Lemele, Holten, Nieuw Heeten

A lovely round trip around Holterberg, with some nice altitude changes, Pit stops and enjoying the beautiful nature and the special animals. The route starts at junction 56, near the De Pas car park. We lead you straight through the beautiful Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park towards Holten. At junction 57, look out for the historic ANWB mushroom. This was designed just after World War II, partly by August Boost, and has vertical side surfaces. When these Boost mushrooms proved less readable, they were replaced again with the old pre-war model with the sloping sides. This vintage mushroom near Holten has remained standing and rare, which is why it has been declared a municipal monument.

Continue the tour and enjoy the beautiful views over the vast heathlands and sandy plains on the Sallandse Heuvelrug. This is the habitat of the Netherlands' last remaining grouse. But also of the salamander, roe deer, fox, badger, stone marten, polecat, weasel and ermine. In 2018, the wolf was spotted in this area for the first time. The shepherds are well prepared for the arrival of the wolf. With Pyrenean mountain dogs and wolf-proof fences, they protect their herds. Which of these special animals did you spot yourself today and can tick off your list?

You continue cycling along the Akkerdijk past Rijssen, towards Holterberg. At 60 metres above sea level, Holterberg is not the highest mountain of the Sallandse Heuvelrug, but it is the most famous and a very beautiful one. The Holterberg nature museum is on top of the mountain, so you will have to climb quite a bit for this. You can also visit the impressive Canadian Cemetery. 1,394 allied Canadian soldiers are buried here and in the information centre you can learn a lot about the stories of these fallen soldiers.

You can complete the around Holterberg by cycling back to the car park in Haarle via Sprengenberg, past the Palthetoren. You cannot visit the Palthetoren, but the sight of that beautiful white tower towering above that exceptionally beautiful green landscape is more than worth the extra bit of cycling. It is inevitable that you will return to the starting point tired but very satisfied from all those special impressions.