from where you look out over the water. A great place to take a break. After a good sandwich and a drink, you head back into the forest.
From forest to open terrain
The further you walk, the more varied the landscapes. One moment you are walking through dense greenery, the next you are walking on historic dirt roads. The deep gullies in the sand are medieval cart tracks. A nod to the past. For centuries, carts between Groningen and Coevorden dragged all the plants out of the sand. The wind moved the sand to the aforementioned sand hills. If you continue to follow the path of this historic trade route, you will end up in marshland. But don't worry, your feet will fortunately stay dry
" 'The view becomes more expansive, you leave the forest behind for a while' "
Prehistoric vistas
The view opens up; you leave the forest behind you for a moment. To your left are the meadows, to your right the marsh. After walking a loop around the marshy area, you’ll arrive at a small, deep crater lake in the centre. This is a pingo ruin, a remnant of the Ice Age. Underground ice pushed the ground upwards. When the ice melted, craters filled with water were formed.
Rounding the circle again
The last part of the route runs through dense greenery again. The yellow posts lead you to the end point of the route: paviljoen Appelbergen. Place for a hot chocolate with whipped cream, apple pie or coffee to-go. If you walked the route with children, a large playground awaits them to let off steam once more. You can take a break.
