Cycling through the Drentse-Friese Wold National Park

On the border of Drenthe and Friesland, there are beautiful, large forests, heathland, shifting sands and relaxing stream valley grasslands: Drens-Friese Wold National Park. After the Veluwe, it is the largest contiguous forest area in the Netherlands. Symbol of this beautiful forest area is the black woodpecker. If you are lucky you can see this beautiful little bird in the forest; hearing his drumming often succeeds. Accompanied by his enthusiastic drumming on the tree trunks, your bike ride immediately gets more atmosphere. You will explore the varied area of Hoogersmilde, among other things. Centuries ago this was a wild and inaccessible place. Impenetrable swamps, raised moors and heaths were interspersed here with forests, sand drifts and small lakes. Hoogersmilde arose in the midst of this natural beauty, which is still sparsely populated. Nevertheless, there is always something that arouses your interest, whether you like cultural history, nature or other entertainment. If you are in Drenthe, you should at least see a hunebed. That is why this cycling tour takes you to hunebed D52. This medium-sized hunebed consists of six capstones, 2 keystones and a gatestone. At the beginning of 2011, the hunebed in the crypt was damaged because a small fire was lit. This caused a large crack in one of the supporting stones. After the incident, all vegetation around the hunebed was removed to make the place less attractive to loiterers. Stop (towards the end of the route) at the Drents-Friese Wold Visitor Center to obtain information about the beauty you have seen during this tour.