The Landscape

The landscape south of Groningen is a mosaic of open plains, forests, lakes, and marshy polders. Dense woodlands, shimmering waters, and bird-rich nature reserves alternate in a peaceful rhythm, with stately country estates standing as quiet witnesses of the past. The vast marshy polders give the Zuilaardermeer region its distinctive sense of space and play a vital role in water management and nature restoration. It’s a place to unwind and enjoy the tranquility, open horizons, and natural beauty all around.

The Hondsrug is a long, winding sand ridge in the northern Netherlands, formed by ice and meltwater during the Ice Ages. As a dry route through a marshy landscape, it was the ideal place for settlement and travel for thousands of years. Here, Neanderthals hunted mammoths, megalithic builders erected giant burial monuments, and the first farmers established their villages. The landscape still bears their traces: from impressive dolmens and quiet burial mounds to mysterious sacrificial sites and ancient cart tracks on the heath.

Forests and Heaths

Polders and Farmlands

Swamps and Peatlands

Lakes and Ponds

Join us on this virtual cycling route

Virtual cycling in Zuidlaardermeer and the Hondsrug

Route map

Start and finish near bike node 26 on the Hoornsedijk in Haren. However, this bike route is a circular tour, so it offers the possibility to start from any of the following bike nodes.

26 - 4 - 10 - 3 - 25 - 23 - 28 - 78 - 81 - 87 - 61 - 66 - 64 - 55 - 54 - 88 - 28 - 78 - 77 - 86 - 83 - 84 - 27 - 26

  • 81% of the route runs on paved roads. 
  • 19% of the route runs on unpaved and semi-paved paths. 

MORE INFO ABOUT ROAD AND SURFACE CONDITIONS

52
Kilometers
202
Minutes
146
Elevation meters