The 21st stage of the Pieterpad

Natural beauty at the old Meuse channels
From Swolgen you can walk into an extensive area with various nature reserves that connect to each other. For example, close to Swolgen you will find Het Schuitwater. This area consists of wet and bone-dry soils that alternate around an old Maas channel. Enjoy open water, swamp forests, moist grasslands, alder swamp forests, heathlands and fields. Then you walk further across the Houthuizerheide, a small-scale but varied forest area. Straight through the church village of Grubbenvorst you head for the Maas. There you cross the water with a ferry, in the direction of Velden. Along the edge of the nature reserve Zwart Water you walk further to Venlo. This nature reserve consists of, among other things, a birch-oak forest between Venlo and Velden.

The historic city center of Venlo
You end your tour at the train station in the center of Venlo. The historic city center of Venlo consists of old streets with beautiful buildings full of history, but you will also find nice shopping streets and cozy places to sit down for a bite to eat and a drink. The ideal place to recover from your walk.

The Pieterpad
This stage is part of the last part of the Pieterpad. This long-distance walk consists of 26 stages and the starting point of the route is on the coast in the north of Groningen. The end point of the route is in South Limburg at the Sint-Pietersberg. You can choose to follow one or more stages, but you can of course also take on the challenge and explore the entire route. The choice is yours!

Do you also want to walk the other stages of the Pieterpad? View all stages here.

Please note: Check in advance what the sailing times are of the ferry between Grubbenvorst and Velden. These times vary throughout the seasons, so check before departure.