Boswachterij Kootwijk

Boswachterij Kootwijk is a large forest and nature reserve in the Veluwe, in the province of Gelderland, and it surrounds the famous drift-sand landscape of the Kootwijkerzand. A boswachterij is a forestry district managed by Staatsbosbeheer, the Dutch state forest service, and this one covers a large area of pine and mixed woodland, heath, wetland patches and open sand. For many visitors it is the green frame around the dramatic dunes, and it deserves a visit in its own right.

The landscape is the product of a long history. After the last Ice Age, the wind piled up sand across the Veluwe, and for centuries people cleared the woods and grazed sheep on the poor soil, which let the sand drift again and bury fields. In the late nineteenth and the twentieth century, huge areas were planted with pine to hold the sand and to produce timber for the mines of Limburg, and these plantations are what you see in many parts of the reserve today. Managers have since started to thin the pine woods, plant native broadleaved trees and reopen the heath, so that the forest is becoming more varied, and a walk will show many different stages of woodland.

There are plenty of paths for walking and cycling, marked by colour, and the reserve is also used by horse riders. The routes vary in length, from short strolls to long hikes, and they pass through quiet forest, along open heath and past the edges of the sand. Wildlife is abundant but shy: red deer, roe deer and wild boar live here, and you are most likely to see them in the early morning or at dusk, from a distance and with patience. Birds include woodpeckers, buzzards and, in the open areas, woodlarks and wheatears. In late summer, the heather blooms and attracts bees and butterflies.

There are no major facilities within the forest itself, so bring water and snacks, and check the weather. Parking areas at the edges give access to the trails. The Kootwijkerzand 4.0-km Loop Trail, the Orange Trail of about three kilometres and the long Rangers Trail of around eighteen kilometres all begin in the area, and the old Radio Kootwijk station, built in the 1920s, is a historic curiosity close by.

The reserve suits hikers, cyclists, horse riders, photographers and those who simply want quiet. Go in the early morning for wildlife and in late summer for the heather, and wear sturdy shoes.