Balloerveld in Netherlands is sand drift area which is part of Drentsche Aa national park. The long distance trail Pieterpad goes right through this area. The highlights of this trail are the sand drifts, stone circle and sheep hut. It is possible to purchase homemade products from sheeps wool or participate various workshops such as knitting or wheel spinning.
GETTING THERE
Amsterdam – 200km (2h 15min)
Groningen – 35km (30min)
Apeldoorn – 130km (1h 30min)
By car: Park at one of the two free parking lots. Schaapskooi Balloo which is right on the trail, so you will pass it either way. Or parking lot Galgenriet close to Gasteren, which is slightly further from the loop, so you will add additional distance (perhaps 700m one way) to the loop. But it is worth it as you will pass swampy area on plank walk.
By public transport: There is bus 51 from Assen to “Gasteren, Balloerveld” and then you will need to walk about 1km to the loop.
Camper/ Van overnight stay: I have stayed at Camping Balloohoeve at a farm. It has clean large facilities, it is worth a visiting the shop and get some produce and ice-cream. Since it is working farm, there were a lot of workers walking by and shouting, so I would not recommend unless you plan to stay away a lot during the day. It is 1,2km to Schaapskooi or 5km to parking Galgenriet- by bike. More HERE
TRAIL NAVIGATION
You could follow the trail without additional navigation. The trail is marked by round wooden poles with purple tip or by wooden poles with purple square showing the direction. Balloerveld purple trail is marked only in one direction and it is to be walked clockwise. There is a map available, but only at the parking Galgenriet. Note that the map is not complete. There is also green trail starting from the Schaapskooi, but not sure where it goes and what is the distance. Also if going from Galgenriet, there is short version of the purple trail available, but it is not shown on the map.
TRAIL DETAILS
From parking Galgenriet start by following white/red sign for Pieterpad because there is no purple marking straight away, only little further. The trail follows Pieterpad all the way south with small diversion. More about this section HERE on official website. My review of Pieterpad HERE. This part of the trail is relatively hard as it is on soft sand almost the whole time. At times there is very small side trail on the side, through the heather which is easier to walk on.
The route will take you to sculpture “De Baak”, shortly after you will turn away from the Pieterpad towards the sheep stable. Some parts of this trail might be muddy after rain. The sheep stable has small information centre with restrooms, workshop hall and small caffee. After the sheep stable, you will continue on easy path, which is also shared with bikes. Then small diversion through dunes before joining the bike path for little bit before you head inland again making progress back to complete the loop. The terrain is flat and mostly easy with changing soft sand path, gravel bike path, dirt path and also wooden plank (only if starting at Galgenriet)
OTHER DETAILS
Tree coverage: Majority of the trail is in open area with no tree coverage. Use sunprotection.
Geocaching: There are no geocaches along the trail, one point of Adventure Lab.
Dogs: It is possible to do the trail with dog. Dogs must be leashed. There might be some free grazing animals.
Shoes recommendation: Can be completed in trail runners or other sport shoes.
Trail running: It is possible, flat and easy terrain, but hard to do on the sandy parts.
FACILITIES
Restrooms: At the sheep stable
Restaurants: Small coffee shop at sheep stable, check opening hours in advance
Shops: Some shops in the villages around
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
I completed this hike around Balloerveld in September 2024 on Saturday. It was rainy weather, around 16 degrees. I met quite some people on the trail. Expect crowds on weekends, especially in nice weather. Area will be great to visit during blooming heather season (mid-August to mid-September)
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