Hiking trip: Walking from Coevorden to Vorden - 8 days

Travel to Coevorden station on your own and check in at your accommodation. If you still have energy after traveling, definitely take a walk through the park.

Leaving 'goose city' Coevorden, you enter the beautiful nature of the ‘Poort van Drenthe’, marked by a stone artwork of the same name. You exit Drenthe and enter the province of Overijssel, following the valley of the Overijsselse Vecht river. In Gramsbergen, admire the picturesque old town with beautifully restored houses and the bronze statue of 'Pieterpad' walkers. Continue the route, passing the hamlet of Ane and through the England forest, located in an old meander of the river Vecht. Finally, end the day in Hardenberg.

On the trail, first walk along the 'Molengoot', an old course of the river Vecht. Enjoy the subsequent natural beauty in the Rheezermaten, a protected nature reserve. Then visit the beautiful village of Rheeze, with its history dating back to the Middle Ages. This protected village has plenty to see. Enjoy walking through the Hardenberg forest and along the banks of the rivers Vecht and Beneden-Regge. The route continues over the Junne estate, eventually ending in the lively town of Ommen.

The Pieterpad continues through the Vecht and Beneden-Regge basins, a hilly part of Overijssel. This is evident from the Ommerland watchtower at the top the Besthemerberg (112 ft). Climb the tower and enjoy the beautiful view over the Vecht valley! Other Dutch 'mountains' on the route include the Archemerberg (256 ft) and the adjacent Lemelerberg (144 ft). In this undulating landscape, pass the 'Fat Stone' boulder and walk along the juniper bushes on the Lemelerberg. Admire the monumental 'Lion' in Park 1813 and reach Hellendoorn via the wooded Eelerberg estate.

Today, traverse the Sallandse Heuvelrug, a moraine stretching from Ommen to Holten. This is Overijssel at its highest, where soft hills are covered by forests and heaths. Via the Hellendoornse Berg, walk towards 't Ravijn. View the 'Stardust' artwork here, installed after a brief gold rush in the past. Pause at the poignant monument commemorating the Twilhaar forced labor camp. Enjoy the nice panoramas atop the Haarlerberg and Holterberg and walk through the Noetselenberg estate to finally enter Holten.

Leave Holten via the hamlet Beuseberg, located on the outskirts of the Overijsselse moraine. Follow a stately beech lane near the Schipbeek brook, cross the water, and enter the region of the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek with his typical farms. Be sure to visit the beautiful Verwolde manor with its pleasant tea garden. This estate also houses the so-called 'Dikke Boom' (Fat Tree), the largest oak tree in the Netherlands. Further along the route, before reaching Laren, you will pass De Binnenhof, an 18th-century rectory expanded into a beautiful villa in the 19th century.

This day starts with a walk-through Groot Dochteren, a unique hamlet with scattered farms. Cross the Twente canal and the Berkel river on your way to the Velthorst estate, with its magnificent viewpoint over the Kienveen area. Then stroll through an extensive heathland where conifer forests were planted after 1920. Arrive at the stately manor Het Enzerinck, built in neoclassical style in 1826. If you have time and energy left upon reaching Vorden, consider visiting the nearby beautiful Hanseatic city of Zutphen, just 9 minutes away by train!

After breakfast, this part of the Pieterpad ends here for you.