Wooden shoes trail: Hamaritha and Halosta trail – ⭐⭐⭐

Wooden shoes trails are fun and always a surprise! This blog post contains a brief description of the trail (a trail shortcut 😉), a few photos and a simple sketch to illustrate. No need for a hiking map, the info on the website is clear enough.

This time, a report on no less than two wooden shoe trails: the Hamaritha trail and the Halosta trail.

My experience

Today I’m hiking two wooden shoe trails in one go. I’ll start with the Hamaritha trail and halfway through I’ll switch to the Halosta trail. After the Halosta Trail, I’ll continue with the second section of the Hamaritha trail.

The Hamaritha trail is a 10-kilometre hike that starts in Nederhemert-Noord in the Bommelerwaard region of Gelderland province in the Netherlands. The starting point is at Café de Maasstroom. You can extend the trail to 16 km by taking a ferry across the Afgedamde Maas river and hike an extra loop in Nederhemert-Zuid. The ferry is in service from March to October.

Actually, I want to start in Nederhemert-Zuid and then take the ferry to Nederhemert-Noord. I’m already on a bus, but the driver sends me to a different one. This bus doesn’t go to Nederhemert-Zuid at all, but to the north side. Luckily, the wooden shoes trail goes there too, and who knows, I might just do the southern section later on.

On the outskirts of Nederhemert-Noord, I set off along the path just a little way past the official starting point. I immediately head down the dike along an unpaved path beside the Afgedamde Maas river. When I come back up onto the dike a little further on, I walk right past a beautiful windmill.

That brings me to the ferry crossing towards Nederhemert-Zuid. I’m heading in the other direction myself, more towards the west actually.

I’m walking through a beautiful nature reserve with several small lakes. I see a large black-and-white bird dive into the lake and then fly straight on. I think it’s an osprey.

Afterwards, I walk through the Sterrenbos (star forest). In this forest, several paths converge at a single central point. I don’t pass the central point itself. The trail then takes me along a number of paved roads, as well as along the edge of crop fields and cornfields. I spot a weasel darting across the road. Then I reach the intersection with the Halosta trail.

Trail guide about wooden shoe trails

The Halosta trail is a 9-kilometre wooden shoes trail that starts in the town of Aalst. There are no options to extend or shorten the trail, but in the event of high water in the Neswaarden, there is an alternative trail along the dike.

I walk through the town of Aalst and soon reach the official starting point of the Halosta trail. The trail heads straight into the floodplains, past a pond, and then continues through the Nesserwaard along a branch of the Afgedamde Maas river. I pass a herd of cows, which I carefully avoid. A little further on, there are also a few horses.

I stop for a break at the Dijkgraaf J.C. de Jongh pumping station. Here’s an intersection with the Jorden trail, which I’ve written about in a previous blog post. The trail continues along grassy paths past an orchard and then through farmlands with some lovely little crossings. Eventually the Halosta trail goes a bit the same way as the Hamaritha trail. Along the way, I come across another intersection with a different wooden shoes trail: this time the Nywele trail. I’ve written a blog post about this one too.

Not long after, I leave the Halosta trail behind me and walk along a grassy path called Eendenkade. At the end of this path, there’s also a intersection leading to another wooden shoes trail: the Aalder trail. This one is brand new as I walk past it. One day, I’ll check it out too.

I end my hike in the town of Delwijnen. I’ve had enough for today. If I’d carried on towards Wellseind, I would have come across another intersection with the Baanbreker trail. I’ve written a blog post about that trail before, too.

The photos

Final thoughts

More wooden shoe trails of max. 10 km

I usually hike a wooden shoes trail of more than 10 km, as otherwise the trail is too short compared to the travel time there (and back). But sometimes it’s nice to do a slightly shorter trail; below are a few examples.

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