National Landscape Noardlike Fryske Wâlden
Cycling through an intimate scenic landscape of open grasslands, alder rows, hedgerows, waterholes, and coppice woods.
The Landscape
The National Landscape of Noardlike Fryske Wâlden is characterized as the most small-scale landscape in the Netherlands. Here, you'll find unique strip parceling, accompanied by thousands of kilometers of alder rows, hundreds of kilometers of woodbanks, and tens of kilometers of hedgerows. Add to that hundreds of hectares of coppice woods and countless waterholes, and it's no surprise this area has been designated a National Landscape.
The origin of Noardlike Fryske Wâlden dates back to the Middle Ages. Since then, the landscape has hardly changed. Rows of alder trees, woodbanks, shrubs and ditches still surround the elongated narrow meadows, offering picturesque views of grasslands, waterholes, and coppice woods. Here, you can see with your own eyes how a large part of the Netherlands used to look!
Forests and Heaths
Polders and Farmlands
Lakes and Ponds
Swamps and Peatlands
Cycle with us through past and present
Cycling stories of pingos, wildflower meadows, and idyllic mosaic landscapes
This video takes you along the 51-kilometre cycling route through the National Landscape Noardlike Fryske Wâlden, a rare example of small-scale landscape development and ancient cultural elements. Covering over 25,000 hectares, this region offers a unique glimpse into how humans and nature have shaped a harmonious landscape, with hedgerows and alder lanes, mirrored ponds and ancient pingos, and meadows blooming with wildflowers. Tip: Turn on the subtitles in the YouTube video to follow the story.
Route map
Start and finish near bike node 16 on De Dunen in Harkema. However, this bike route is a circular tour, so it offers the possibility to start from any of the following bike nodes.
16 -77 - 78 - 79 - 75 - 74 - 70 - 69 - 75 - 74 - 21 - 53 - 8 - 3 - 15 - 79 - 80 - 98 - 2 - 29 - 45 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 11 - 10 - 49 - 42 - 16
