Pelgrimspad on foot

Windmills beside a canal near Aarlanderveen on the Pelgrimspad

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

Distance
about 456 km (283 miles)
Countries
Netherlands, Belgium
Difficulty
Easy
Type of trip
Hiking trail

The Pelgrimspad, or LAW 7, is a long-distance walk of 456 km from Amsterdam to Maastricht, and it comes in two parts. Part 1 runs 206 km from Amsterdam Centraal through the Vondelpark and the Amsterdamse Bos, across the Groene Hart and the river country, to 's-Hertogenbosch. Part 2 is 250 km from 's-Hertogenbosch through Brabant and Limburg to the Vrijthof in Maastricht, with a branch to Visé in Belgium. Wandelnet, which looks after the route, splits it into 27 day walks, so about four weeks if you do it in one go. White and red stripes mark it in both directions. Wikipedia lists 11 stations on the way and buses to most other places, so lots of people walk it a stage at a time. For a bed, look for the Wandelaars Welkom sign. It's Wandelnet's label for cafés and places to stay that want walkers, listed on its site and app, and campsites that carry it always keep a pitch free for people on foot.

The name points to the old pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, but Wikipedia says that's more an association than a historic route rebuilt. What it does do is pass small places of pilgrimage in Noord-Brabant and Limburg, and Wandelnet's guide covers the field crosses and the chapels built where miracles were said to have happened. The first part is mostly grass dykes, towpaths and tiendwegen, old paths along narrow peat dykes, often lined with pollard willows. Near Hardinxveld-Giessendam it goes through the Kraaienbos nature reserve. A Wandelnet volunteer who walked it in July 2026 found a new gate there that stays locked if it detects a dog, and closes by itself at 20:00.

Highlights along the way

  1. Amsterdam and the Groene Hart: Out of Amsterdam you pass the fort at De Kwakel, part of the Stelling van Amsterdam. Near Aarlanderveen you walk past the Molenviergang, a group of four windmills.
  2. Schoonhoven and Gorinchem: The big rivers are crossed by ferry. You take one over the Lek at Schoonhoven and another over the Merwede from Gorinchem to Woudrichem.
  3. Heusden and the Loonse en Drunense Duinen: Heusden is a small fortified town with a well-known chapel to Mary, where the route crosses the Bergsche Maas. Then come the sand drifts of the Loonse en Drunense Duinen, and Vught before 's-Hertogenbosch, home of the Zoete Lieve Vrouw.
  4. Thorn, Kessenich and Maaseik: After Weert the route reaches Thorn. From there it crosses into Belgium through Kessenich to Maaseik, where you cross the Maas.
  5. South Limburg and Visé: After Sittard it shares a stretch with the Pieterpad to Spaubeek, then gets hilly, for the Netherlands, round Ubachsberg, Gulpen and Schin op Geul. The main route ends on the Vrijthof in Maastricht. A branch from Cadier en Keer goes via Mesch to the station at Visé, where you can pick up the GR5 to Nice.

Distance

About 456 km (283 miles) in all, 206 km (128 miles) for Part 1 and 250 km (155 miles) for Part 2. The stage table on Wikipedia has 27 stages, from 7 km (Gulpen to Schin op Geul) to 26 km (Groot-Ammers to Hardinxveld-Giessendam), and most are 15 to 24 km. The route line on wandelnet.nl is the most up to date and can differ from the two guidebooks.

Best time to go

Wandelnet doesn't name a best season, but a few things depend on when you go. The ferry over the Afgedamde Maas at Nederhemert runs from March to October, 08:00 to 18:00, and not on Sundays. In winter you have to ring the day before, according to the Dutch Wikipedia list of ferries in November 2026. Roadworks can move the path too. Part 2 was diverted near Kerensheide while the A2 was widened, from September 2025 until the new viaduct opened on 11 September 2026. Before you set off, check the route changes page for the Pelgrimspad on wandelnet.nl.

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