Cycling route Northern Valley and Speulder and Sprielder Forest
Cycling through a tranquil valley landscape lined with hay meadows and farmland, featuring heathlands, stately country estates, and one of the oldest and most beautiful forests in the Netherlands.
The Landscape
When the glaciers retreated around 150,000 years ago, they left behind a varied landscape of higher sandy ridges and lower valleys. On the Veluwe, vast forests and heathlands developed, while in the Northern Valley a small-scale mosaic emerged of grasslands, streams, and farmland.
Today, that transition forms the heart of the route: from quiet forest sections with gnarled oaks to open farmland with hedgerows, hay meadows, and small patches of heath. Among prehistoric burial mounds and historic country estates, you can sense how nature and culture have coexisted here for centuries, each strengthening the other.
What You’ll Discover Along the Way
In the Speulder and Sprielder Forest, you cycle through one of the Veluwe’s most distinctive woodlands, with twisting oaks and long, quiet forest avenues. Where the forest opens up, heathlands and sandy paths appear, creating a constant shift between shelter and wide open views.
Along country estates such as Landgoed Schovenhorst, you ride along quiet lanes lined with stately rows of trees and carefully managed woodland plots. Along the way, you encounter traces of a long history, from burial mounds to historic forest structures that give the landscape its rhythm.
As you leave the forest edge, the Northern Valley unfolds into a gentle landscape of meadows, fields, and scattered farmsteads. You follow quiet, low-traffic roads with wide views, where the farmland forms a calm counterpoint to the Veluwe forests.
This cycling route reveals the change in elevation between the higher Veluwe and the lower-lying valley, giving the landscape a gentle, rolling feel along the way. In the transition zone, water and relief shape the scenery, with wet lowlands, streams, and green fringes adding extra variety to the route.
Ride along with us on this virtual bike tour
Virtually cycling through the Northern Valley and the Speulder and Sprielder Forest takes you from quiet Veluwe forest avenues to an open valley landscape with hay meadows, fields, and small patches of heath. You experience the contrast between sheltered paths and wide views, as if you were gently riding through it yourself.
Along the way, you sense the gentle change in elevation between the Veluwe and the valley, with streams and green fringes bringing the landscape to life. From home, you experience a route rich in nature, country estate charm, and distinctive Veluwe scenery, ideal for inspiring your next cycling trip.
Want to learn more about virtual cycling? THIS IS HOW VIRTUAL CYCLING WORKS
Route map and cycling junctions
Start and finish at cycling junction 56 on the Arnhemse Karweg in Putten. Because this is a circular route, you can also start at one of the other cycling junctions along the route.
Distance: 47 km
Estimated riding time: 3 hours 8 minutes
Elevation gain: 92 m
Paved roads: 85%
Unpaved / semi-paved: 15%
Ideal for: e-bikes and city bikes
Along the way: several options for a coffee break or lunch.
