Once the leaves start turning, half the parenting group chats in Amsterdam are asking the same thing: where do we actually take the kids for a good forest walk this weekend? Not a manicured city park, a real wood, with mud, sticks, and somewhere to warm up with a hot chocolate after. Here are the forests worth planning around, from the one in your own backyard to the ones worth an hour in the car.
We’ve picked these for a reason: real trails, something for kids to actually do besides walk (a goat farm, a playground, a lake), and enough space that a five-year-old on a balance bike or a toddler in a carrier both have a good time. Save this list for the herfstvakantie, or just for any weekend the weather looks half-decent.
Amsterdamse Bos: the forest you don’t need a car for
Amsterdamse Bos is the obvious starting point if you live anywhere near the city, and it’s easy to forget how big it actually is until you’re a kilometre in and still surrounded by trees. In autumn the paths around the Bosbaan turn proper gold, and there’s enough space to let kids run ahead without losing them.
The move most local parents make is combining the walk with Boerderij Meerzicht, an old farmhouse pancake restaurant dating back to 1857, the only original farm left standing once the forest was planted around it. Order a pancake, let the kids play in the big playground next to it, then walk it off. Right next door is Ridammerhoeve, a goat farm with around 250 goats that’s free to walk into, kids can get right up close and it’s one of the better rainy-boots-required stops in the whole park. If you’re already thinking about pancake farms, our guide to pancake houses, boats and farms across the Netherlands has more spots like it.
The Veluwe: worth the drive on a clear day
If you want proper wild forest rather than a city park with trees, the Veluwe is the region to head for. It’s the largest lowland forest and heathland area in northwestern Europe, and Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe is the easiest way in with kids because of one detail that changes everything: the white bicycles. There are around 2,000 of them scattered across the entrances and the Kröller-Müller Museum, free to grab and free to drop off wherever, which means even a six-year-old who’s slow on their own bike can get around a park that’s genuinely too big to walk.
Admission works per person rather than per car: adults and kids 13 and up pay €13.85, kids 6 to 13 pay €6.95, and under-6s get in free, with a separate parking fee of €9.80 on top. Check the park’s own site before you go since prices do get revised. The park is open all year, and autumn is arguably the best season for it, fewer crowds than summer, and the heather and beech woods put on a proper show.
Beyond De Hoge Veluwe, the wider Veluwe region has dozens of smaller entry points with free parking and unmarked trails if you’d rather skip the ticket altogether, useful to know if you’re doing this on a whim rather than a planned day out.
More family woods worth planning around
Not every family wants to drive an hour each way, so here are a few more that punch above their weight closer to home.
Kralingse Bos in Rotterdam wraps around a lake and has real range: a petting zoo called De Kraal with goats, pigs and geese, a playground with a cable-railway and slide near the beach area, and enough open grass for a proper run-around before or after the walk. It works well as a half-day out if you’re already in the city.
Amelisweerd, just outside Utrecht, is an old estate forest along the Kromme Rijn river, quieter and more historic-feeling than the others on this list. There’s a playground and a small petting zoo by the tea house, which is open daily from 10am year-round, useful to know if the walk turns into a “we need a toilet and a hot drink” situation halfway through.
Sprookjeswonderland in Enkhuizen is a different kind of forest day, a fairy tale-themed woodland walk built for younger kids, roughly up to age eight, with scenes and characters along the path rather than open wilderness. It’s under an hour from Amsterdam and a good option if a two-hour trek through actual woods isn’t realistic with your crew yet.
Making an autumn forest day actually work with kids
A few things that make the difference between a good outing and a miserable one once the weather turns:
- Boots, not trainers. Forest paths get soft and muddy fast once the rain starts, and it doesn’t take much for a puddle to end up over the ankle of a small shoe.
- Bring a spare set of clothes and a plastic bag for the wet ones, especially if there’s any chance of a stream, a goat pen, or a puddle-jumping phase.
- Days get short fast in autumn, plan to be back at the car or the café before it starts getting dark, which in the Netherlands by late October can mean before 5pm.
- A carrier works better than a buggy on the wilder Veluwe trails, the paths aren’t always paved. Buggies are fine at Amsterdamse Bos, Kralingse Bos and Amelisweerd, where the main routes are flat and hard-packed.
- Pack a thermos. Every one of these forests has somewhere to buy a hot drink, but the walk there is always longer than you think with short legs.
Any of these make a solid centrepiece for the herfstvakantie, and if you’re filling out the rest of the week too, our autumn school break guide has more ideas, plus our pumpkin picking guide if you want to combine a forest walk with a farm stop on the same trip. For more green spaces and family spots year-round, our directory of places is worth a browse too.
FAQ
When do the leaves actually turn in the Netherlands?
Colours usually build through October and tend to peak somewhere between mid-October and early November, though it varies year to year depending on rain and wind. Beech and oak woods like the Veluwe tend to hold their colour a little longer than the birches around Amsterdam.
Is De Hoge Veluwe worth it with a toddler?
Yes, but plan around the white bikes rather than walking. There are child seats on some of the bikes, and the paths near the museum and main entrances are flat and well-surfaced. A carrier is a safer bet than a buggy if you plan to go further into the park.
Do I need to book ahead for any of these?
De Hoge Veluwe is the only one where it’s worth checking online first, since admission and parking are paid per visit. The others, Amsterdamse Bos, Kralingse Bos, Amelisweerd and Sprookjeswonderland, are walk-in, though it’s always worth checking a venue’s own site for current hours before you drive out.
