Holiday apartment in Hellendoorn – Nature, Water and Culture

Hellendoorn is located in the Sallandse Heuvelrug and Twents Reggedal area, which includes De Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park. The national park is one of the largest contiguous heathland areas in Europe. In the municipality of Hellendoorn, there are opportunities for hiking, cycling, and experiencing nature and water. Here, nature, culture and various experiences come together amid heathland, river landscapes and historic places.

Nature

One specific route starts at Eelerberg and leads through the landscape: the purple Boksloot hiking route is 7.4 kilometres long. The Buitencentrum Sallandse Heuvelrug is located in Nijverdal. It is a starting point for activities and hiking routes, houses catering facilities and an observatory, and can be reached by public transport via Nijverdal railway station. The Buitencentrum also has free parking.

The Speelbos Sallandse Heuvelrug is also part of this natural area. It offers climbing and balancing features, swings, tunnels, bridges and paths through the trees; there is also space for building huts. The play area is open year-round between sunrise and sunset and can be accessed free of charge.

In De Koemaste, large sections of the canalised Regge were filled in and old river bends were excavated again. Paths for hikers and cyclists were created during the landscaping in 2013. The 3.2-kilometre-long, low-barrier Toegankelijke route Hellendoorn runs through this nature area and along the Regge. It was designed for wheelchairs, mobility scooters, buggies and pushchairs. De Koemaste is also home to the Cool Nature Koemaste nature playground for children up to 14 years old. Seven fitness stations can be used there by children and adults.

The Hellendoornse Waterroute is a 35.4-kilometre cycling route. It runs along the Regge, the Overijssels Kanaal and the Boksloot, connecting several bodies of water and landscape features in the municipality along a dedicated route.

Culture

The Erve Hofman Museum focuses on the history of regional costumes and traditional national Dutch costumes. By expanding the farmstead with various historic buildings, it has grown into a small open-air museum. Lectures, workshops and exhibitions take place at the museum.

At the Oale Karkhof, around 125 gravestones and burial vaults bear witness to life and death in the 19th century. The site has benches for walkers and cyclists and is designated as a municipal monument.

The Gedichten Fietsroute combines cycling with local literature. Along the route, it connects the village centres and hamlets of the municipality of Hellendoorn through poetry. The route features poems by 15 local poets.

In Hellendoorn, Gerrit Valk’s Bakkerij- & IJsmuseum covers almost 1,000 m². The collection displays tools, objects and machines from former bakeries and from the early days of ice-cream production. Bakers regularly bake various treats in the original oil-fired oven. During the school holidays, the museum offers guided tours with a baking demonstration.

Around Easter, a large Palmpasen procession takes place in Hellendoorn. Many children take part, carrying handmade Palmpasen sticks and bread roosters.

Experiences

Avonturenpark Hellendoorn is located in the green heart of the Hellendoorn forests and offers more than 45 rides, slides and shows. In addition to 11 spectacular slides, Aquaventura Slidepark has a water play area for young children.

Another special place is the Hellendoorn Observatory. Its facilities include two telescopes, a solar telescope, a radio telescope, the Sky-Walk observation platform and a planetarium. This means that different types of experiences coexist within the municipality: rides and water slides, nature playgrounds, river paths, museums and astronomical facilities.

Places

More pages about local places: Hellendoorn, Nijverdal, Haarle Gem Hellendoorn, Haarle, Daarle.

To the higher-level travel overview: Overijssel.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Rijssen-Holten, Dinkelland, Losser.