Hiking network The Netherlands

From the medieval city centre of Hanseatic Zwolle you walk the first miles through the urban area: from the medieval surroundings of the Hanseatic city of Zwolle through the modern infrastructure of the suburbs, via the green recreational area Wijthmenerplas to the countryside. On this route the countryside is still surprisingly small-scale and it is a pleasure to walk here.

For the observant hiker the red kite can be discovered here, a very rare breeding bird in the Netherlands and at the same time one of the most beautiful if not the most beautiful. Via the small settlement Wijthmen we disappear into the woods and via the country estates of “De Horte” and “Den Berg” we end up at Dalfsen station from where it is not far to Dalfsen itself. walking network

Landschap Overijssel (Overijssel landscape) is one of the 12 provincial trusts that preserve nature reserves and estates in The Netherlands. The province of Overijssel trust “Overijssels Landschap” has its offices in the old country house and outbuildings on the “De Horte” estate. The trust manages 56 estates and Nature reserves in Overijssel that together cover an area of about 10,000 acres (4000 hectares).

The medieval city and provincial capital of Overijssel Zwolle is a good place to be. Besides numerous high quality restaurants with menus that span the globe and numerous terraces, a visit to the renowned museum De Fundatie is definitely worth your visit. But just wandering through the beautiful streets, squares and parks of course is also a possibility. hiking network

Dalfsen is first mentioned in the early 13th century. Graves from the time of the funnel cup culture, however, attest to a longer habitation dating back to roughly 3000 BC. This was the culture of the dolmen builders and the work of art at Dalfsen station “De zwevende kei” (The floating brick”) also bears witness to this. Dalfsen is a cozy, lively village that offers ample opportunities for a short stay.

For this walk from Zwolle to Dalfsen we deliberately chose this route because more unpaved paths could be found here, which we personally prefer over paved ones, even when it would concern bicycle paths. But it is a your choice you if you prefer to walk along the banks of the Vecht to Dalfsen; we have GPX data available for this as well and the end point is the same. However, the route then runs all day on paved roads/bicycle paths with more users/cars and without shelter so you have to take that into account.

hiking from Zwolle to Dalfsen