Hiking trip: Walking from Pieterburen to Rolde - 6 days

Travel to Baflo station on your own. From there, a transfer will be arranged to Pieterburen (about 10 minutes). Upon arrival in Pieterburen, check in at your accommodation. If you arrive early and have some energy left after your journey, take our 10 km 'County Hike' prologue! This pleasant extra loop lets you explore the area north of Pieterburen and admire the expansive bird-rich Wadden Sea from the dike.

After breakfast, start your first stage of the Pieterpad. Begin at the 'Pieterpad wall', take a selfie, and start walking! Along the way, pass through the charming mound village of Eenrum with its late Romanesque church from the 13th century. Enjoy the vast, sometimes windy Groningen countryside with its wide green pastures. In the village of Mensingeweer, admire the beautiful windmill from 1855. Finally, reach your destination, Winsum, voted the most beautiful village in the Netherlands in 2020.

After your overnight stay in cozy Winsum, continue through the Hogeland with its meadows, grain fields, and cloudscapes to the village of Garnwerd, a great place for a coffee or tea near the Reitdiep canal. Walk further through the polder, over narrow bridges, and past red brick farms. In Oostum, admire the village church on a mound. Follow numerous small paths along the water on your way to the historic city of Groningen. Once there, you will pass through the Northern Park, along the picturesque harbor, the A-church, and the Groninger Museum.

Start the day at Groningen's monumental train station and take your first steps through this delightful city. Just outside the city bustle, you will pass two lakes, before you walk into the Drentsche Aa National Park. Stroll through the village of Haren, then through the Appèlbergen, and later through the Noordlaarder Forest. Shortly after the forest, near the path, you will see your first dolmen. You are now in the province of Drenthe! This first dolmen won't be the last, as there is another one at Midlaren, a short distance before your day's destination, Zuidlaren.

From Zuidlaren, head to Westlaren after breakfast. Then continue through the Schipborg estate to the Gasteren Dunes. In addition to the high sand drifts, you will find a dolmen here, not fully intact due to stone theft in the distant past. In the village of Gasteren, admire the beautiful, characteristic Saxon farms. As you walk through the beautiful Balloër field, enjoy the expansive heath, where ancient burial mounds can be found. Part of this stage is on the so-called Hondsrug (Dog’s back), designated a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2015.

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