Pieterpad: Stage 1, Pieterburen to Coevorden

Travel to Baflo station on your own. From there, a transfer will be arranged to Pieterburen (about 10 minutes). Upon arrival in Pieterburen, check in at your accommodation. If you arrive early and have some energy left after your journey, walk the 10 km 'County Hike' prologue! This pleasant extra loop lets you explore the area north of Pieterburen and admire the expansive bird-rich Wadden Sea from the dike. 

After breakfast, start your first stage of the Pieterpad. Begin at the 'Pieterpad wall', take a selfie, and start walking! Along the way, pass through the charming mound village of Eenrum with its late Romanesque church from the 13th century. Enjoy the vast, sometimes windy Groningen countryside with its wide green pastures. In the village of Mensingeweer, admire the beautiful windmill from 1855. Finally, reach your destination, Winsum, voted the most beautiful village in the Netherlands in 2020. 

After your overnight stay in cozy Winsum, continue through the Hogeland with its meadows, grain fields, and cloudscapes to the village of Garnwerd, a great place for a coffee or tea near the Reitdiep canal. Walk further through the polder, over narrow bridges, and past red brick farms. In Oostum, admire the village church on a mound. Follow numerous small paths along the water on your way to the historic city of Groningen. Once there, you will pass through the Northern Park, along the picturesque harbor, the A-church, and the Groninger Museum. 

Start the day at Groningen's monumental train station and take your first steps through this delightful city. Just outside the city bustle, you will pass two lakes, before you walk into the Drentsche Aa National Park. Stroll through the village of Haren, then through the Appèlbergen, and later through the Noordlaarder Forest. Shortly after the forest, near the path, you will see your first dolmen. You are now in the province of Drenthe! This first dolmen won't be the last, as there is another one at Midlaren, a short distance before your day's destination, Zuidlaren. 

From Zuidlaren, head to Westlaren after breakfast. Then continue through the Schipborg estate to the Gasteren Dunes. In addition to the high sand drifts, you will find a dolmen here, not fully intact due to stone theft in the distant past. In the village of Gasteren, admire the beautiful, characteristic Saxon farms. As you walk through the beautiful Balloër field, enjoy the expansive heath, where ancient burial mounds can be found. Part of this stage is on the so-called Hondsrug (Dog’s back), designated a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2015.  

Near the start of this stage in Rolde, you'll see two of the most famous dolmens in Drenthe. After admiring these megalithic tombs, continue through the beautiful Drentsche Aa National Park, an ancient landscape created by human and natural collaboration. Walk through the Drouwener field, a stunning area with heaths, forests, and fens. Here, Drenthe's characteristic sheep graze, and you might even encounter imposing Highland cattle! The last stretch goes through a lovely forest area, eventually arriving in the village of Schoonloo.

Leaving the Drentsche Aa via the Schoonloo forestry, you enter the Sleenerzand forests. During a delightful walk, you will find a nearly 26-ton erratic boulder from the last ice age, just off the route. Further in the beautiful Sleenerzand, you'll pass the 'Pieterpad monument', erected in honor of its creators, and other historical sites like the 'Celtic Fields' and the burial mound field the 'Galgenberg'. If you deviate from the route slightly, you can visit Dolmen 49 before heading to picturesque Sleen.

Before leaving Sleen, one of the most authentic brink villages in Drenthe, visit the restored village pump and windmill ‘De Hoop’. Continue through the beautiful Drenthe landscape with its typical farms and green pastures. Stop in the 'whisky' hamlet Den Hool or the nearby peat village Dalerveen for a coffee break. If you have energy left, visit the castle in Coevorden, which has a tumultuous history due to its location between the Hanseatic cities of Münster and Groningen.  

After breakfast, this part of the Pieterpad comes to an end. 

The Pieterpad is a long-distance walk suitable for anyone with a good level of fitness and a love for slow travel. The route is non-technical, with well-marked paths through varied landscapes—rolling hills in the south, forests, heathlands, and river valleys. There are no extreme elevations, making it accessible to most walkers, but some daily distances can be long, requiring endurance. Weather conditions, especially in winter, may add some challenge. If you enjoy discovering hidden corners of the Netherlands at a relaxed pace, this could be the perfect journey for you!
 
 

For our trips, we always choose accommodation with private rooms and private bathrooms. In rare cases, shared accommodations or shared bathrooms may be provided, so we recommend carefully checking the inclusions section to understand the type of accommodation included in the trip you are interested in.  

We place great importance on the choice of accommodations and select hotels with care and attention. We understand how essential it is to rest well after a day of walking. We always prefer cozy and characteristic establishments, preferably family-run, that fully embody the spirit of the place and offer hospitality with courtesy and comfort.  

Where, due to the nature of the route, accommodation options are limited, we choose the one that best aligns with our standards.