A brisk walk on the beach in autumn works wonders

Summer is coming to an end and autumn has set in. But it’s still great to get out and about. So hup, put on a warm coat and get outside! Time for a walk on the beach. We have made a list of the most beautiful and best autumn beach walks for you.

The beaches of Zuid-Holland

I used to go for a walk on the beach with my parents, armed with wellies and a bucket. I loved it! Autumn is perfect for a long walk on the beach. My favorite beach is Kijkduin near The Hague. I can spend hours there. If you feel like it, you can even walk all the way to Scheveningen! And when you want to warm up after your walk, plop down in one of the restaurants on the Boulevard. There it is completely renewed with new stores and restaurants (Nieuw Kijkduin).

If you walk from Kijkduin in the other direction, you will soon come across the landscaped nature reserve De Zandmotor. The Sand Motor is freely accessible to everyone. Visitors can walk across the vast sandbank, where in the course of time many different flora and fauna have already docked. Even seals are already finding their way to the Sand Motor on a regular basis. Anyone looking for peace and quiet in the hectic southern Randstad conurbation will find a new oasis with the Sand Motor.

Other nice beaches in South Holland

In addition to Kijkduin and Scheveningen, you can also enjoy walking on the beaches of Noordwijk, Hoek van Holland and the Wassenaarse Slag. Noordwijk beach is special because it is part of a very large nature reserve that is close to major cities. So very central! In addition to the beach, you can take great walks in the natural, dune and forest areas around and is therefore a perfect base for a great beach walk.

Hoek van Holland beach is 250 meters wide and about 3.5 km long. Hoek van Holland thus has the widest beach in the Netherlands. It can be divided into three beaches where you can have a great time under the smoke of Rotterdam. As a child, my father always took us to watch boats at Hoek van Holland. I even saw an oil rig pass by there once! Fantastic, I thought. There are also many bunkers to visit nearby and you can have a nice walk in the dunes.

Finally, the beach the Wassenaarse Slag is a wonderfully beautiful area. The beach is 8 km long and is attached to dune area Hollandse Duin and (Meijendel and the Waalsdorpervlakte). More on this later, because the dunes are also great for walking in autumn.

Westland beaches

Smaller beaches like that of Monster, Ter Heijde and ‘s-Gravenzande are also very nice. These beaches can all be found in Westland. Strand Molenslag in Monster is a popular beach, but still less crowded than Kijkduin or Scheveningen. From Strand Molenslag, just like from Kijkduin, you can walk all the way to the sand motor. That is really worth it!

Strandopgang Het Schelpenpad and Slag Watertoren van Monster, are only easily accessible on foot or by bike. Therefore, these beaches are nice and quiet. The beaches of Ter Heijde (Strandweg and Karel Doormanweg) are nice and quiet. Slag Beukel in ‘s-Gravenzande is also a quiet beach. The nice thing about this is that it is 10 minutes away from Manege Noordland. You can rent a horse here for a nice walk on the beach.

The beaches of North Holland

The beaches of North Holland are also great. For example, if you walk all the way from Noordwijk to Zandvoort! Speaking of Zandvoort, this popular beach is great during the low season. You can walk endlessly here. All the way to Noordwijk then, haha! Egmond aan Zee is said to be the most beautiful beach in the Netherlands. During low tide there are all these shallow mini-pools where you can wade through with your wellies. Even the dog loves it there! Afterwards you can warm up with a cup of hot chocolate in the cozy village.

Castricum aan Zee is also great for a long walk on the beach. The atmosphere is friendly and there is plenty of parking. Did you get cold? Then warm up quickly at beach club De Deining. I have visited this beach club regularly myself and it is very cozy. Moreover, De Deining is open all year round.

But also at the Ouderkerkerplas beach, located in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, autumn reveals a magical transformation that enchants walkers. As the leaves of the surrounding trees transform into an enchanting palette of golden yellow, orange and red, walking around the lake, overlooking the surface of the water becomes a picturesque scene. You can take a delightful walk around the lake of about 50 minutes. After the walk, plop down at Strandpaviljoen a/d Plas to warm up with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. They have delicious apple pie and brownie & cinnamon cake from the local bakery.

The beaches of Zeeland

When I am in Zeeland, I can also enjoy the beaches immensely. The salty air of Zeeland feels so clean that it must be good for you. I personally really like the beach at Breskens, also because you can look across the water to the next island of Zeeland.

Afterwards, I love to recover at a cozy beach club. Loods Tien is open all year round and definitely recommended!

Our guest blogger Michelle recently wrote the blog Op Stap met Michelle in Zeeland and in it she also talked about some beautiful beaches in Zeeland. For example, she can mainly be found at Domeinen 2, Standovergang Wilhelminahoeve and Brouwersdam. Would you like to know more about this? Then click here!

Into the dunes!

There are also very beautiful dune areas in the Netherlands. Here you often walk just a bit more sheltered than in the open plain of the beach. I find one of the most beautiful and varied dune areas to be the nature reserve Hollandse Duin. With over 2000 hectares of dunes, it is huge. Part of this area are Meijendel and the Waalsdorpervlakte.

In the dunes of Meijendel are several hiking trails, ranging from 3 to 13 kilometers. You can also sit down at Boerderij Meyendel for a delicious lunch or cup of coffee, while the children play in the natural playground Monkeybos.

The Kennemer Dunes are also worth visiting. They are located near Haarlem and Santpoort-Noord. The area is protected and therefore you can find many special flora and fauna.

Also, the landscape is enormously varied! One moment you are walking in the forest, the next moment you are enjoying the view from a huge sand dune and then you are standing on a wide beach. Along the coast in this area there are many bunkers. These are nowadays the winter shelter for bats. In winter you also have a chance of seeing a kingfisher!

Sand but no sea?

The Netherlands also has a number of drifting sand areas. These special areas are like beaches without water. Often pine trees and heather grow there. You find them mostly in the east of the country. Many drifting sand areas are used as military training grounds, but fortunately day trippers are also allowed to enjoy them. Kootwijkerzand in the Veluwe is the largest drifting sand area in the Netherlands.

You can wander around for hours and not encounter anyone. Deer, boar and badgers love the tranquility of this shifting sand area, so who knows what you might encounter!

Aekingerzand is a beautiful drifting sand area near the Drents Friese Wold. You will find this area near Appelscha. You can walk there and enjoy the peace and quiet. The area of the Drents Friese Wold is anyway really worth a visit or vacation.

You really have the feeling of being away from it all. You can also visit the dolmens, go cycling or walk through the many forests. Delightful.

You can also hike like the best at the Loonse and Drunense Dunes! This national park is huge with its 4000 hectares and enormously varied. There are vast sandy plains, but also forests and even swamps! This is truly a beautiful area in North Brabant. Are you curious about what we think are the most beautiful natural areas in the Netherlands? Then take a quick look at our earlier blog about nature reserves in the Netherlands.

Credits photos: www.canva.com

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