69. A Coastal Dog Park in The Netherlands
a secret sunset spot around the Zuid-Kennemerland National Park
On the way to the beach from Amsterdam, after driving through Haarlem and almost at Parnassia, there are two blink and you’ll miss them lakes in Overveen, a beachside village.
Last week on a sunny, slightly warmish day, Nico and I decided to spontaneously drive out to the beach, which is only 30 minutes away. Normally after the beach, Lulu and I are hangry and need to head to our fave fish monger or the nearest Ekoplaza. However this time Nico and Ziggy managed to convince us to go for another walk, two seconds from the beach, around these two lakes.
This corner of dog’s paradise is completely tailored to canine happiness. There is infinitely diggable sand and it backs onto a mini forest to chase around birdcalls. Best of all there are stunning views of vegetal Zuid-Kennemerland dunes, a place notoriously off limits for dogs. We saw a couple doggos swimming in the water but ours were too afraid to try. I was also helicoptering over them because the water looked a lot like swimmers tail in the making. Other than that murkiness, the walk is blissful and it took us only 30 minutes or so to slowly make our way around each lake.
Unmarked by any names on Google Maps, I’d never heard of any expats chatting about these lakes before and we only ran into a couple other dog parents, clearly locals who lived near the beach. So I thought I would chat about it here in case you are craving a unique dog park just outside the city for a city escape, or are planning your Dutch travel itinerary. We were walking at prime pre-dinner/perfect sunset time and it felt like we had the paradise to ourselves. Since it’s un-linkable on Google Maps I am linking the restaurant that just happens to be there overlooking said lakes. It looks cute, but you know dutchified french fusion restos are not really my cup of tea. I’d bring a picnic (that fish market I mentioned above does takeout platters that are amazing, order in advance) and snag a spot on one of the benches for a view of the sun setting over the dunes with the ocean blinking in the distance.
Thank you so much for being here <3
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