From Lemele to the Hellendoornse and Holterberg

The landscape of the Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park was formed 200,000 years ago by glaciers from Scandinavia. Nowadays, Salland's nature consists of forests and heathland. The forests have been planted to prevent sand drifts and form a nice change between the dry heathlands. Juniper bushes (legally protected in the Netherlands) and lingonberries (also called lingonberries), among other things, grow and bloom lushly here, and the last viable population of grouse in the Netherlands lives in this special area.

The Holterberg is part of the Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park. Here too, heathlands and forests alternate. Most of the trees are conifers and the longest walking route in the Netherlands, the Pieterpad, passes over the highest point of the Holterberg (59.5 meters above sea level). It is also special that the last viable population of grouse in the Netherlands lives in this special area.

There is also a small piece of Canadian territory on the Holterberg. Long terraces extend here, where 1,500 Canadians have their final resting place at the Holten Canadian War Cemetery. They died during the Second World War in the Netherlands, mainly during the liberation in 1945. If you want to know more about the area, visit the Sallandse Heuvelrug Visitor Center, which is located on the route.