Noble cycle route along Betuwe country estates
Nijmegen, Opheusden, Hemmen
When you cycle through the Betuwe, you’re unknowingly pedalling past centuries of history. A series of noble estates are the highlights of this cycle route. You start at Buitenplaats Oosterhout, a domain with roots dating back to the 14th century, located just outside Nijmegen. Via quiet dike roads, you reach the nearby Landgoed Loenen in Slijk-Ewijk, once owned by the noble Van Boetzelaer family. Both homes with a story, leafy lanes and beautiful gardens. Along this route lived many family members of the noble houses you’ll encounter further down the road, in the area around Hemmen. The former heerlijkheid Hemmen was once an important resting point on the route from Wageningen to Nijmegen. A tiny village that’s home to Castle Hemmen, inhabited for centuries by the Van Lynden family. Only the garden and ruin remain, but the surrounding estate with its old lane structure and fruit trees still tells the story. At the initiative of the noble family, the small station Hemmen‑Dodewaard was built here, on the condition that all residents could use it. A bit further on lies the site of the former little castle Boelenham, for centuries the watch castle of Hemmen’s heirs, and later swallowed by the flood of 1809. In the village itself, you can still visit the birthplace of Gijsbertus Cuperus (1644–1716), an influential antiquarian and politician who played an important role in the Golden Age of Dutch science. The route eventually leads towards Dodewaard, where near the station you’ll come across a charming and private museum: in a collector’s garden, the Schimmelpenninck collection is on display. It recalls the glory days of the tobacco industry in Wageningen, where millions of cigars were once produced each year, until the factory closed in 2000. And so this cycle route connects more than just landscapes: it’s a journey past country houses, castles, townsfolk and industry. A ribbon of stories between Nijmegen, Wageningen, the Waal, Nederrijn and the Linge.
| Directions | Distance | Total distance | |
|
Start: Waaldijk 48, 6678 MC Overbetuwe | 53 KM | |
|
From
38
to
35
|
4107 M | 4.1 KM | |
| Head east on Waaldijk | 2.5 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Oosterhoutsedijk | 246 M | ||
| Turn right to stay on Oosterhoutsedijk | 1.3 KM | ||
| You are now at section 35 | 0 M | ||
|
From
35
to
80
|
449 M | 0.4 KM | |
| Head north on Oosterhoutsedijk | 76 M | ||
| Turn right onto Parmasingel | 367 M | ||
| Turn left onto Griftdijk Zuid | 6 M | ||
| You are now at section 80 | 0 M | ||
|
From
80
to
37
|
753 M | 0.8 KM | |
| Head northwest on Griftdijk Zuid | 186 M | ||
| Turn right onto Griftdijk Zuid | 454 M | ||
| Continue onto Hertog Eduardplein | 113 M | ||
| You are now at section 37 | 0 M | ||
|
From
37
to
61
|
619 M | 0.6 KM | |
| Head north on Laauwikpad | 19 M | ||
| Turn left | 253 M | ||
| Turn right onto Griftpad | 347 M | ||
| You are now at section 61 | 0 M | ||
|
From
61
to
42
|
2722 M | 2.7 KM | |
| Head northwest on Griftdijk Noord | 665 M | ||
| Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Griftdijk Noord | 25 M | ||
| Exit the roundabout onto Griftdijk Noord | 333 M | ||
| Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Griftdijk | 48 M | ||
| Exit the roundabout onto Griftdijk | 946 M | ||
| Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Griftdijk | 54 M | ||
| Exit the roundabout onto Griftdijk | 617 M | ||
| Continue straight | 34 M | ||
| You are now at section 42 | 0 M | ||
|
From
42
to
43
|
1305 M | 1.3 KM | |
| Head northwest | 28 M | ||
| Turn left onto Griftdijk | 1.3 KM | ||
| You are now at section 43 | 0 M | ||
|
From
43
to
22
|
4305 M | 4.3 KM | |
| Head west on Rijksweg-Zuid | 22 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Reethsestraat | 68 M | ||
| Turn right to stay on Reethsestraat | 4.2 KM | ||
| You are now at section 22 | 0 M | ||
|
From
22
to
55
|
5705 M | 5.7 KM | |
| Head northwest on Stationsstraat | 229 M | ||
| Turn left onto Broekstraat | 189 M | ||
| Turn left onto Dorpsstraat | 144 M | ||
| Turn right onto Hoogsepad | 543 M | ||
| Turn right onto Julianastraat | 167 M | ||
| Turn left onto Broekstraat | 55 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Woutersdijk | 271 M | ||
| Turn left onto Zeegstraat | 2 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Onderstalstraat | 640 M | ||
| Turn right onto Kuilsestraat | 1.4 KM | ||
| You are now at section 55 | 0 M | ||
|
From
55
to
56
|
642 M | 0.6 KM | |
| Head north on Slopsestraat | 642 M | ||
| You are now at section 56 | 0 M | ||
|
From
56
to
52
|
1657 M | 1.7 KM | |
| Head west on Weteringsewal | 1.6 KM | ||
| Turn right to stay on Weteringsewal | 14 M | ||
| Make a slight right | 24 M | ||
| Turn left | 5 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Heldringstraat | 17 M | ||
| You are now at section 52 | 0 M | ||
|
From
52
to
53
|
2338 M | 2.3 KM | |
| Head west on Heldringstraat | 417 M | ||
| Turn right onto Molenstraat | 962 M | ||
| Turn left onto Dorpsstraat | 290 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Englaan | 669 M | ||
| You are now at section 53 | 0 M | ||
|
From
53
to
50
|
2999 M | 3 KM | |
| Head north on Veldstraat | 2.4 KM | ||
| Make a slight right onto Hemmensestraat | 551 M | ||
| You are now at section 50 | 0 M | ||
|
From
50
to
95
|
183 M | 0.2 KM | |
| Head northwest on Knoppersweg (N836) | 183 M | ||
| You are now at section 95 | 0 M | ||
|
From
95
to
19
|
5161 M | 5.2 KM | |
| Head southwest on Randwijkse Rijndijk | 5.2 KM | ||
| You are now at section 19 | 0 M | ||
|
From
19
to
18
|
3944 M | 3.9 KM | |
| Head south on Dorpsstraat | 229 M | ||
| Turn left onto Burgemeester Lodderstraat | 322 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Dalwagenseweg | 887 M | ||
| Turn left onto Dalwagen | 1.5 KM | ||
| Turn left onto De Zandvoort | 968 M | ||
| You are now at section 18 | 0 M | ||
|
From
18
to
16
|
1875 M | 1.9 KM | |
| Head south on Kerkstraat | 1.9 KM | ||
| You are now at section 16 | 0 M | ||
|
From
16
to
17
|
477 M | 0.5 KM | |
| Head east on Waalbandijk | 477 M | ||
| You are now at section 17 | 0 M | ||
|
From
17
to
58
|
5237 M | 5.2 KM | |
| Head southeast on Welysestraat | 4 KM | ||
| Turn left onto Wageningsestraat (N836) | 49 M | ||
| Turn right onto Kerkstraat | 399 M | ||
| Turn right onto Hoofdstraat | 775 M | ||
| You are now at section 58 | 0 M | ||
|
From
58
to
77
|
1163 M | 1.2 KM | |
| Head southeast on Stenenkamerstraat | 1.2 KM | ||
| You are now at section 77 | 0 M | ||
|
From
77
to
78
|
749 M | 0.7 KM | |
| Head southeast on Schoolstraat | 155 M | ||
| Turn right onto Merkenhorststraat | 594 M | ||
| You are now at section 78 | 0 M | ||
|
From
78
to
79
|
779 M | 0.8 KM | |
| Head southeast on Dijkstraat | 779 M | ||
| You are now at section 79 | 0 M | ||
|
From
79
to
80
|
2204 M | 2.2 KM | |
| Head east on Grote Allee | 1.9 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Loenensestraat | 340 M | ||
| You are now at section 80 | 0 M | ||
|
From
80
to
38
|
3634 M | 3.6 KM | |
| Head southwest on Loenensedwarsstraat | 161 M | ||
| Turn left onto Waaldijk | 3.5 KM | ||
| You are now at section 38 | 0 M |