Noaberpad on foot

A sandy track between fields and trees near Bourtange on the Noaberpad

Photo: MartinD, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Distance
about 463 km (288 miles)
Countries
Netherlands, Germany
Difficulty
Easy to moderate
Type of trip
Hiking trail

The Noaberpad, or LAW 10, follows the Dutch-German border south from Bad Nieuweschans, near the Dollard, to Kleve by the Rhine. Wandelnet, which looks after the route, gives it as 463 km. The route used to finish in Kleve, but the newest edition carries on to Milsbeek, where it meets the Pieterpad. It runs along the border of Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel and Gelderland and keeps crossing it, so whole stages are in Germany, round Emlichheim and Uelsen in the county of Bentheim, Vreden and Bocholt in Münsterland, and Elten, Emmerich and Kleve near the end. Wandelnet lists 23 stages, so plan on three weeks or more for the lot. White and red stripes mark it in both directions. On the Dutch side, look for the Wandelaars Welkom sign. It's Wandelnet's national label for cafés and places to stay that want walkers, and campsites that carry it always keep a pitch free for people on foot.

Noaber is the Low Saxon word for neighbour, and the walk is about the neighbours on both sides of the line. Wandelnet puts it as fortified towns in Groningen, raised bog in Drenthe, burial mounds in Bentheim, stream valleys in Twente, big old farms in the Achterhoek and old towns in Münsterland. The path opened on 20 October 1995, when 28 oaks were planted on the Bosmatenweg near Buurse, which is on the route. At Bad Nieuweschans it links to the E9, the North Sea coast path, and at Kleve to the E8. The stages in the guidebook and on the Wandelnet site don't match, so pick one and stick to it.

Highlights along the way

  1. Bellingwolde and Wedde: In the first days you walk past the big farmhouses of Bellingwolde, built on wealth from the clay soils in the 19th century. Then you follow the Westerwoldse Aa to Huis te Wedde, a 13th-century borg.
  2. Bourtange: The route passes the fortress town of Bourtange, and Wandelnet has a 4.81 km loop round the fort if you want to see it properly. It also has a separate version of the Jipsinghuizen to Ter Apel stage for people walking with a dog.
  3. Into Bentheim and Twente: After Emmen and the Scholtenskanaal the path crosses into Germany at Emlichheim and heads through Esche and Uelsen, then back into Twente past Ootmarsum, De Lutte and Losser. North of Gronau it runs along the border itself, and near Enschede the border is only a few hundred metres away.
  4. Winterswijk to Bocholt: This stage follows the Boven-Slinge and the Bekendelle, where kingfishers live along the stream. You can tell by the long straight line of the track that a railway once ran here from Winterswijk to Bocholt, the Oude Bocholtse Baan.
  5. Montferland and Kleve: Past Terborg the route goes through Montferland by Zeddam and 's-Heerenberg, home of Huis Bergh. It crosses the Rhine flats of the Emmericher Ward to Emmerich, goes over the river to Griethausen and Kleve, then on to Milsbeek.

Distance

About 463 km (288 miles) in all, as Wandelnet gives it. Its 23 stages from Bad Nieuweschans to Milsbeek add up to about 453 km, and with the 10.8 km link from Emmen station that's close to Wandelnet's figure. Dutch Wikipedia gives 415 km, so treat every total as rough. The stages run from 15.1 km (Wedde to Weende) to 29.0 km (Saalmann to Winterswijk), and there's also a 28.3 km day from Nieuw-Dordrecht to Weiteveen. Saalmann, where stage 16 ends, is a guesthouse rather than a village.

Best time to go

Wandelnet doesn't name a best season, and in November 2026 neither its pages nor Wikipedia listed any seasonal closures. The two long stages, 28.3 km and 29.0 km, are easier with the long days of late spring and summer. The route line on wandelnet.nl is the most up to date and can differ from the guidebook, so check the route changes page for the Noaberpad on wandelnet.nl before you go.

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