Hiking in the Kennemer Dunes

4.6666666666667 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 4.67 (6 Votes)
  Walk in the Dunes & Beach in North Holland
 

Eager to walk?
  Distance of this hike16 km (10 miles)
  What kind of walk is this?Railway walks
  Where does the walk start?Station: Santpoort-Noord
  What is the rating of this walk?Rating: 83/100
  View a mapView a map of this walk
  Download GPS-trackDownload the GPS-track of this walk

{snippet advertentie06}

This hike through the dunes in the province of North Holland is my all time favorite. I walk this route for almost twenty years. The trail combines a beautiful dune landscape with the pleasures of the beach. It is a brisk walk, especially because of the climbs.

{snippet advertentie03}

Beach pavilion Parnassia

The effort is well worth it. Choose a nice day and plunk down halfway at Parnassia for a drink or a healthy snack (quite some organic and local stuff).

{slide=Click here to see my photo’s of this beautiful walk|closed}

2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_004 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_015 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_017 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_030 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_038 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_042 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_049 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_059 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_060 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_065 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_066 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_070 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_076 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_079 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_085 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_090 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_098 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_099 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_101 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_103 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_105 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_107 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_112 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_115 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_117 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_121 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_122 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_125 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_140 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_144 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_148 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_155 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_161 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_166 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_168 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_169 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_172 2012-09-25_ns_santpoort_173

{/slides}

Nudist beach at Kattendel

The nice thing about this walk is the variety of landscapes, great forests, beautiful and high dunes and a quiet, wide beach. The beach around Kattendel is nice and quiet. That's because you can’t reach this beach by car or train, only on foot or on the bike. And when this is your thing: you can take of all your clothes: it’s a nudist beach...

Parnassia: nice beach club

Near Parnassia it is somewhat crowded with sunbathers, dog walkers and kite flyers. Parnassia is a nice place to eat or drink something. In good weather you can sit on the large terrace overlooking the sea. Sunny Sundays can be crowded with screaming kids and dogs trying to eat your calves.

Superb Bird Lake

Walking through the Kennemer dunes is a bit different. After the fuss of Parnassia, these dunes feel quiet and intimate. You walk along the idyllic Bird Lake, a paradise for birds and bird watchers. That Bird Lake (in Dutch: Vogelmeer) with its two islands is truly one of the most beautiful dune lakes that I know.

Bride of Haarlem

Don’t forget to climb the high dunes just before Bird Lake. You’ll have an overview over the so-called ‘Bride of Haarlem’. This dune is named after the fireweed: the seeds have some resemblance with a bride veil.

Five beautiful walks

This is one of the walks in a series of five beautiful walks from railway station to railway station. Want to see more?

Tags: Netherlands, railway walks

Written by Frank van der Meer.