Holiday apartment in Witteveen: village history and nature trails

Witteveen reveals its character where a carefully planned village layout, traces of land reclamation and paths through forest and waterside landscapes come together. When you choose a holiday apartment in Witteveen, you will find a place whose special features unfold as you walk, observe and explore.

Village layout and traces of the past

The largest land-reclamation projects around Witteveen began in 1925 and covered 1,700 hectares. Witteveen was designed as a carefully planned village: straight roads and houses of the same type, built at regular intervals, define the settlement. The first residents moved into the workers’ houses in 1926. The former harbour is also one of the area’s distinctive features; a footbridge in the old style was reconstructed there in 2010. Witteveen’s natural burial ground has been in use since 2005 and adds to the varied impressions you can take in on a walk through the village.

Walk with paved and unpaved paths

The Dorpsommetje Witteveen is a short walk starting from the village of Witteveen and is 4.5 kilometres long. The route follows both paved and unpaved paths. At one junction, the path leads towards Bosplas. Dogs may accompany you on the Dorpsommetje, but they must be kept on a lead. This makes it easy to include the loop in a day’s plans in which a manageable walk and changing path surfaces play a role.

Stobbenplas, state forests and special observations

An additional loop around Stobbenplas can be taken via the route marked with yellow posts. The yellow walking route also starts at the information board, is approximately five kilometres long and runs through the state forests near Witteveen. The different route lengths help you compare the desired walking time and the character of the outing without having to commit to a single loop. Along a more distant sandy path on the walking route near Witteveen, you can find the rare plants zevenster and dalkruid.

There is a birdwatching hut at Stobbenplas. Ducks and cormorants can almost always be seen there; the little grebe also appears regularly. On the Dorpsommetje, the path leads towards Bosplas at one junction, while the yellow route connects with the state forests. This means that, alongside village history, waterways, forest paths and plant observations are also central to the experience.

Choose accommodation that suits your plans for the day

When choosing a holiday apartment in Witteveen, you can use your personal interests as a starting point: the village layout and reconstructed footbridge are ideal for explorations with a cultural focus, while the Dorpsommetje, yellow walking route, Stobbenplas and state forests offer different opportunities for walks and nature observation. If you are travelling by car, free parking is available near Witteveen’s football fields. Other places: Balinge, Smilde, Mantinge, Elp, Zwiggelte, Ruinerwold, Drijber, Wijster.

For the overarching travel overview: Midden-Drenthe.