You can get to know Krimpen aan de Lek by following paths through meadows and woodland, as well as by exploring its history of water and the town. To plan your visit, you can choose between a walking loop starting in the town centre, exploring Krimpenerhout, and visiting places of cultural and historical interest.
Trails and landscape
The Krimpenerhout Nature Route passes ponds and pastures where cows graze, then goes through woodland and along orchid fields. If you want to plan a walking loop that starts in the town centre, the Krimpen a/d Lek–Lekkerkerk Loop begins in the centre of Krimpen aan de Lek. It goes through Krimpenerhout and past the small Bakkerswaal nature area, with its duck decoy.
The long-distance Grote Rivierenpad trail passes through Krimpen aan de Lek and Schoonhoven; from Leerdam, it runs through the Betuwe region towards Tiel. The two route descriptions answer different planning questions: the walking loop gives a specific starting point in the town centre, while the Grote Rivierenpad describes a route through several towns and regions.
Krimpenerhout and De Zaag
Krimpenerhout is a recreation area on the edge of Krimpen aan de Lek. It has a surfing lake, a beach with a sunbathing lawn, and a separate dog beach. At Koeienbos, visitors can walk among black-and-white cows. Speeleiland Krimpenerhout offers a different kind of activity: visitors can take a raft across to the other side, and a rope-climbing route leads from island to island.
De Zaag covers 37 hectares. Its name comes from a former sawmill that once stood on the island. The 14-metre-high Beverbrug on De Zaag offers views across the area, Rotterdam, the port and the river. De Zaag thus offers both a sense of the area’s scale and a specific viewpoint.
Near Krimpen aan de Lek, the Lek en IJssel Route uses the car ferry to cross to Kinderdijk. As ferry timetables may change, check the current times before your trip.
Water tower and local history
The water tower is 47.2 metres high and was built in 1910. Its cultural and architectural significance lies in the fact that it bears witness to a stage in the development of drinking-water supply in the Netherlands, and particularly in the Krimpenerwaard. The building thus points to a history that extends beyond the town while also having a special connection to the Krimpenerwaard.
The history of the ferry also places Krimpen aan de Lek in a broader context. In 1358, the historic Crimpensche ferry right was part of an important north–south route connecting Brussels with Amsterdam via Breda, Dordrecht, Krimpen aan de Lek and Gouda. In this historical sequence, the town appears as part of a route linking several cities.
The General Cemetery on Molenweg dates from 1882 and includes four monumental burial vaults in the Neoclassical style. A tomb monument in the shape of a four-poster bed is one of only seven surviving examples in the Netherlands. The monument to Cornelis van den Berg is a plaque made of dark natural stone, bearing an inscription.
The cemetery’s assembly hall contains gravestones that were moved here in 1939 after the church on Dorpsstraat was demolished: those of the whaler Michiel Occerszoon Hoogerzeyl (d. 1779) and the shipowner and Hoogheemraad Gerret van Holst Krynszoon (d. 1790). The gravestones thus preserve names and dates from local history.
Getting your bearings
TIP Krimpen a/d Lek offers tips for Krimpen aan de Lek and the surrounding area, as well as the Krimpenerwaard, via a digital information board.
Discover more destinations: Lekkerkerk
Go to the main travel overview: Nederlek.
