Hiking trip: Walking from Vierlingsbeek to Maastricht - 9 days

The Vierlingsbeek station is located a bit outside the center but is within walking distance. The starting point of the Pieterpad is about 1.3 km from the station.

Shortly after leaving the village of Vierlingsbeek, you will reach the ruins of the 15th-century castle 'Makken'. Continue to Smakt, the pilgrimage site of Saint Joseph, and reach the beautiful shifting sand area of the 'Boschhuizer Bergen'. On the Geysteren estate, reach the Oostrum brook and the watermill of Rosmolen. Along this part of the route, you can also admire the St. Willibrordus chapel. Another sight is the former castle farm from 1619, the 'Kasteelke'. Continue your way to the North Limburg church village of Swolgen.

Just outside Swolgen, enter the Schuitwater nature reserve, located on an old Maas meander. The wet forests here are accessible via wooden boardwalks. Pass the Houthuizer chapel and 'Huys Kaldenbroek', a 15th-century castle farm. Just before the village of Grubbenvorst, pass the Ursuline Convent, and take the ferry across the Maas. On the other side of the water, enjoy a pleasant walk through the beautiful floodplains of the 'Océ-Weerd'. Finally, arrive in Venlo, where you should visit the monument-rich St. Martinus street and the 16th-century town hall.

Leave Venlo behind and set off on the heathlands of Jammerdaal, with its former clay and sand quarries. Then follows the Wambachgroeve, also formed by clay extraction. This transitions into the beautiful 'Holtmühle' nature reserve, right on the German border. Walk along or over the Prinsendijk, where various small bunkers, so-called 'tobruks', from World War II can be seen. Reach the ‘Meerlebroek’ nature reserve, following the fast-flowing and meandering Swalm to the lively village of Swalmen.

The first cultural highlight today is Hillenraedt, a beautiful 14th-century water castle. Walk through the surrounding count's forests to reach the aristocratic castle farm Zuidewijk Spick via an old Roman road. Continue your way to Melick, a church village in the Roer valley. Cross the river and reach the charming village St. Odiliënberg. Walk further through the shifting sands of the 'Sweeltje' and arrive in Montfort. If you have some energy left, visit the ruins of the ancient castle with its information centre, cellar complex, and castle garden.

Near Montfort lies a valuable cultural landscape. Stand at the ‘Duvelskei’ and enjoy the view over the fields of the ‘Grootbroek’, once a large swamp. If you deviate from the route slightly, you can visit the Cistercian abbey of Lilbosch. Back on the Pieterpad, pass the recent find site of the treasure of Pey, dating from Roman times. Walk a bit into Germany through the Iron Forest, and re-enter the Netherlands at Isenbruch, the country's narrowest point. In Sittard, visit the St. Peter's Church and the Cloister Quarter before relaxing at one of the cozy terraces on the old market.

On the way, the Kollenberg appears, a beautiful piece of urban nature, with the chapel of St. Rosa at its highest point. It is not the only one, as there are seven chapels along the rising path. Walk from the high church village of Puth along the Geleen brook to Terborgh castle. Then through a so-called 'grubbe' along the Diependal geological monument to Terstraten, with its typical Limburg farms. Look up at the 'Giant of Schimmert', an old water tower, and reach the highest point of the Pieterpad at 427 ft. Through the beautiful Raven forest, arrive in the hamlet of Strabeek.

Walk through Ingendael and the heathland of Bergen, two beautiful, adjoining nature reserves along the river Geul. Reach the marl quarry Blom, a deep, abandoned shaft, where marl was extracted until 1999, now a true nature paradise. Descend into the ‘Bemelergrubbe’ and pass small marl caves. Soon after, walk through the outskirts of Maastricht on your way to the historic centre, from where you head towards Fort St. Pieter, located atop the St. Pietersberg, blessed with great viewpoints. Here, you have reached the end of the Pieterpad!

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