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De Westfriese Omringdijkroute

This cycle route in the West Frisian Omringdijk is no less than 143 km long and can be completed in about 10 hours.

It is advisable to make it a multi-day bike tour, so that you have plenty of time to visit sights along the way. There are many museums on the route, from a cheese museum to a steam engine museum. Part of the route takes you along the IJsselmeer and the Markermeer, and another part takes you through various towns and villages. The route is very popular with people who want to see the entire region, because you pass all the important places. The route takes you through cities such as Hoorn, Alkmaar, Schagen and Medemblik. It is wise to read up on it in advance so that you can plan where you will stop along the way and what you want to see.

Directions

The route starts in Enkhuizen, where you first cycle southwest to Broekerhaven. You now cycle a large part of the route along the Markermeer, where you first cycle along Oostergouw and then along De Weed and Oosterleek.

Via Kraaienburg you cycle through Schellinkhout and Munnickaij to Hoorn. The harbour of Hoorn is a nice place to take a break, if you want to grab a terrace.

Keep cycling along the Markermeer and ride out of Hoorn on the west side to continue the road to Scharwoude. You are now cycling to Schardam, but just before the village you go west, at junction 37.

You come to the other side of the water along Oudendijk after which you cycle to Kathoek. At Ursem you cross the water and cycle all the way to Alkmaar. Over the Oude Kanaaldijk you cycle north, to Koedijk.

Now you cycle north of Koedijk along a beautiful lake, after which you cycle via Schoorldam towards Krabbendam. At Sint Maarten you turn right, past Valkkoog, to Schagen.

In Schagen you cycle through the centre and leave the city in the east so that you end up in Nes. Via `t Wad you cycle through Poolland and Kreil and then along Kolhorn. Past Kolhorn you turn right onto Groetweg.

Via Aartswoud, Lambertschaag and Opperdoes you cycle to Medemblik. This last part of the route you cycle along the IJsselmeer. From Medemblik you cycle to Onderdijk.

You now cycle past Bangert, through Kerbuurt to Broekoord. Finally you cycle through Oosterdijk back to Enkhuizen.

If you are going to have a bite to eat or a drink somewhere during or after a cycling route, don’t forget to lock your bike properly.

Is your bike ready for a new bike lock? First check whether the lock you have in mind meets the requirements of insurers. You can see this by the ART quality mark.

The nodes

During this route you will follow the following junctions: 30, 12, 28, 47, 10, 09. 80 62, 59, 58, 36, 37, 38, 31, 30, 35, 01, 02, 52, 17, 51, 72 71, 16, 92, 95, 93, 44, 41, 32, 43, 25, 45, 36, 78, 77, 60, 59, 68, 02, 18, 71, 70, 62, 63, 90, 74, 57, 16, 15, 14, 30.

Places of interest

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This route takes you through nice villages and towns, with unique sights.

Steam trains run between Hoorn and Medemblik on a track of no less than 20 kilometers. The trains run between the original stations and are certainly worth a visit.

Another attraction is the Bottle Ship Museum. This museum has over a thousand ships in bottles, some of which are hundreds of years old.

Another museum on the route is the Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar. This museum has a varied collection, such as paintings, toys and silverware.

Just outside Medemblik you will find the Dutch Steam Engine Museum. The museum houses a steam pumping station that is no less than 150 years old, where different types of machines are running on different days.

For people who want something completely different, there is the Dutch Cheese Museum in Alkmaar. In this museum you will learn everything about the history of cheese and how cheese was made in the past.

In Alkmaar there is another museum, namely the Beer Museum. Here you will learn everything about brewing beer, which machines are used and how it was brewed in the past.

In short, there are many museums along the route, with a museum to suit everyone’s taste.