Huize Olterterp Park is open year-round. Olterterp also offers different points of interest for nature and culture enthusiasts: from ancient trees and a park landscape to a white villa and walking routes with their own themes. The numbered routes can be compared by length; others differ primarily in their historical or narrative themes.

Park and landscape

At Huize Olterterp Park, winding paths, undulating terrain, a pond and attractive vistas shape the landscape. Ancient trees provide tree cavities where tawny owls, nuthatches, great spotted woodpeckers and hawfinches nest. These species offer nature enthusiasts concrete points of interest, while the paths and vistas distinguish the park as a designed landscape. Parking is available in the park’s car park.

The estate district of Beetsterzwaag and Olterterp provides a broader perspective on the landscape. It lies on a sandy ridge along the Koningsdiep valley and comprises woods, heathland, pastures and hay meadows. Different scales thus sit side by side: in the park, you encounter individual features such as the pond and tree cavities; the estate district describes a broader mosaic of woodland and open spaces.

Architectural history and Frisian stories

Huize Olterterp replaced the Boelensstate country house in 1907, which had been built in Olterterp in 1793. The villa is white, has a hipped roof and is classified as belonging to the sober renewal style. The hipped roof and the style refer to two different aspects: the shape of the roof and the architectural characterisation of the building.

The Beeldenroute Olterterp offers a different cultural perspective. On the estate, it features figures from Frisian myths and legends. The accompanying stories are available in a booklet in Dutch and Frisian. Architectural history and the Beeldenroute thus emphasise different things: one concerns a building and its history, the other, figures and stories.

Walking: length and theme

The 4 km walking route “Als bomen konden spreken” (If Trees Could Speak) passes wooden figures along paths and forest trails. They depict, among others, Grutte Pier, Redbad and Boniface, and you can start the route at Het Witte Huis. The Harinxma-Ommetje is 7 km long, also starts at Het Witte Huis in Olterterp, and passes through wooded areas and along estates.

Both routes therefore share the same starting point but differ in their stated length and described character: on “Als bomen konden spreken,” you encounter wooden figures, while the Harinxma-Ommetje leads through woodland and along estates. If you want to use length as a selection criterion, the 4 km route is the shorter of the two routes with a stated distance.

Another historical walking route, “In adellijke voetsporen” (In the Footsteps of the Nobility), passes through Olterterp and Beetsterzwaag. Route conditions can change independently of the enduring cultural and historical theme, so check them before setting out. This lets you take the explicitly stated lengths and themes into account when choosing, without treating the different routes as interchangeable.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Tijnje, Gorredijk, Hemrik, Bakkeveen, Lippenhuizen, Beetsterzwaag, Wijnjewoude, Jonkerslan.

For the overview of the wider area: Opsterland.