Utrechtse Heuvelrug National Park

Utrecht Province


Cycling and hiking is ideal in this 65km green arc east of Utrecht city. The national park has the Netherlands' second-largest sweep of wildlife-rich forest but also incorporates meadows and high dunes, patchworked with areas of human habitation.

Much of the territory was originally preserved in its un-urbanised form by being part of vast private estates. Several castle-houses remain, dating to around the 12th century. The signature beech trees are much newer, many planted in the 19th century. The area had previously been mainly heathland, as it was in 1804 when French revolutionary troops camped here and were set the task of building the Pyramide van Austerlitz to keep them out of trouble.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Utrecht Province attractions

1. Pyramide van Austerlitz

0.03 MILES

One of the oddest rural landmarks south of Amersfoort is a 36m-high pyramid-shaped hill that was originally built in 1804 to keep some 18,000 French…

2. Huis Doorn

4.09 MILES

Set in beautifully tended parkland in otherwise forgettable Doorn, this refined, art-filled manor house had numerous owners, but none more infamous than…

3. Onze Lieve Vrouwe Toren

4.85 MILES

This 15th-century Gothic tower is Amersfoort's defining architectural icon. It's the only surviving component of a church that was otherwise destroyed by…

4. Mondriaanhuis

4.86 MILES

This small but absorbing museum honours the life and work of the famous De Stijl artist Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) in the house where he was born.

5. Sint Joriskerk

4.98 MILES

If the tower of the Sint Joriskerk appears to be popping out of the roof, that's because it's all that remains of the original 13th-century church; the…

6. Kade Museum

5.05 MILES

This boldly designed gallery hosts large-scale temporary exhibitions devoted to contemporary visual artists or themes. The gallery closes for around three…

7. Koppelpoort

5.06 MILES

This 1425 gateway guards the northwest entrance of what was once the city wall. It was given a Pierre Cuypers Gothic-revival restoration in the 1880s and…

8. Kasteel Amerongen

8.21 MILES

Kasteel Amerongen is a moated, rectilinear castle-mansion whose sumptuous salons can be perused by joining an hourly guided tour (in Dutch). If you just…