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Outdoor Adventures Nearby

Residents turn to forests and parks around Amsterdam for weekend escapes as July heat builds.

By Amsterdam Things-to-do Desk · Published 25 July 2026

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Outdoor Adventures Nearby — Photo by Georgia National Guard / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Amsterdamse Bos recorded 12,400 visitors on the first Saturday of July 2026, a 15 percent jump from the same weekend last year.

Global events including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and deadly fires in southern Spain have kept many travellers closer to home this summer. City officials note that bookings for day trips outside the ring road rose sharply after mid-June, when temperatures first climbed above 26 degrees.

The trend shows up clearly in two well-used green spaces. The Amsterdamse Bos, managed by the Recreatieschap Amsterdamse Bos, offers 1,000 hectares of marked walking and cycling paths that start just south of the A10 ring. Further east, the Waterland polder trails begin at the end of the Zuiderzeeweg cycle path and run through the village of Broek in Waterland, where several farm cafés open at 10 a.m. for coffee and apple pie.

Routes from the city edge

From the western edge of the Vondelpark at Stadhouderskade, cyclists can reach the Bos entrance in 25 minutes via the bike-only lane along the Amstelveenseweg. Rental bikes at MacBike on the corner of Weteringschans cost 14 euros for a full day. In Waterland, the route passes the historic windmill at the Schellingwoude bridge before entering open fields that stay cooler than the inner city even on peak afternoons.

Park records show the Amsterdamse Bos welcomed 2.8 million visitors in 2025, with July and August accounting for 28 percent of that total. Entry remains free, though parking at the Bosbaan lot now carries a 3-euro fee on weekends. Waterland counts roughly 850,000 annual visitors, according to the province of North Holland, with most arriving by bicycle rather than car.

Practical steps for the coming weekend

Check the Recreatieschap website on Friday evening for any temporary path closures after heavy rain. Carry water and a light rain jacket, as showers remain possible even in mid-July. Early morning starts from Centraal Station on the 30-minute 314 bus to the Bos main gate avoid the midday rush and leave time for a 12-kilometre loop before lunch.

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