The dune areas

Between the coast and inland areas, close to major cities like Amsterdam and The Hague, you’ll find the stunning Hollandse Duinen National Park and the Amsterdam Water Supply Dunes. This unique region features a diverse landscape of dunes, colorful flower fields, historic estates, peat meadows, and charming villages. Known for its rich biodiversity, the scenery changes with every season, offering new experiences year-round. It’s a perfect destination for walking and cycling in peaceful natural surroundings. With a bit of luck, you may spot foxes, deer, or even seals along the coast.

Discover the Duin en Bollenstreek: a remarkable natural escape in the heart of the Netherlands.

Deer spotting

The "Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen" (Amsterdam Water Supply Dunes) are a dune area between Zandvoort (North Holland) and the Langevelderslag in the municipality of Noordwijk (South Holland). The dunes have been designed for the extraction of drinking water for the city of Amsterdam; 50 million cubic metres of drinking water flows through this area, which covers 3400 hectares, every year. 

In the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen you can enjoy peace and quiet and space to the full. It is exclusively intended for walkers and you are allowed to wander off the beaten track. Along the way, there is a good chance that you will come across a beautiful deer. Nature in the dunes and the purification of water have been going hand in hand here since 1853.

Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen

More than just nature

In South Holland, along the North Sea, between beach and inland and close to the major cities, you will find Hollandse Duinen National Park, one of the first new-style national parks and much more than just nature.

Hollandse Duinen is unique because of the proximity of the sea, the villages and cities, the valuable nature in and around the dunes and the rich culture and history. The mix of natural and man-made landscapes is what makes the area so 'Dutch'. You experience the interaction between man and nature. You can see the results of our old struggle against- and our new connection with the water.

Nationaal Park Hollandse Duinen

Noordwijk's dunes

Strolling for miles through the Coepelduynen towards Katwijk, the Noordduinen towards Zandvoort and the Langeveld near Noordwijkerhout. So close to the major cities and yet so vast, quiet and unspoilt.  From Wassenaar to the tip of South Holland, a narrow but varied strip of dunes extends.

In addition to the dune landscape, there are also fantastic woodlands, such as Landgoed Leeuwenhorst, which lies in the village of Noordwijkerhout and is largely managed by the Zuid-Hollands Landschap.

Nature areas around Noordwijk