Pieterpad

Summary: The Pieterpad is a long distance walking route which runs along the full length of the Netherlands from north to south, much of it close to the German border. It is the most famous long distance walking route in the Low Countries. While being predominantly a Dutch walking route, on short sections, the walk does cross into Germany. The trail was the idea of Toos Goorhuis-Tjalsma (1915-2004) living in Tilburg, in the south of the Netherlands and her friend Bertje Jens (1913-2009) living in Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. They came up with the idea to design a rambling route between their hometowns, later re-organised between the far north to the far south. The route has been officially open since 1983.

The character of the walk is typically flat, especially in the wide pan-flat plains of the north, though don't be fooled. While most of the walk is not much above sea level there are occasions the route climbs over 100 metres altitude - the highest point of the walk is 135 meters (443 feet) at Schimmert. So, there are some climbs, and much more of interest - including mesolithic tombs, medieval castles, forests, sand dunes, university towns, historic villages and of course Maastricht, home of the Euro.