Cycling routes
In the Peel
From a ride of a few hours across the Strabrechtse Heide to a full-day tour through three peat bogs, the Land van de Peel has cycling routes for every distance and interest. Ride past castles, villages and farm shops, or take on the singletracks of the Bakelse Bos. The eight routes below are signposted or follow the cycling junction network. They start in Asten, Deurne, Ospel, Someren, Helmond, Beek en Donk or Gemert.
Choose by distance. For half a day, the Strabrechtse Heide cycling route of 30 kilometres and the Waterpoort route of 30 or 39 kilometres are a good fit. For a full day, choose the Pelen route of 59 kilometres or the Rondje Helmond of 45 kilometres. You can filter all cycling routes in the Peel by distance and starting point in the full route overview.
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Plan your bike ride
Plan your bike ride
Put together your own route using the cycling junctions and see where you can stop along the way or charge your e-bike.
Open de kaart
Open the map
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Download a route
Download a route
Take the route description with you on your phone or print it before you set off.
Bekijk alle fietsroutes
De Pelen cycling route
This signposted 59-kilometre route takes you through the three peat areas known as the Pelen. These are the Deurnese Peel, the Mariapeel and De Groote Peel National Park. Together they form a Natura 2000 site that was once one impassable peat marsh. Along the way you pass the peat workers' villages of Griendtsveen and Helenaveen and learn how peat cutters shaped this landscape. A route for nature lovers who want to see the history of the Peel.
Length: 59 km.
Time: about 4 hrs.
Starting points: Museum Klok & Peel in Asten, Natuurpoort De Peel in Deurne and Buitencentrum De Pelen in Ospel, all three with a café or restaurant.
Tip: get off your bike in Griendtsveen or Helenaveen. These peat colony villages clearly show how peat cutting shaped the landscape of the Peel.
Strabrechtse Heide cycling route
Over 30 kilometres you cycle on paved paths straight across the Strabrechtse Heide. The ride starts in the centre of Someren and takes you via the cycling junctions to the largest continuous heathland in North Brabant. Along the way you pass the Beuven, the largest natural heathland pool in the Netherlands, and Boscafé van Moorsel in Lierop. In August the heather turns purple.
Length: 30 km.
Time: about 2 hrs.
Start and finish: Wilhelminaplein, Someren.
Tip: plan a break at the Beuven and look out over the water and the heath. With a bit of luck you will see Scottish Highlanders grazing.
Rondje Helmond
Helmond's own cycling route. Over 45 fully signposted kilometres you ride past the best spots in and around the city. Right through the city centre with Helmond Castle and the Cacaofabriek, then along country paths past farm shops, woodland, the Berkendonk recreational lake and café terraces. It is worth stopping for a while everywhere you go.
Length: 45 km, can be shortened to half.
Time: about 3 hrs.
Start and finish: from any point on the route, in either direction. Plenty of cafés and farm shops along the way. The route booklet is available from VVV Helmond in Boekhandel De Ganzenveer.
Tip: make it a route with stops. Get off at Helmond Castle, a farm shop or a terrace in the city centre.
Waterpoortroute
Laarbeek is known as the Water Gateway of the Peel. That is because of the junction of the Wilhelmina Canal and the Zuid-Willemsvaart, and the many pools and ponds. On this signposted route you pass places where water plays the leading role. Think of locks, pumping stations and the Bavaria brewery, which would not exist without water. The route through Laarbeek and Helmond also takes you past Croy Castle, the De Biezen nature reserve and the Warande city park, and close to Herberg de Brabantse Kluis in Aarle-Rixtel.
Length: 30 or 39 km.
Time: 2 to 2.5 hrs.
Start and finish: corner of Koppelstraat and IJsbaanlaan, Beek en Donk. Part of the route runs over unpaved paths. Signs are sometimes removed, so download the GPX file from the route page.
Tip: keep an eye out for the locks and pumping stations, water plays the leading role everywhere here.
Breuken Beleven Route
Large parts of the Peel lie on faults in the ground. The most important is the Peelrandbreuk, the Peel Boundary Fault, which runs from Deurne towards Bakel and Gemert. On this route along country cycle paths you see how that fault shaped the landscape. You cycle along the fault near Bakel and through the historic centre of Gemert. On the way you discover why a place of pilgrimage grew up here and why castle owners liked to settle in the area.
Length: 39 km.
Time: about 2.5 hrs.
Start and finish: VVV Gemert-Bakel, Ridderplein, Gemert.
Tip: watch for the differences in height in the landscape. They show where the Peelrandbreuk shaped the area.
Van Gogh route
Vincent van Gogh lived and worked in Nuenen from December 1883 to November 1885. In those two years he made 194 paintings, including The Potato Eaters, and more than 300 drawings. That makes Nuenen and the surrounding Laarbeek area an open-air museum. Twenty-three buildings and landscapes are directly linked to his stay, and he painted or drew 14 of them himself. This route takes you past that living collection, through Beek en Donk, Lieshout, Nuenen, Stiphout and Helmond. Among other places you pass De Vogelenzang windmill in Lieshout, which appears in several of Van Gogh's drawings.
Length: 48.3 km.
Time: about 3 hrs 15 min.
Start and finish: Kapelstraat 1, Beek en Donk. Cafés and restaurants along the way in Beek en Donk, Lieshout and Nuenen, including the Bavaria Brouwerijcafé.
Tip: along the way you cycle past places Van Gogh painted himself, such as De Vogelenzang windmill in Lieshout. Download the route description to see at each junction where to get off your bike.
Death Valley de Peel
A journey through the Peel landscape where the stories of the Second World War come to life. Death Valley de Peel is a themed network of 400 kilometres, divided into 15 cycling routes. More than 100 points of interest tell the stories of soldiers, residents, refugees and occupiers in the Peel.
Length: 400 km across 15 routes.
Time: half a day to a full day per route.
Start and finish: differs per route. A brochure can be downloaded from the Death Valley de Peel website. Free printed route booklets are available at Museum Klok & Peel in Asten.
Tip: choose your route in advance. Each of the fifteen routes tells a different part of the story, from the fighting at the Peel-Raam Line to the lives of residents and refugees.
Mountainbikeroute Bakelsbos
It features in lists of the best MTB routes in the Netherlands for good reason. More than 9 kilometres of singletrack with plenty of elevation change through the Bakelse Bossen near Helmond. You ride through pine forest, over drift-sand hills and past an open stretch of heath. Short, intense and varied.
Length: 9.5 km.
Time: about 45 min.
Start and finish: Rijpelbergseweg, Helmond. No cafés at the start or along the way. Marked with wooden posts bearing the blue MTB sign.
Tip: ride it twice. On the first lap you find the line through the bends. On the second you know where it climbs and can go all out.
Frequently asked questions about cycling in the Peel
The Pelen cycling route runs through the Deurnese Peel, the Mariapeel and De Groote Peel National Park, which together form a Natura 2000 site. The Strabrechtse Heide cycling route crosses the largest continuous heathland in North Brabant. The Waterpoort route and the Rondje Helmond combine nature with town and villages.
For half a day, the 30-kilometre Strabrechtse Heide cycling route and the Waterpoort route of 30 or 39 kilometres are a good fit. If you want to cycle all day, choose the 59-kilometre Pelen cycling route or the 45-kilometre Rondje Helmond.
Yes. Most routes follow paved or semi-paved cycle paths or the cycling junction network. The Waterpoort route partly runs over unpaved paths, which can be sandy in dry weather and muddy after rain. On the longer routes, allow extra time for stops. There are charging points at various places in the Peel, including the Bavaria Brouwerijcafé in Lieshout.
Allow about two hours for the 30-kilometre routes and half a day to a full day for the 59-kilometre Pelen cycling route. It is quicker on an e-bike. Plan extra time for stops along the way.
Yes. All eight routes follow signs or the cycling junction network. You can start the Rondje Helmond from any point on the route and ride it in either direction. Signs on the Waterpoort route are sometimes removed, so take the GPX file with you. For routes via junctions, take the route description or route map.
That depends on the route. You pass forest cafés, terraces, farm shops and restaurants. The Pelen cycling route passes through Griendtsveen and Helenaveen, and on the Waterpoort route you pass the Brabantse Kluis in Aarle-Rixtel.
You can buy a map of the Pelen cycling route in the VVV web shop. The Rondje Helmond route booklet is available at VVV Helmond. The Death Valley de Peel brochure can be downloaded free of charge, and printed booklets are available at Museum Klok & Peel in Asten.