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Explore the accessible Netherlands at your leisure
The Pieterpad — a 500-kilometre route right across the Netherlands — is gradually becoming accessible to those who use a wheelchair or mobility aid.
Fancy finding out for yourself? >
The Pieterpad, the Netherlands’ best-known long-distance walking route, runs from the Wadden Sea to South Limburg. Thanks to the Moving Beyond Limits foundation, a large section is now accessible in an all-terrain wheelchair — not a ‘adapted’ route, but the same experience of nature as any other walker. A real experience for the whole family.
The process
The Pieterpad stretches for more than 500 kilometres, from the Wadden Sea to the south of Limburg. It has long been a dream for fit walkers — and now, thanks to the Moving Beyond Limits foundation, it is also within reach for those who use a wheelchair or other mobility aid.
Behind the foundation are David Opdam and Julie Taal, who share a single conviction: people with disabilities should also be able to enjoy adventures. In 2024 and 2025, a group explored
More than 25 adventurers completed all 26 stages, using ten different all-terrain wheelchairs. The conclusion: much of the route is already accessible, and the aim is to have Europe’s first fully wheelchair-accessible long-distance walking route by 2026.
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The accommodation
To make long-distance journeys feasible, Moving Beyond Limits is building a network of wheelchair-friendly accommodation along the route: accommodation with wide corridors, level access, adapted bathrooms and plenty of manoeuvring space, plus space to charge and store assistive devices. This ensures that the route is not only physically accessible, but also practically feasible over several days or weeks.
The activities
What makes it special is that it’s not just a series of tarmac paths. The Pieterpad winds its way through woods, heathland, clay polders, river valleys and hills — a truly varied landscape.
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Not just any old paved paths
Instead of redrawing the route, it Moving Beyond Limits carefully map out which sections can be retained and where minor diversions are required. Together with our partner Natuurmonumenten, we find creative solutions to obstacles: from shortening a barrier to adapting a lock so that any type of mobility aid can pass through.
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A fully-fledged long-distance route
Six stages are already accessible with a standard wheelchair, and around 85 per cent of the route can be covered with an all-terrain or electric wheelchair. For the green and blue routes, a freewheel on a manual wheelchair is sufficient; for the red and black stages, there is the electric Mountain eTrike. So, no series of short loops, but a genuine long-distance adventure offering the same challenge and satisfaction as for any other walker.
You can hire assistive devices from Moving Beyond Limits — from a freewheel or Veloped rollator to the Mountain Trike ePush and the new PAWS Cruiser — via an online hire calendar. The device adapts to the terrain, not the other way round.
Fancy discovering the Pieterpad too?
Be sure to take a look at Moving Beyond Limits for full details of the route, accommodation along the way and hiring suitable equipment.