Since the Corona pandemic outbreak and subsequent lockdown, the Dutch have been hiking en masse. The number of downloaded walking apps and sales of walking shoes skyrocketed. After all, hiking is hearty fun, healthy and relaxing!
Dordrecht and its surroundings have a beautiful, varied and extensive landscape. The walking network around Dordrecht is no less than 190 kilometers long, so you can walk endlessly through the city, through the greenery or along the water.
We have listed a number of ideas, so that you can keep discovering new things in your own region. The walking guides and map are all for sale at VVV Dordrecht or in the VVV webshop.
1. Dwars door Dordrecht
Author Frits Baarda is a journalist and Dordrecht expert. He carefully set out six walks in the city and compiled them in the walking guide "Dwars door Dordrecht." The book is about special places, but also about the people who gave them meaning. The guide passes by the glorious past, but also retrieves the less illustrious history. With the clearly written histories, the city comes alive.
Dwars door Dordrecht, €7.50.
Frits Baarda, Publisher de Bengel.
2. Dordtse Waard Route
The Dordtse Waard Route is a walk of almost 50 kilometers along the most beautiful places the Eiland van Dordrecht has to offer. The walking guide describes the route in 9 stages. From a walk over centuries-old cobblestones along the historic harbors to the unpaved paths through the rugged willows of the Eiland van Dordrecht. Per stage tips are given about accessibility, resting places and overnight addresses.
Dordtse Waard Route, € 4,-
Publisher: Stichting Wandelsport Dordrecht e.o.
3. City Walk Street Art Tour
In recent years, Dordrecht's public spaces have been continuously enriched with artistic murals. Since the inception of Iconclash at the end of 2016, they have supported the city through imposing works of art. Curator Simian Switch selects renowned artists where their artworks are in harmony with the immediate surroundings and respond to the historical character of the city.
The route description of the Street Art Tour can be picked up for free at the VVV tourist office on the Spuiboulevard. Here you can also start your walk.
View or download the Street Art Tour.
4. Biesbosch trail
A new 169-kilometer regional trail. About 600 years ago, the Sint-Elisabehtsvloed with its ferocious storms, dike breaches and floods put an end to the Groote Waard. In this polder, which stretched from Strijen in the Hoeksche Waard to the fortified town of Heusden in North Brabant, lie the cities of Dordrecht and Geertruidenberg. According to the legend of the St. Elisabeth Flood, 72 villages disappeared forever in the waves. The Biesboschpad hiking guide takes you through the former Groote Waard. The trail goes over dikes that held up at the time, or were later raised around the newly reclaimed land. You walk through real Biesbosch villages such as Werkendam and Drimmelen, but of course also through the largest freshwater tidal area in Europe; National Park the Biesbosch. Don't forget your binoculars, because you have a chance to spot the bald eagle and osprey and see gnawing tracks of beavers. Starting and ending point is the beautiful fortified town of Geertruidenberg.
Biesboschpad, footprint of the Elisabethflood.
Edition: Wandelnet 2021, € 19,45
5. Drechtsteden walking route network.
How much fun is it to map out your own route? The convenient walking route network gives you all the freedom and flexibility you need. The Drechtsteden region guarantees no less than 190 kilometers of hiking fun. This area stretches from World Heritage Site Kinderdijk to the southernmost tip of the Island of Dordrecht. The junctions take you past the most beautiful sights and wonderful natural and recreational areas of the region. With the handy map, you can map out your own route in no time, no matter which direction. The map also gives you useful information about ferries, parking lots and bus or train stations. Between the different junctions you will find the distance, so you can determine the exact length of your route in advance. Along the way, you follow signs and stickers from node to node, so you can hike carefree and endlessly.
Walking map Walking in the Drechtsteden.
Edition: VVV and Vereniging te Voet, € 1,-.
