Veenland and Bargerveen
Cycling through the rugged beauty of the largest continuous raised bog area in the Netherlands.

The Landscape
After the last Ice Age, the climate grew warmer and wetter, creating vast wetlands in the river valleys of Drenthe and Groningen. Here, peat moss slowly developed into an impressive raised bog stretching from the Hunze to the Ems River. In the Middle Ages, the Bourtangermoeras covered as much as 300,000 hectares, with peat layers up to 12 meters thick in some places. Over the centuries, this unique landscape was dug up for peat extraction, making way for agriculture and forests. Today, the area invites you to explore its rich history and stunning natural beauty.
The Bargerveen is the only large, still living part of the original Bourtangermoeras that has been preserved. This nature reserve covers over 2,000 hectares and contains one of the last remaining patches of living raised bog in the Netherlands. The landscape is characterized by high peat hummocks, vast fields of peat moss, marshes, wet woodlands, and small lakes, creating a diverse environment in an almost untouched and remote area.

Forests and Heaths

Estates and Heritage

Polders and Farmlands

Swamps and Peatlands
Route map
Start and finish near bike node 33 on the Ambachtsweg in Weiteveen. However, this bike route is a circular tour, so it offers the possibility to start from any of the following bike nodes.
33 - 61 - 98 - 63 - 85 - 67 - 64 - 94 - 93 - 95 - 65 - 1 - 53 - 51 - 50 - 56 - 75 - 73 - 72 - 99 - 60 - 59 - 32 - 33
- 78% of the route runs on paved roads.
- 22% of the route runs on unpaved and semi-paved paths.


