Cycling
Don’t like to sit still? Holland and the region “De Veluwe”offers lots of opportunities to discover it the active way. Pedal your way through the fields, heaths, through the Veluwe forests or tee-off at a great golf court. You will see the most beautiful spots in Holland while cycling around. Numerous cycle routes have been mapped out through woods, heaths and polders. Major cities, such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam, are also great fun to explore by bike. The Veluwe has a number of areas excellently suited to being discovered by bicycle. A few examples of such areas are the woods and heathland of the Hoge Veluwe or the sorroundings of the Veluwemeer (Lake Veluwe)
Hoge Veluwe
The Hoge Veluwe National Park covers 5,500 hectares of forests, heaths, lakes and drift sand. It has 42 kilometres of paved bicycle paths. Two bike routes have been mapped out. Visitors to the Hoge Veluwe National Park can use one of the 1,000 ‘white bikes’ free of charge. The bikes enable you to visit the many places of interest in the park quite easily. A number of game observation areas have been created. You may be lucky enough to see red deer, mouflons and wild boar at dusk. www.hogeveluwe.nl
Several lovely cycle routes will quickly bring you to such stunning attractions as the beautiful Zuider Zee town of Harderwijk and the town centres of Ermelo and Putten. Take your time choosing your own route and decide for yourself when you want to take a break. You can be sure of peace and quiet as you gently glide through areas of outstanding natural beauty, far off the beaten track. And who knows, en route you may suddenly find yourself face to face with the local wildlife - or even a flock of sheep! Harderwijk is one of the old Hanseatic towns and is located on the shores of the Veluwemeer and Wolderwijd lakes. A great deal of the local fishing industry history has been preserved in the many surviving monuments and in the Veluws Museum. Putten is perfectly located on the edge of an area of outstanding natural beauty. It adjoins thousands of hectares of woodland, making it a much-beloved place for people seeking rest and relaxation. Ermelo literally means ‘age-old’, as demonstrated by the prehistoric burial mounds located here. During the summer months, Ermelo is a-buzz with activity, including open-air performances, covered wagon rides and, of course, cycle tours. You can obtain route maps from the reception desk at Het Verscholen Dorp [The Secluded Village] holiday park.