Walking through the beautiful Schoorlse Dunes

The Schoorlse Duinen National Park is the widest dune area in the north of North Holland. Take a walk here, climb the highest dunes and get a breath of fresh air. The climbs can be quite tough at times, so be prepared to work up a sweat.

The changing landscape in the dunes
The village of Schoorl is the base of this route. From here you can walk into the woods, heathlands and dunes of the Schoorlse Duinen. For a long time, drifting sand in the Netherlands was controlled by planting trees, but nowadays you can find drifting dunes again in the dunes of Schoorl. As a result, the landscape in this area is constantly changing. You will also find all kinds of beautiful plants in this area. For example, thousands of pine orchids bloom here in June and July and in August the green heathlands turn into a sea of purple flowering heather. There is plenty to see here every season.

Space for nature
For a long time, the dune area near Schoorl consisted only of sand. This has changed significantly in the last century. You will now find special plants such as salt beetle, beach beet and the rooted mushroom fungus and all kinds of different animals such as the pied plover and the natterjack toad. This was all possible because alternative forms of dune management were chosen here with more space for nature. Since 1997, the sand, wind and water have once again had free rein over large areas in the dunes of Schoorl.