If you are looking for a medium-long tour in a very tranquil and green area, this one is for you.
The 96km long tour starts in Leimuiden and leads you in the eastern direction through three provinces (Noord- and Zuid Holland and Utrecht). You cycle as far as Baambrugge before you ride back to Leimuiden.
GPX file: 1_CH&B_96km
You find all practical information at the end of this post.
Parking and Starting Point
We are starting in Leimuiden, a town in South-Holland (Zuid-Holland).
You can park your car in the parking lot of the Outdoor Pool of Leimuiden. It’s an option I use quite often. However, the parking can be crowded on weekends during the Summer vacation.
Let's start the tour
From the parking, you head off in the direction of Bilderdam for the first 5km.
Passing through the small town of Nieuwveen leads you to a longer, straight cycling path. While on this path, you cross the border to the province of Utrecht.
After about 19 km, you reach the river Amstel. The Amstel is one of the major rivers in The Netherlands. It also runs through Amsterdam.
You have to take the ferry to cross, which is pretty common in Holland and no big deal. This one costs 0,75 Euro, and the bike transfer is included. The travel time is about 5 minutes. The ferry rides continuously, so the waiting times are negligible.
Crossing the river you enter the province of Noord-Holland.
Once reaching the other side, you spend some km cycling along the river. It is a beautiful surrounding, and most of the time, you ride on a dike with a nice river view.
While following the river, you pass through Ouderkerk aan de Amstel (km 28), the largest town you pass on this tour. When you cycle through the shopping street you will find the first water dispenser on the left side of the 4-way crossroad.
It will get interesting about 2 km outside of Ouderkerk, as you need to cross a river once again, but this time by using a manual ferry. These pretty cool things are also widespread in Holland if the rivers are only a couple of meters wide. If you otherwise try to find the next bridge, you might need to take a long detour.
A cable connects the ferry ports. You must constantly turn a handle to pull the ferry along the cable to reach the other side. So it’s actually an additional arm-workout ;-).
Another 10 km lead you along another smaller river with many beautiful viewpoints. It is a very green area.
Arriving in Baambrugge, a very small town, you made it already to more than half of the tour. In Baambrugge, you cross a little bridge. Just before you cross this bridge, you see a church on the right side. A water dispenser is located next to the church.
The village also marks the furthest point of this tour. From here, the trip gradually heads back in the western direction.
Inbound Direction
We pass less water in the inbound direction, but it is still very green and tranquil with nice cycling paths.
You also cycle through some tiny villages. They are all very authentic with some lovely churches and small streets.
A Small Surprise
Continuing southwards, you soon reach the most southern part of this tour – Knockingen. You get to this little village by tranquil streets. Right before entering the town, you pass the most beautiful graveyard ever seen (on the left side of the street). It has a lovely fence around it, a little worship hall, and it looks just so neat that you must stop and have a glance for a minute. And yes, there is no picture of it in this post because you have to see it yourself 😉 .
If you cannot wait, head to one of my other posts. I shared a picture there: Let’s take it short and sweet (64km)
From here, the tour continues in the northern direction. In Twistvlied is another water dispenser. The gpx file leads you there. If you don’t need it you save a 400m detour.
You continue pretty straight to the west to Korteraar. One km after crossing a river over a pedestrian bridge, the way to Korteraar is a straight road. This 8 km can be challenging, depending on the wind direction.
The remaining 10 km of the tour bring you back north to Leimuiden.
Practical Information for the tranquil and green tour
Parking: Leimuiden Outdoor Pool (Adress: Tuinderij 3, 2451GG Leimuiden)
Water dispenser: Ouderkerk aan de Amstel (km 27), Baambrugge (km 40), Twistvliet (km 74)