Beautiful trail combining river landscape, arboretum, forest and views over the river valley – March 2018
Summary
This hike combines a diverse range of landscapes, like the river valley and views on it, the arboretum which is lovely to visit when the flowers are blooming and a park and forest. It can also be combined with a visit to the vineyard and during some weekends with a visit to the old stone factory to see the work of it’s artists (for links see further below). Since this is a very popular area for hiking because of its beauty, this is not a very quiet trail. Nevertheless, because of its diversity and beauty, we enjoyed it very much so I can well recommend it!
Description trail
The route starts at the dike where you enter the “uiterwaarden”. This is a piece of land that is overflown by water from the river Nederrijn in case there is high water during the winterseason. Here there are nice river landscape views.
During our hike beginning of March, there was still a bit of ice on the water and people were enjoying iceskating.
After a while, a little hiker’s bridge brings you to the other side of the flow where the trail further continues along the river Nederrrijn. There you pass the old stone factory dating from 1923 which is now in use by artists. they open up to the public during some weekends.
The hike then continues towards the Wageningse Berg, a hill that is well visible from the riverside. A small climb of around 50 metres brings you up the hill and there you enter the Belmonte Arboretum, a beautiful botanical garden. The garden is open to the public for free. The Arboretum used to be an estate founded around 1845. During the second world war, the estate’s buildings were heavily damaged and nowadays the botanical garden is the remainder.
A bit further on the trail you have a fantastic view over the river valley, which is even better at the terrace of the hotel restaurant the Wageningsche Berg where we had our short stop for a drink. This terrace is very popular on sunny days, even on those days during wintertime it might be difficult to get a table.
The hike then goes further on the hill and continues into a forest. A bit further the hike passes the small Vineyard of the Wageningse Berg, which was started in 1998.
According to their website, during the summer months every saturday at 16 o’clock, you can get a tour through the vineyard. For other activities and links see further below.
The hike further continues through a part of Wageningen, enters the Arboretum again and goes via the dike where you get back to the start of the route.
The center of Wageningen is close to the start and finish point. It is a good place to have a drink or lunch/dinner in one of the many nice bars or restaurants. On sunny days in spring or summer there are lots of terraces and a good atmosphere.
General/details:
General remark: the first part of the route may not be accessible during some weeks in wintertime due to high water of the river Nederrijn.
Start and Finish: At the crossroad of Dijkstraat/Grebbedijk in Wageningen
Type: circular route
Length: 10 km
Difficulty: easy
Terrain: sandpath and asphalt. There is a hill to climb which measures ~ 50 metres.
How to get there? By car: Parking can be done in Wageningen. There are a couple of public parkings in Wageningen, ~500 metres away from the starting point: Hoogvliet parking at Vandaring 9, Wageningen and parkings at Costerweg 9 or Walstraat 40 in Wageningen, for all 3 a parking fee is required. You could also consider to park at the hotel De Wageningsche Berg, which is at ~4km of the route but you might need to be a guest of the hotel or restaurant in order to be able to park there. Public transport: You can also get close by the starting point by bus, nr 50 at busstop Hof van Gelderland in Wageningen which is about 250 metres away from the starting point.
Restaurants underway? Yes, at ~4 km there is Hotel restaurant De Wageningsche Berg at the Generaal Foulkesweg in Wageningen www.hoteldewageningscheberg.nl. In Wageningen itself there are many restaurants and bars, just a couple of hundred of meters away from the starting and finish point.
Other activities underway:
– The old stone factory, artists’ work: www.steenfabriekwageningen.nl
– Belmonte arboretum: wwww.belmontearboretum.nl
– Vineyard Wageningse Berg: http://www.wageningswijngoed.nl