Best places to run in Netherlands

A huge man-made woodland park near Amsterdam, nearly three times the size of Central Park, with a marked 5 km rowing-course loop and longer trails.

A steep chalk-grassland hill above the Meuse valley with sunken lanes and marl caves nearby, one of South Limburg's classic short, sharp climbs.

A vast protected dune and salt-marsh wilderness at the east end of Terschelling, a remote and exposed long-distance beach walk.

A large heath and woodland reserve with hills and deep gullies, giving varied, undulating walking and running in South Limburg.

The tripoint where the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet atop the Vaalserberg, a popular finish for forest walks where you can stand in three countries at once.

A rugged 100 km waymarked route linking seven of South Limburg's summits, the closest the Netherlands gets to genuine mountain hiking.

The scenic Geul river valley winding through South Limburg's hill country, with riverside paths and hill climbs linking half-timbered villages.

Said to be the oldest forest in the Netherlands, with wide wooded paths just 800 m from The Hague's central station.

A wild dune-and-salt-marsh nature reserve at the eastern tip of Ameland, with sandy trails out to the Wadden Sea.

A watery recreation area of lakes, reeds and meadows just north of Amsterdam with quiet flat trails along the shorelines.

The largest of Drenthe's 5,000-year-old megalithic tombs, an atmospheric landmark on the waymarked Hunebed walking routes.

An iconic 1920s hunting lodge set on a lake within De Hoge Veluwe, the classic turnaround point of an 8.5 km loop across the heath.

The largest castle in the Netherlands, set in a vast landscaped estate with woodland and parkland paths to walk and run.

A woodland park around the Kralingse Plas lake in Rotterdam with a pleasant flat 5 km perimeter loop and water views.

A former sea inlet now a national park of reedbeds, water and open skies, ideal for flat birdwatching walks and big-sky running.

A belt of high dunes and old oak woodland on the Walcheren coast, with a scenic dune-and-beach trail past Westhove Castle.

A terraced river-terrace landscape of heath, forest and steep stream valleys near the German border, with some of Limburg's most rugged trails.

A protected stream-valley landscape of meandering brooks, meadows and traditional villages, with gentle scenic walking past ancient megaliths.

The largest continuous wet heathland in the Netherlands, turning purple from mid-August, laced with quiet trails through heath and birch.

The Netherlands' largest national park, a tidal sea area of mudflats, salt marsh and dikes with breezy waterside walking and abundant birdlife.

The Netherlands' oldest national park, with rolling heath-covered hills and forest that give some of the most genuinely undulating walking and running in the country.

A wild coastal dune park near Haarlem mixing high dunes, woodland and North Sea beach, with grazing bison and steep sandy paths to run.

The Netherlands' most famous long-distance trail, 498 km north-to-south in 26 well-marked stages crossing every kind of Dutch landscape.

A 90 m heather-clad ridge in Veluwezoom with a sweeping view over the IJssel valley, spectacular when the heath turns purple in late summer.

The Netherlands' best-known seaside resort with a long sandy beach, a pier and a flat boardwalk run stretching north along the dunes.

Home to the highest dune in the Netherlands (about 55 m), reached by the Duintrap stairs, with heath and drift-sand paths down to the sea.

A marl hill just south of Maastricht with chalk grassland, a 18th-century fort and old quarry walls, giving hilly trails and Meuse-valley views.

A long-distance birdwatcher's trail running from the North Sea coast across the country's finest nature reserves to the German border.

At 322 m this is the highest point of mainland Netherlands and the Three-Country Point, with the steepest sustained climbs the country offers and a tower viewpoint at the top.

Amsterdam's most central and popular park, a flat landscaped loop of lawns and ponds favoured by runners morning and evening.

A protected dune reserve on the edge of The Hague with sandy hill paths between the city and the North Sea beach.