On an adventure in the woods, romping with the dog, fishing, hiking, cycling, picnicking, enjoying a Burgundian meal, playing, golfing, mountain biking, horseback riding, discovering Scottish Highlanders and more. All this a stone's throw from each other in a small-scale nature reserve where nature, forest, heathland and fens alternate. Welcome to Nature Park De Heihorsten!
Nature gate Vennenhorst in Someren;
The starting point for all kinds of routes in the beautiful De Heihorsten nature p…
On an adventure in the woods, romping with the dog, fishing, hiking, cycling, picnicking, enjoying a Burgundian meal, playing, golfing, mountain biking, horseback riding, discovering Scottish Highlanders and more. All this a stone's throw from each other in a small-scale nature reserve where nature, forest, heathland and fens alternate. Welcome to Nature Park De Heihorsten!
Nature gate Vennenhorst in Someren;
The starting point for all kinds of routes in the beautiful De Heihorsten nature park, with forests, heaths and various nice fens, of which the Keelven is the largest. You will find different types of grazers here, such as horses, cows, sheep and Scottish Highlanders. This area is very popular with walkers and cyclists because of the many signposted walking and cycling routes. There are signposted mountain bike trails for ATB riders and the nature reserve is accessible via various equestrian routes for riders. Special are the specially constructed paved Allemansroutes that are accessible for pushchairs, wheelchairs or mobility scooters. The educational Nature Learning Path has resting points along the way with picnic sets and beautiful viewpoints. From Natuurpoort Vennenhorst you can also easily reach the Strabrechtse Heide, a heath and fen area full of old and new secrets that reveal themselves to you as soon as you set out on the walking or cycling paths.
The Keelven area;
The Keelven project aims to revive the Somerense heath as a walking area by alternating the regular, rectangular afforestation pattern with a few large pieces of heathland with ponds that resemble ponds. These are actually not real fens, given the artificial origin, but as a walking area the Keelven eo can certainly be called a success. The area fulfills a clear function as a suitable alternative to some much more vulnerable forest, heathland and fen areas in the area, such as the Beuven. The entrance to the Keelven area is located at the Natuurpoort Vennenhorst on the Provincialeweg Someren-Heeze, where various walking routes have been set out from the large parking lot, such as the Keelvenroute, the Witvenroute, the Bontvenroute and the wheelchair-accessible Allemanspadroute! The parking lot is also the starting point of the informative and educational Nature Learning Path! The Keelven area is also on the Cycle Route Network at nodes 31 and 98! The Mountain bike route De Somerense Heideroute of 13 or 25 km runs along the Keelven and through the Somerense Heide and the Boksenberg.
The Strabrechtse Heide;
The Strabrechtse Heide nature reserve is one of the largest heath areas in the Netherlands and offers a varied landscape of forest and heathland with idyllic fens. The Beuven is the largest fen in the Netherlands. On the dry places you will find heather and juniper, on the wet places Dophei, Pijpenstratjes, Gagel and Bell gentian. Grassification of the heathland is counteracted by grazing by a flock of sheep, by mowing and by sod cutting. The heath is surrounded by forests. The vastness of the area makes it wonderfully quiet for walking and cycling.
