Holiday apartment in Mantinge: heathland, forest and trails

A holiday apartment in Mantinge offers you a stay surrounded by heathland, juniper, forest and trails, with distinct landscape themes. Hundreds of juniper shrubs grow in the Mantingerzand; since 1970, it has been managed as a juniper reserve. The area lies between Mantinge and Nieuw-Balinge and consists mainly of heathland, peatland, forests and a few small areas of drifting sand. For planning your trip, this creates a contrast between open areas and sections rich in woodland.

Heathland, juniper and distinctive sand formations

A distinctive feature of the Mantingerzand is the more than 100-year-old Scots pine “De oude den”. Also striking is the landscape ridge “Dekzand- en stuifzandrug Mantinge-Nieuw Balinge”: visible coversand reliefs with long coversand ridges meet there with a comparatively well-preserved drifting-sand relief featuring wind-eroded hollows. The visible landforms give the landscape its own distinctive character.

North of Mantinge lies the centuries-old Mantingerbos forest. The Natura 2000 site covers 46 hectares. The forest complex is a remnant of a once larger primeval forest; at the same time, Mantingerbos contains one of Drenthe’s oldest undisturbed forest soils and an oak forest unique to Drenthe, strongly characterized by holly. The peatland areas of the Mantingerveld provide a habitat for amphibians, insects and plants.

Hiking and cycling in the Mantingerveld

The Jeneverbesroute Mantingerveld starts at the Natuurmonumenten car park on the Mantingerdijk and is marked with white route arrows. It passes through several small heathland areas south of Mantinge. The Mantingerveld itself is developing as a landscape project: for 25 years, Natuurmonumenten has been working to connect four small nature reserves north of Hoogeveen into one large, contiguous heathland landscape. This connection is called the Mantingerveld.

There is also a clear framework for cycling stages. The “Fietsroute natuur bij Mantinge” cycling route passes through three nature reserves in Drenthe and is 72 km long. The different route type and length help you think of an outing as either a hike or an extended cycle tour, without equating the two experiences.

Mantinge between nature and history

The cultural timespan includes the history of the esdorp village of Mantinge, which dates back to the Middle Ages. Together with the centuries-old Mantingerbos and the preserved sand reliefs, this draws attention to the long development of the landscape and settlement. Especially for families, this combination of observing nature, activity and history can add variety to the rhythm of the day.

When choosing a holiday apartment in Mantinge, you can align your preferred daily rhythm with the area’s themes: juniper and heathland for observing nature, Mantingerbos for forest history, the Jeneverbesroute for a marked hike, or the 72-kilometre cycling route for an extended cycle tour. This keeps your choice of location focused on your own travel plans. When planning with children, you can take different interests into account in parallel: observing nature, physical activity and questions about history can all have a place in your daily itinerary.

Discover more places

Elp, Smilde, Hooghalen, Wijster, Spier, Orvelte, Drijber and Hijken

For the overview of the wider region: Midden-Drenthe.