Elsenhove Amstelveen Starting Point (touris transfer point)

Routes from this starting point

Elsenhoveroute (red) Unpaved path (partly): 1.77km
Pancrasroute (orange) Unpaved path (partly): 3.95km
Kostverlorenroute (green) Unpaved path (partly) No dogs allowed Closed during bird breeding season: 6.96km
Back and Forth Route (black) Unpaved path (partly): 9.23km

kaart startpunt TOP Elsenhove 2021 (3107 kb)

Elsenhove recreational area was built around the eponymous Speelboerderij (play farm). This landscape park is like the Amstelland landscape in miniature: a farm with elevated ‘higher grounds’ surrounded by a peaty polder. Nature in Elsenhove is quite exceptional for the west of the country: the ditches are clear and teeming with life. The height differences, which cause water to seep and flow, create special conditions. Hydrosere occurs along the border between land and water.

The Elsenhoveroute (red) is a short walk along the higher grounds. The higher grounds have interesting peat vegetation. There is cottongrass, meadow thistle, devil’s-bit and great burnet, as well as bog-myrtle and royal fern. This particular vegetation attracts insects, which in turn attract frogs and swallows.
The Pancrasroute (orange) passes through the southern part of the Middelpolder. This used to be the location of the small Pancrasmeer lake, which made way for meadows and then the recreational forest after the impoldering.
The Kostverlorenroute (green) is a longer walk on beautiful farmland paths through the Middelpolder and along the Amstel river. You will see a lot of cows and meadow birds and the historic country estates of Wester Amstel and Oostermeer.
The Amstel Heen en Weer or Back and Forth Route (black) is a longer walk along Ouderkerk and the banks of the Amstel river. There are beautiful views over the Rondehoep polder. The ferry on the Amstel only operates daily from May to August, between noon and 6 pm. In April and September it operates on weekends and public holidays, between noon and 6 pm.