Because of the green environment

Drenthe is teeming with settlements that arose because workers came to live there to excavate raised bogs to produce peat. The so-called peat colonies that arose. This bike tour takes you to the area in Central Drenthe that was reclaimed in this way. During your bike ride you will come across the vast moors of the Mantingerveld, in which a number of small fragmented pieces of forest, heath and peat areas have been transformed by Natuurmonumenten into what it used to be: one large nature reserve.

On the Mantingerveld you will find the Mantingerzand, a beautiful heathland where small clouds of drifting sand still roam on sand drift hills and where the rare juniper still takes root. The moor frog, viviparous lizard, viper, grass snake, fox and badger all happily scurry away. The ecosystem is supplemented by lichens, small clubmoss, bell gentian, lavender heather and peat fluff.

Restinn Meppen is the base for a cycling weekend. You can book a cozy cottage at the small-scale holiday park. Here, on the edge of the forest, you really feel like exploring nature. Routes 182483 and 182484 also start at Restinn Meppen, so you can start another cycling tour right from the doorstep.