Visiting De Maasduinen National Park and De Wellsche Hut, Well, Limburg, The Netherlands: invigorating border country

De Maasduinen National Park is situated in the north of Limburg Province, The Netherlands. National and provincial conservationists combine efforts in order to administer the Park.

The Maas part of the name Maasduinen refers to the great Maas river, one of the major fluvial arteries of The Netherlands. Over maybe thousands of years, dunes formerly by the Maas River have been separated from its course, and today heath- and woodland predominate in what has been made into a National Park.

Trees species present De Maasduinen National Park include pine, oak, birch and others. Many species of fauna also make the Park their habitat. These include various varieties of lizards, dragonflies, birds (such as the crane, falcon, and woodpecker), beavers, and butterflies.

De Wellsche Hut, Well, in the Bergen municipality of the Dutch Limburg province (1) is a hamlet located on the edge of this National Park, close to the German border. It has a number of amenities for visitors, including chalets open year-round, and a restaurant. It is a popular staging post for hiking- and cycle-paths on the De Maasduinen National Park. There are many kilometres of designated paths on which visitors hike or ride bicycles, many of them locally hired.

It struck me how peaceful the Dutch-German border at De Wellsche Hut is.

I have supplied a map showing the elongated shape of the Park, and its proximity to the Dutch-German border. (Indeed, the adjacent part of Germany was formerly part of The Netherlands.)

Note

(1) Neighbouring Belgium also has a province called Limburg.

Also worth seeing

In Well itself, The Netherlands, (distance from Wemb: 11 kilometres) has a 14th century castle (Dutch: Kasteel Well ), now used by Emerson College, Massachusetts.

Wemb (or: Weeze-Wemb ; distance; 11 kilometres), Germany, has a windmill and a prominent, spired church building. The former RAF Laarbruch base, now the site of Airport-Weeze, has a Royal Air Force Museum.

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How to get there: Lufthansa flies from New York Newark to Duesseldorf, where car rental is available. For North American travellers making London, England, their base, Ryanair flies directly to Airport-Weeze , Germany (close to the Dutch border at De Wellsche Hut , Well, Bergen), where car rental is also available. Please check with the airline or your travel agent for up to date information. Please refer to appropriate consular sources for any special border crossing arrangements which may apply to citizens of certain nationalities.

MJFenn is an independent travel writer based in Ontario, Canada.