Walking through the Houtrak and the Geuzenbos

From Halfweg you can walk to two adjacent nature reserves: the Houtrak and the Geuzenbos. Put on your hiking boots for an invigorating and varied route.

Half way
After a while you cross the Zijkanaal F via a cyclist's bridge. This canal once connected the port of Halfweg with the North Sea Canal. Now there are many houseboats on the water. The Houtrak is part of the Spaarnwoude nature and recreation area. You walk here through a mosaic of forest, flowery bushes and watercourses.

Geuzenbos
The adjacent Geuzenbos has been created in the Groote IJpolder. You will find a lot of variety in this unspoilt natural gem. Hawthorns, willows, birches and oaks grow there. There are also flowery grasslands. The Geuzenbos may lie under the proverbial Amsterdam smoke, but it is remarkably quiet. Via the Boezemgemaal Halfweg, dating from 1977, you cross the canal again.