Holiday apartment in Hooghalen: trails, heathland and history

A holiday apartment in Hooghalen offers a destination where nature experiences, distinctive trails and the history of the former Kamp Westerbork stand closely alongside one another. Among heathland, woodland, moorland lakes and memorial sites, you will find a variety of ways to explore the surroundings on foot or by bicycle. There is also something especially appealing for a stay with children: a large sand play area.

Holiday apartment in Hooghalen: heathland trails and nature experiences

The Melkwegpad-Bospad walk takes about 1.5 hours, making it a manageable tour for a set part of the day. Along the way, the Melkwegpad explains the planets and leads walkers to the former camp site and the radio telescopes. The route also passes Hingsteveen, thereby bringing together various impressions along the trail.

Het Groote Zand lies on the northern edge of the Hooghalen Forestry and is a varied heathland landscape. A post-marked walking route starts there at the car park by the Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork. For planning your day, you can therefore choose between the approximately 1.5-hour Melkwegpad-Bospad walk and a separately marked route through the heathland.

If you are travelling with children, the Zandspeelplaats Hooghalen is located along the Melkwegpad in the Hooghalen Forestry. The large sandy area is suitable for picnicking and playing, and complements the trails through the woodland and heathland with a stay free from a fixed walking pace.

Memorial sites and cultural traces

At the historic site of the former Westerbork camp, the Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork tells the story of more than 100,000 people. The sculpture garden of the Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork on Oosthalen in Hooghalen, in the municipality of Midden-Drenthe, is home to the “Bevroren Tranen” memorial.

“Bevroren Tranen” is a glass artwork half a metre high, mounted on two marble plinths. It commemorates all the Jews, Roma and resistance fighters who were deported via the Westerbork transit camp to concentration camps and never returned. The Stichting TT Hooghalen also preserves the TT history of Hooghalen as intangible cultural heritage for future generations.

The Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope is located near Hooghalen, in the area of the former Kamp Westerbork. Ordinary visitors are not permitted to enter the telescope site; however, you can see the radio telescope dishes from the end of the Melkwegpad. If you are not being hosted by ASTRON, you are expected to leave your car outside the zone. From the large car park by the Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork, you can continue on foot or by bicycle to the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope.

By bicycle and on longer stages

An accessible 21-kilometre cycling route runs through the Hooghalen Forestry. It passes through coniferous and deciduous forests and along heathland, small moorland lakes and former drift-sand areas. The route is signposted via the Dutch cycling node network.

Longer hiking stages also shape the surrounding area. The final 5.2-kilometre stage of the Westerborkpad begins in Hooghalen and ends at the former site of Kamp Westerbork. Stage 20 of the Drenthepad leads across the Laaghaleresch, through fields and pastureland, and then through the expansive Hijkerveld. It subsequently reaches the Diependal bird reserve, which was created from sewage lagoons.

Choosing a holiday apartment in Hooghalen can therefore be tailored to your preferred holiday themes: a shorter walk along the Melkwegpad-Bospad, heathland and woodland in Het Groote Zand, a cycling tour through the Hooghalen Forestry or the historic sites around Kamp Westerbork. Different route lengths and landscapes make it possible to combine active days with more leisurely discoveries.

Other places to choose from

For further travel planning, you can also choose Drijber, Beilen, Hoogersmilde, Witteveen, Wijster, Ruinerwold, Orvelte and Mantinge.

To the main travel overview: Midden-Drenthe.