Tour of Helenaveen from Maasbree

Today you will discover De Peel: where there was once a large peat area, you will now find a varied landscape of fields and grasslands and quiet nature reserves. Just past Grashoek you drive past the pine forest of the Marisberg, the highest point of the Peel. You also cycle through Kwakvors, a nature reserve of wet grasslands and bird-rich ponds. Further on you follow the Helenavaart, a canal that was used for peat transport until the twentieth century. Helenaveen is an authentic village, one of two peat colonies in the south of the Netherlands. It was specially constructed for the extraction of raised peat. An attempt is now being made to make the area around Helenaveen wetter again, so that the raised peat can recover.