The Pieterpad is a long distance walking route in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. The trail runs 485 kilometres (301.4 mi) from Pieterburen

Pieterburen

The small village of Pieterburen is situated in the northern part of the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. Pieterburen is part of the municipality of De Marne.Pieterburen is situated on the ‘Hogeland’ of Groningen...

, in the northern part of Groningen

Groningen (province)

Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...

, south through the eastern part of the Netherlands to end just south of Maastricht

Maastricht

Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...

, on the top of Mount Saint Peter (St Pietersberg), at a height of 109 metres (357.6 ft). The Pieterpad is one of the official Long Distance Paths in the Netherlands (Lange Afstand Wandelpad Nummer 9) and by far the most popular of its long distance walking routes. It is possible to walk the route in either direction, and throughout the year. It is well signposted, and is well served by public transport and accommodation throughout its length. The official guide book is in two volumes, Pieterburen-Vorden and Vorden-Maastricht. A dedicated website (in Dutch) also gives updated accommodation details. Although the walking is always easy and never remote, it is a varied and often beautiful walk, passing through woods, polders, heathland, and numerous small Dutch villages.

History

The trail was the idea of Toos Goorhuis-Tjalsma living in Tilburg

Tilburg

Tilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout....

, in the south of the Netherlands and her friend Bertje Jens living in Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. They came up with the idea to design a rambling route between their hometowns, later re-organised between the far north to the far south. The route has been officially opened since 1983.

Etappes

The route of the Pieterpad is described in the following stages:

1	Pieterburen Pieterburen The small village of Pieterburen is situated in the northern part of the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. Pieterburen is part of the municipality of De Marne.Pieterburen is situated on the ‘Hogeland’ of Groningen...	Winsum Winsum Winsum is a municipality and a town in the northeastern Netherlands.The town of Winsum was officially established in 1057 as the fusion of three historic villages: Obergum , Winsum and Bellingeweer...	11 km
2	Winsum	Groningen	18 km
3	Groningen	Zuidlaren Zuidlaren Zuidlaren is a village in the province of Drenthe in the Northern Netherlands. Zuidlaren has just over 10,000 inhabitants and is situated on natural heightened land which is called the Hondsrug....	21 km
4	Zuidlaren	Rolde Rolde Rolde is a town in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Aa en Hunze, and lies about 6 km east of Assen.Rolde was a separate municipality until 1998, when it became a part of Aa en Hunze....	16 km
5	Rolde	Schoonloo Schoonloo Schoonloo is a town in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Aa en Hunze, and lies about 14 km southeast of Assen.In 2001, the town of Schoonloo had 70 inhabitants...	19 km
6	Schoonloo	Sleen Sleen Sleen is a village in Drenthe, Netherlands of about 2500 people. Sleen has been inhabited for centuries. Much ancient history can be found in the area, particularly in the forests . At birth and during the Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden...	22 km
7	Sleen	Coevorden Coevorden Coevorden is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands. During the municipal reorganisation in the province in 1998, Coevorden merged with Dalen, Sleen, Oosterhesselen and Zweeloo.- Population centers :...	19 km
8	Coevorden	Hardenberg Hardenberg Hardenberg is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city of Hardenberg has a population of about 17,200. It received city rights in 1362 from Jan van Arkel, Bishop of Utrecht. The famous Pieterpad also passes through Hardenberg.-Cycling:There are...	20 km
9	Hardenberg	Ommen Ommen Ommen is a municipality and a Hanseatic city in the Vecht valley of the Salland region, which is at the heart of the province of Overijssel in the eastern Netherlands. Historical records first name Ommen in the early 12th century and it was officially founded as a city in 1248...	22 km
10	Ommen	Hellendoorn Hellendoorn Hellendoorn is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Dutch province of Overijssel.- Population centres :The municipality comprises:Towns:* Hellendoorn* NijverdalHamlets:* Daarle* Daarlerveen* Eelen en Rhaan* Egede* Haarle* Hancate...	20 km
11	Hellendoorn	Holten Holten Holten is a small village in the municipality of Rijssen-Holten in the Dutch province of Overijssel, with approximately 10,000 inhabitants. Holten is located in an ample-forested area, just south of the Holterberg. This hill, which is about 65m high, is part of the "Sallandse Heuvelrug" National...	15 km
12	Holten	Laren Laren (Gelderland) Laren is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Lochem.Laren was a separate municipality until 1971, when it was merged with Lochem.-External links:* Maps of the former municipality in 1868...	15 km
13	Laren	Vorden Vorden Vorden is a former municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands, about 10 kilometres south-east of Zutphen. On 1 January 2005 the municipality merged with Hummelo en Keppel, Steenderen, Hengelo en Zelhem, to form the new municipality Bronckhorst....	14 km
14	Vorden	Doetinchem Doetinchem Doetinchem is a city and municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the Oude IJssel river in a part of the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek . The municipality has 56,700 inhabitants and has an area of 79.66 km²...	26 km
15	Doetinchem	Hoch Elten	19 km
16	Hoch Elten	Millingen aan de Rijn Millingen aan de Rijn Millingen aan de Rijn is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands.-External links:*...	12 km
17	Millingen	Groesbeek Groesbeek Groesbeek is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands.-Description:Groesbeek is named after a small stream called the Groesbeek, which in its original form doesn't exist anymore...	20 km
18	Groesbeek	Gennep Gennep Gennep is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands.- Population centres :Aaldonk, Dam, De Looi, Diekendaal, Gennep, Heijen, Hekkens, Milsbeek, Ottersum, Smele, Ven-Zelderheide and Zelder.- The city of Gennep :...	15 km
19	Gennep	Vierlingsbeek Vierlingsbeek Vierlingsbeek is a village in the municipality of Boxmeer in North Brabant province of the Netherlands. Until it was included in Boxmeer in 1998, it also was a municipality of its own.The UN/LOCODE is NLVIE....	17 km
20	Vierlingsbeek	Swolgen	21 km
21	Swolgen	Venlo Venlo Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...	22 km
22	Venlo	Roermond Roermond Roermond is a city, a municipality, and a diocese in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.The city of Roermond is a historically important town, on the lower Roer at the east bank of the Meuse river. It received city rights in 1231...	31 km
23	Roermond	Pey Pey Pey is a commune in the Landes department in Aquitaine in south-western France....  (Echt)	21 km
24	Pey	Sittard Sittard Sittard is a city in the Dutch province of Limburg, which is the southernmost province of the Netherlands.On the east Sittard borders on Germany . It has some 48,400 inhabitants . Sittard is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen...	18 km
25	Sittard	Strabeek (Valkenburg) Valkenburg aan de Geul Valkenburg aan de Geul is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands.-History:Siege and conquest were characteristic of the history of Valkenburg. Each event is withheld, followed by subsequent restorations. This most definitely holds for the castle perched atop of a hill in the middle of the...	21 km
26	Strabeek	Maastricht Maastricht Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...	11 km
27	Maastricht	Sint Pietersberg	4 km

The Pieterpad connects to the international trails E9

European walking route E9

The E9 European long distance path or E9 path, also the European Coastal Path , is one of the European long-distance paths, running for 5000 km from Cabo de São Vicente in Portugal to Narva-Jõesuu in Estonia.The path follows the west coasts of Portugal, Spain and France as far as Roscoff...

 at its northern end in Pieterburen and the GR5 at its southern end and crosses the E11

European walking route E11

The E11 European long distance path or E11 path is one of the European long-distance paths, running 2500 km west-east from The Hague in the Netherlands through Germany and Poland....

 in Oldenzaal and the E8

European walking route E8

The E8 European long distance path or E8 path is one of the European long-distance paths, leading 4700km across Europe, from Cork in Ireland to Istanbul in Turkey....

in Nijmegen. It is also part of the system of national long distance trails in the Netherlands.