Discover Oostwold

Oostwold offers several specific points of interest: historic buildings and local history, a playground and an outdoor fitness park, as well as a canoe loop tour and a cycling project. You can decide which aspects to focus on depending on whether you are interested in cultural history, local amenities, or activities on the water and by bike.

Cultural history and local connections

A Rijksmonument is located at Hoofdstraat 227 in Oostwold. The church in the centre was built in 1908 to replace a late Gothic building. Oostwold was first mentioned in 1449 in connection with fishing rights on the Leekstermeer. The Munnikesloot towards Oostwold was dug by monks from Aduard Abbey. A later milestone came in 1861, when the road via De Poffert to Groningen was built. These details connect local history with fishing, waterways, and 19th-century road construction. The gap between the first mention in 1449 and the church’s construction in 1908 reveals two distinct periods in the town’s history.

Waterways and canoe tour

Het strikkie van Lettelbert is an approximately 21 km canoe loop tour that includes Oostwold and passes through the village on its way to the Leekstermeer. The Munnekesloot represents a different, local connection to the water: it links Oostwold to the waterway network on its eastern side. These serve different purposes for orientation: the loop tour describes a route of approximate length, while the Munnekesloot is a local waterway connection. Waterway conditions can change. Before setting out on a canoe tour, check the current situation if it affects your plans.

Playground and outdoor fitness park

There is a playground near the Gaveborg, offering a meeting place for children, parents, and grandparents. The Outdoor Beweegpark Oostwold is free for all village residents to use. Weekly training sessions with a personal trainer are held there; the programme may change. If you are interested, check in advance whether the sessions are taking place. The two facilities have different focuses: the playground is a meeting place for several generations, while the practical details of the outdoor fitness park are its availability to village residents and its changeable training programme.

Cycling project and planning status

When planning a bike ride, it is important to distinguish the proposed route from work on a specific section. The proposed Groningen–Leek fast cycle route runs partly along the future Zonnewal near Oostwold, south of the A7. North of the A7, the project includes a parallel cycle path at Oostwold. Near the destination, work on the section between Parallelweg A7 and Munnikesloot was largely complete in 2025. This included a new cycling bridge over the Munnikesloot and resurfaced cycle paths across Hooilanden and Munnikevaart. These different statuses matter when planning a journey: the proposed route and the work largely completed in 2025 on a specific section do not represent the same stage of development. As temporary construction conditions can change, check the current project and route status before setting out if you plan to use this connection.

Discover more destinations: Zevenhuizen, Lettelbert.

Back to the main travel overview: Leek.