Drents-Friese Wold National Park


The Drents-Friese Wold National Park is a national park in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Drenthe, covering more than, founded in 2000. It consists of forests, heath lands and drift-sands.

Landscape and history

It is sure that people lived in this area already in the Stone Age. In the landscape several graves from that time are visible. The present characteristics of the area are strongly influenced by the 'esdorp culture'. Farmers used the lands for grazing by their sheep. The continuous removal of minerals resulted in heathlands and sand-drifts. In the 19th century, the state started forestry programmes and species such as oak, pine, Douglas fir and Japanese larch were planted. These trees still cover a large part of the area.
The brook Vledder Aa is one of the very few remaining natural brooks in the Netherlands.

Vegetation and wildlife

In the national park we find among others the European pine marten, the Smooth snake, the Great Crested Newt, the
Viviparous lizard, the Common Raven, Stiff clubmoss
and Bog-rosemary.

Management

The most important management organisations for the park are:
The rest of the park is managed by 80 private owners.

Recreation

The park contains many bike trails. In Appelscha, Hoogersmilde, and Diever are visitor and information centres.