Balkbrug: Reestdal Trails and Cultural History

If you are looking for a hotel in Balkbrug, you can get to know the area through its walking and cycling routes, windmills, and historic village views. For planning your day, the specific route lengths, starting points, and visiting conditions are especially useful: they vary considerably and can be compared to help you choose.

Walking and Cycling in the Reestdal

The Speelnatuurpad Bas de Das at the De Wheem visitor centre in Balkbrug is a play, discovery, and adventure trail for children aged 4 to 12. It runs for 1 kilometre through the Reestdal and starts and ends at the visitor centre. A longer circular walk is “Balkbrug: Then & Now,” which is 12 kilometres long. Two windmill trails lead from the mill into the Reestdal and to Ommerschans; they are 6.5 and 11.5 kilometres long.

The route options therefore range from the 1 km trail to the 12 km circular walk, with the two windmill trails in between. The De Wheem visitor centre is located in a farmhouse in the heart of the Reestdal and serves as a starting or ending point for an outing in the area. The 38.7-kilometre Reestdal cycling route starts there and passes the historic Reestkerk. A TOP in Balkbrug is another starting point for cycling or walking tours; it is easy to reach by car and offers free parking. Routes and parking facilities may change, so check the latest information before setting out.

The landscape along the Reestdal cycling route includes flowering meadows, raised fields, old hedgerows, heathland, and forests. This variety provides another point of reference for planning an outing, alongside the route lengths.

Cultural History and Monuments

The Reestkerk was built between 1851 and 1852 and has been protected as a Rijksmonument since 11 May 1971. The De Star windmill stands on De Omloop in Balkbrug and dates from 1848. It underwent extensive restoration in 2020 and was then once again fully capable of milling. Tours of De Star are available by appointment.

In the centre of Balkbrug, former colonial avenues are part of the old “green heart,” which has a rich history. Ommerschans-Balkbrug is an officially designated protected village view in the municipalities of Hardenberg and Ommen. The last so-called Limiethuisje of the Ommerschans colony stands at Boslaan 92 and is a Rijksmonument.

More Things to Do in Balkbrug

The app-based scavenger hunt “Haardens Mysterie” in Haardennen, Balkbrug, is intended for participants aged 6 and over. It starts at the motorhome parking area on the grounds of Si-Es-An campsite, De Haar 7 in Balkbrug. As the start arrangements may change, check the latest information before you go.

Wijngoed de Reestlandhoeve gives individual visitors the opportunity to tour the winery, taste wine, and buy bottles. Rotating exhibitions can be seen in the wine-tasting room throughout the year. Wine-walking and wine-cycling packages are also available. Visiting arrangements, the exhibition programme, and package availability may change; check the details in advance.

Discover more destinations: Bruchterveld, Hardenberg, Ane, Diffelen, Rheeze, Sibculo, Slagharen, Dedemsvaart.

Go to the main travel overview: Hardenberg.