Utrecht Path

Leg 4
SP13 Leersum to Veenendaal

February 2025

The Utrechtse Heuvelrug in A Winter Wonderland

We picked a beautiful sunny and crisp winter’s day to hike the fourth leg of the Utrecht trail through National Park “De Utrechtse Heuvelrug.” De Utrechtse Heuvelrug is a moraine created during the penultimate ice age, the Saalien, about 130,000 years ago.

The park is located in the heart of the Netherlands. It is only less than a one-hour drive from Amsterdam. It’s the second-largest forested area in the Netherlands and consists of pine and deciduous forests, lakes, and heathlands.

In Leersum, right after our first climb to the tomb of Nellesteyn, we got a fantastic panoramic view of the park. We entered the Breeveen Reservation, a large area with toppled trees. A downwind on June 18, 2021, blew over about 16 hectares of the forest. Instead of cleaning up and replanting the area, the Utrechts Landschap organization let nature take its course, since, in one minute, the storm had created a preferred forest image with open spaces.

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We continued to the Leersumse Veld and the Leersumse Plassen through woodland and over heathland. The Leersumse Plassen, the result of peat extraction around the 18th century, was a beautiful sight. The freezing temperatures created beautiful atmospheric conditions, perfect for capturing stunning pictures.

We entered another climbing part, the ascent of the Amerongse Berg. This ‘mountain,’ one of the higher points on the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, reaches only 69 meters. Here, we concluded leg 4 of the Utrecht Path. However, we continued with leg 5, following the trail through the Galgenberg forest reserve, its summit around 45 meters. We walked through estate De Laan to Veenendaal, where we caught the train back to Utrecht