Hiking in Zeeland

There are many options for making wonderful walks, varying from a brief walk to a hike that will take several days. Along the Oosterschelde, the Westerschelde, over the old flower dykes or through unique conservation areas. You can also choose to do a city walk through one of Zeeland’s old towns. The Zeeland hiking network has many different walks to offer. You can map out your own walk on the Wandelnet website.

How does the hiking network work?

With the help of the hiking network you can plot different hiking routes in Zeeland. A hiking network consists of hiking trails that are linked together. At each junction, there is a route pole indicating the number and direction of the next hiking junction point. The fun part of these junction points is that you can use them to plot your own route. Moreover, you don’t need to worry that you are walking on the right paths, because all of the hiking paths have been chosen on the basis of the amount of traffic, condition of the paths and potentially interesting sights to see. See below for the hiking network in the municipality of Kapelle and a beautiful hiking route we recommend.

Hiking network of Hart van Zeeland in Goes-Kapelle

The Hart van Zeeland offers plenty of variation for walkers. You walk through different polders, the trading town of Goes and you will have beautiful views of the Ooster- and Westerschelde rivers. Do you also like panoramic views? There are many routes to suit this need, because a large section of the network, more than 50 kilometres, leads across farmland. To download the route, visit zeeland.com (the site is in Dutch).

Fruit route

The fruit route is a beautiful 17 kilometres long hiking route which leads straight through orchards. Kapelle is known as ‘De bloesem van Zeeland’(Zeeland’s blossom) for a reason. On this route you will discover the origin of this moniker. Especially in spring, with the fruit trees in blossom, you can enjoy stunning views when you are hiking.

The route starts at the Fruitteelt Museum (Fruit Cultivation Museum) in Kapelle. Here, you travel through the history of the fruit farms and you will get to know the different varieties of fruit. There is also a pleasant orchard boasting as many as 170 different apple and pear trees.

The remainder of the fruit route leads you past meadows, arable land and several orchards. In the orchards you can see the fruit growing rapidly once the blossoms are gone. All summer long you can purchase and taste fruit from farm shops and stands at the roadside. For more information and for downloading the route, visit zeeland.com (in Dutch).