Discover Stuifzand: Holiday Home, Heathland and Forest

Stuifzand between Heathland, Water and Stream Valleys

The area around Stuifzand offers nature, routes and historic features. The nearby Boerenveensche Plassen nature reserve combines extensive heathland with large bodies of water and heath pools. It is home to a rich variety of birdlife; during migration, ruffs, bean geese, green sandpipers and dunlins can often be seen.

The wetland area is crossed by only a few paths, so walking there is limited. However, birds can be observed well from the elevated Kerkweg. The nearby Spaarbankbos west of Stuifzand, on the other side of the Hoogeveen–Assen railway line, offers a different landscape. It is freely accessible via roads and walking paths; a route marked in purple also runs through the forest.

The eastern part of Spaarbankbos contains former drifting dunes. In the western part there is a pool with bog plants such as cranberry, round-leaved sundew, cotton grass and various peat mosses. Near Stuifzand, the Oude Diep also meanders through a small-scale landscape with meadows, hedgerows and stream-valley forests. In its middle course, newly developed nature areas feature small meadows, hedgerows and stream-valley forests.

Cycling and Walking Routes with Different Rhythms

For cycling tours, the signposted 67-km “10 Dorpenroute Veenkoloniën” offers a broad sequence of villages: it passes through Fluitenberg, Pesse, Stuifzand, Tiendeveen, Nieuweroord, Noordscheschut, Hollandscheveld, Nieuwlande, Elim and Nieuw Moscou. If you prefer travelling on foot, you can follow the 13-km “Naar Siberië (en weer terug)” walking route. It runs from Hoogeveen through Stadterij, Stuifzand, Zwartschaap and Siberië to Tiendeveen and back to Hoogeveen. Along this route, you will encounter forests, fields and meadows; it is not paved throughout. The “Fietsrondje Col du VAM” route lists Wijster, Stuifzand and Nieuw Balinge as locations along the route.

History and Special Places

The Zwarte Zaterdag monument is located at Wijsterseweg 147, 7934 TE Stuifzand. The Reformed Bethelkerk stands on Zwartschaap Road; it is a green-painted wooden church dating from 1933. The “Plaggenhut met schuurtje” image offers a historical view of the heathland: it shows a sod hut with a shed near Stuifzand from the period 1890–1895.

Stuifzand was established toward the end of the 18th century. Workers and farmers settled there to cultivate the sandy soils. The Kleinste Huisje van Drenthe in Stuifzand is a former peat-digger’s house where “Olde Grietien” lived with her five children into old age. The Kleinste Huisje is located in rustic surroundings in the hamlet of Stuifzand and is now a holiday home in the middle of unspoiled nature.

JUSTA Cheese Made from Cow’s Milk

Visitors are welcome at Biologische Kaasboerderij JUSTA by prior arrangement. At the cheese farm, JUSTA cheese is made from cow’s milk.

More Places for Planning Your Trip

More places: Pesse, Nieuwlande, Fluitenberg, Hoogeveen, Tiendeveen, Elim, Nieuweroord and Hollandscheveld.

To the higher-level travel overview: Hoogeveen.