Holiday apartment in Maasgouw: Maasplassen, museums and cycling routes

The Maasplassen are the largest interconnected water sports area in the Netherlands. Stevensweert and Ohé en Laak are located on an island in the Meuse in central Limburg. A small passenger and bicycle ferry connects the Dutch village with Ophoven in Belgium; it operates from April through October. This means that the same destination combines expanses of water, island villages, nature, and reminders of its shipping and fortification history.

Nature and water

Beegderheide is a nature reserve on the edge of the Meuse Valley. Open heathland and dense forests characterize the area, which also features a varied landscape and numerous small and large marshes. Various hiking and cycling routes pass through Beegderheide.

Molenplas is a lake in the Maasplassen area that was created in 2008 after the last traditional gravel extraction. A circular path around Molenplas passes viewpoints, a bird island and stepping stones through flowing water. Galloway cattle and Konik horses help keep the landscape around Molenplas open. West of the village of Heel lies Boschmolenplas, a former gravel extraction site and a diving location. Visibility there can exceed 12 metres.

Culture and history

The Maas Inland Navigation Museum tells the story of the development of inland navigation and of Maasbracht as a skipper’s village. The museum is located at the harbour; in front of the building are a museum harbour and a real wheelhouse. The Maasbracht Harbour Days take place every two years on the last weekend of June. The maritime character of the area also includes the Maasbracht lock complex, with a three-chamber lock and a difference in water level of around 12 metres.

Hompesche Molen is a national monument more than 300 years old and also the tallest tower mill in Limburg. At the mill there is a path suitable for mobility scooters, wheelchairs and pushchairs; Hompesche Molen is also regularly open to visitors. The Maaseiland Museum is housed in the former town hall of Stevensweert, designed by the Roermond architect P. Cuypers. The museum displays models of Stevensweert Castle, Walburg Castle and the fortifications of Stevensweert.

Routes and circular walks

The Maasstadjestour is a 44-kilometre cycling route through the Maasplassen area. It passes through Thorn, Stevensweert and Maasbracht. In addition, Maasgouw has a network of more than 45 kilometres of signposted bridleways and riding trails. Various other hiking and cycling routes run through Beegderheide.

The Grensmaas cycling route is 55.5 kilometres long and runs along both banks of the Meuse through Dutch and Flemish Limburg. Those exploring Stevensweert on foot can follow the Stevensweert Town Tour, an approximately 1.6-kilometre circular walk through the historic fortified town. The Thorn riding route is 8.7 kilometres long and passes through the landscape around the white town of Thorn.

Archaeology also features on a 39-kilometre cycling route in Maasgouw. On the Maasgouw Route, cyclists can use the Archeo Route Limburg app to experience the history behind the finds at various archaeological stations.

More local pages: Linne, Wessem.

Back to the overarching travel overview: Limburg.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Meerssen.