Cycling route Noordhollands Duinreservaat and Noord-Kennemerland
Cycling through one of the most varied coastal landscapes in the Netherlands, featuring high dunes, rugged dune valleys, sheltered forests, flower rich meadows and picturesque villages.
The Landscape
The Noordhollands Duinreservaat is a vast coastal landscape where sea, sand and greenery constantly alternate. You cycle through high dunes and quiet dune valleys, past fragrant pine forests and along paths that smoothly wind between open sandy areas and sheltered woodland edges. On clear days, the higher sections offer wide views, with the North Sea on one side and the polder landscape behind the dunes on the other.
The Noord-Kennemerland region also reveals many different sides along the route, from coastal dunes covered with marram grass to quiet inner dune edges where greenery softens the wind. Further inland, the typical North Holland landscape unfolds with long drainage canals, open meadows and narrow dike roads leading from village to village. This transition from beach and dunes to forests and polders gives the cycling route around Schoorl its distinctive character, especially for virtual cycling.
What You’ll Discover Along the Way
You ride through sheltered dune forests filled with the fresh scent of pine, while open clearings constantly reveal new views of sand and rolling dunes. On the higher sections, heathland appears between the dunes, giving the route a warm purple glow in late summer.
Close to the coast, you experience a strong sense of space and wind, with high dunes forming natural barriers and the sea never far away. The rhythm of beaches, marram grass and dune slopes gives this part of Noord-Kennemerland a true coastal atmosphere.
Behind the dunes, the North Holland polder landscape opens up with flower rich meadows, straight drainage canals and quiet roads stretching across the flat countryside. Dike villages and small rural settlements add variety, with constantly changing views over the open landscape.
Between the dunes and the inner dune edge lie dune lakes and small water bodies that catch the light and add extra depth to the landscape. The water reflects woodland edges and dune slopes, so every bend in the route reveals a different view.
Ride along with us on this virtual bike tour
Virtual cycling through the Noordhollands Duinreservaat takes you past high dunes, quiet dune valleys and fragrant dune forests, with constantly changing views of open sand and heathland. You experience the coastal landscape at a relaxed pace, as if you were riding the winding cycling paths through the greenery yourself.
In Noord-Kennemerland, the route smoothly transitions from the sea and marram covered dunes to the inner dune edge and the open polder landscape with canals, meadows and narrow dike roads. This makes virtual cycling here a varied journey through nature, villages and the characteristic landscapes of North Holland.
Want to learn more about virtual cycling? THIS IS HOW VIRTUAL CYCLING WORKS
Route map and cycling junctions
Start and finish at cycling junction 6 on the Terborchlaan in Alkmaar. Because this is a circular route, you can also start at one of the other cycling junctions along the route.
Distance: 49 km
Estimated riding time: 3 hours 17 minutes
Elevation gain: 268 m
Paved roads: 97%
Unpaved / semi-paved: 3%
Ideal for: e-bikes and city bikes
Along the way: several options for a coffee break or lunch.
