Gravel in the Achterhoek is booming. Many cyclists have fallen in love with the gravel virus. The Achterhoek, the famous region in the Netherlands, seems made for it. Many long sandy roads, beautiful gravel paths—what more could you want? Time to take a closer look at it. Guest blogger Nynke Cuperus went out to gravel in the Achterhoek for us. The photos and the route are a real treat for the eyes. When are you going to gravel in the Achterhoek?
Beautiful region
The Achterhoek. You’ll find this region east of Apeldoorn and Arnhem. A region with a varied landscape where you’ll feel more at home on a gravel bike. Not only will you find forests and hills here, but also old tractor trails and wide sandy roads that take you past characteristic farmyards and beautiful meadows. The fact that you can ride off-road well here is also evident from the excellent MTB route network. The mountain bike route near Lochem was voted the best route in the Netherlands at the MTB Trail Awards. In addition, a 300-kilometer mountain biking network is being built in the region. That’s not a bad thing! This should make the region the mountain biking mecca of the Netherlands.
Read also: Five reasons to start mountain biking
Text and photos: Nynke Cuperus
Beautiful routes
Because these grandiose plans sound super cool, I decided to take the bike out for a spin and go gravel biking in the Achterhoek, together with my friend. Outdoor Achterhoek You will find a dozen routes that take you to the most beautiful places in the region and beyond. The routes have been compiled by local gravel enthusiasts. You will also find routes that are part of the Strade Bianche Achterhoek, a beautiful event that has been organized for several years in a row.
At the recommendation of Outdoor Achterhoek, we decided to go for the Gravel tour Montferland of 55 kilometers to go. This route runs through one of the hilliest parts of the Achterhoek and takes you to the southern part of the region; Montferland. You will also measure altitude on the German Eltenberg.
Start in Zeddam
The route starts at Berc Bike Studio Café In the picturesque town of Zeddam, a lovely village perched on a hill. Berc Bike is a good base for exploring the area. Besides a beautiful bike shop, you’ll also find a cozy bike café where coffee and specialty beer are ready for you. If you don’t have a bike yourself or can’t bring it in the car, you can also rent a mountain bike or gravel bike here and thereby directly support the Prinses Máxima Centrum. My friend rented a mountain bike at Berc Bike because the gravel bikes weren’t available at the time. The MTB was a good alternative.
Let’s go!
As soon as we turn around at Berc Bike, we immediately face a climb. We cycle along the ‘Muur van Zeddam’, a half-kilometer-long gravel road with a gradient of 3.7%. In 2017, the street was part of the Dutch National Cycling Championships. The top of the climb is at 42 meters high and we are immediately rewarded with a beautiful view over Montferland. A very nice start to the gravel tour!
Through the middle of nowhere in Germany
Next, we cycle along all kinds of dirt roads past farms and take part in a whole section of a mountain bike course from the 1990s. That course is not comparable to the singletracks of today; we are cycling over wide gravel tracks. As soon as we pass the German Crossing the border, we ride over a narrow forest path, after which we soon cycle through meadows and over dirt roads of asphalt. Maybe it’s the weather (cloudy with a hard wind), but it’s striking that we hardly encounter people here.
Calves
Because of the strong wind, we have to pedal hard and there is hardly any shelter to be found. When we almost got grumpy, we suddenly cycle past a farmer’s field with a stable full of calves. And of course we have to stop there! The calves are very curious; they all want attention. So sweet! The calves have completely captured our hearts! And while we are still talking about how cute they were, suddenly we find ourselves back in the The Netherlands to cycle. Now we encounter a lot of water. We also cycle a little wrong, which means that we end up in a very difficult situation. shortcut have to cross a dyke.
Climbing at The Eltenberg
Good news! The wind is blowing in our favor here and now. That of course makes cycling a lot more enjoyable! We also soon reach the most enjoyable part of the route; we can see the church tower of Hoog-Elten in the distance. That means we’re going to climb again! The 82.4-meter-high Eltenberg awaits us. And although you can’t of course compare this ‘mountain’ with the Alps of Dolomites, From the top, we can see kilometers away.
Last bit of graveling in the Achterhoek
Once we have enjoyed the view, we descend. And that descent is awesome! A narrow path leads us down downhill We cross a forest. We make a few more kilometers through the forest and over dirt roads, and then cycle into the town of ‘s-Heerenberg. There we see – completely unexpectedly for us – Kasteel Huis Bergh, one of the largest water castles in our country with a beautiful estate. Also the Bergherbos, where we then cycle through it. We then see the windmill of Zeddam appear quite quickly. That means we are back at Berc bikes: time for cappuccino, apple pie and bike talk!
Route and more
We noticed that people are very friendly when passing them and often say hello. We recommend that you bring enough food and drink with you when you start cycling. Along the way, we didn’t encounter many places to eat or drink. Also prepare yourself for some long stretches where you cycle over asphalt. Due to the strong wind, those stretches of the route were a bit less pleasant, but that’s a good reason to come back when the sun is shining and nature is in bloom. You will definitely get a holiday feeling in the Achterhoek. Lots of cycling fun (and the route to go gravel biking in the Achterhoek is below ;))
Read also:
- Gravel route around Ulft in the Achterhoek
- Gravel route in Gelderland: Exploring the Strade Bianche Achterhoek
Questions & tips
Do you have any questions about this route, or have you been there yourself? Share them here. We read everything and usually respond within a few days.