Parks and Dune Walks for Dogs in Zandvoort

This 38 square kilometre national park of dunes, woodland and open grazing spreads north from Zandvoort towards IJmuiden and is the region's great walking landscape. Dogs are welcome across most of the park but must be kept on the lead, and two sections, Duinlust and Middenduin, are closed to dogs entirely. Waymarked routes cross rolling dunes with sea views and highland cattle and konik horses grazing the valleys. It is a rewarding half-day out with a well-behaved leashed dog.

Zandvoort keeps a public dune stretch between the Kennemerweg and the Herman Heijermansweg where dogs are allowed off the lead. It is close to the northern edge of town and joins up with the Noordduinen, giving a network of sandy paths through low coastal dunes without the leash requirement of the national park. A convenient everyday run for local and visiting dogs alike, with the beach an easy walk away.

A popular local loop threads from the southeast of Zandvoort through the surrounding dunes, skirts the edge of the Circuit Zandvoort racetrack and returns along the boulevard. It is a longer half-day walk on sandy and paved paths with big dune-and-sea views, and a good leg-stretcher for an energetic dog when kept on the lead near the roads and the circuit perimeter. Views of the track from the dunes are a bonus on non-race days.