Back to nature with Huttopia De Roos 🇳🇱
Huttopia is an outdoor camping company which has many great camping sites in nature, located all over Europe and North America. You get the best of both worlds, relaxing in nature, surrounded by beautiful forests, parks and rivers, but at the same time, glamping in a state-of-the-art, furnished tent.
I have visitited Huttopia at Île de Noirmoutier in France some while ago, and I was excited to hear that their first campsite opened here in The Netherlands too! I stayed a few days at Huttopia De Roos in Overijssel and in this blog I will tell you all about my experiences!
Glamping, what is it?
Camping, but glamorous! It is ‘glamping’. And glamping at Huttopia means staying in the most wonderful natural places, a car-free terrain, a large wooden deck in front of the tent, where you can enjoy your breakfasts and barbecues, and natural waters just waiting for you to dive in. Take, for example, a trappeur tent, which is completely furnished with real beds. No more lugging around your own camping supplies, repairing leaking air mattrasses, or bringing your own foldable table and chairs, cutlery or coolboxes. With kitchen appliances, electricity, a wood stove and even a bathroom with toilet! No… if you go glamping, it is all there waiting for you. I have been camping a lot and life just looks a little better in the morning when you don’t wake up with pain in your lower back, trying to find a toilet roll while remembering where the nearest toilet is located. So if you love to sleep in the outdoors, but prefer a bit of comfort, like I do, this is a great option!
The Trappeur Origine. 25m2 of luxury, with a completely furnished interior, a wood stove, a bathroom and kitchen!
Huttopia De Roos
Camping De Roos is situated in Beerze, in the beautiful, calm province of Overijssel, which is only a two hour drive from Amsterdam. A nature camping with a unique, warm character due to its history. It was founded 3 generations ago (around 1900) by De Roos family and is nowadays managed by the Huttopia Group. It is Huttopia’s first campsite in Europe outside France! When you arrive at the camping, you’ll immediatly notice that it is situated at a very soothing river, called De Vecht. The campsite has a playground and sportsfield and a little shop where you can get fresh baked bread in the morning. In the weekends and in the summer evenings, their pizzagrill offers delicious homemade pizza’s!
The River Vecht at sunrise. The perfect location for fishing, paddleboarding, canoeing and of course, swimming.
Surrounded by nature areas
So what else does make glamping at Huttopia De Roos so special? Well, it is located in the province of Overijssel. Most of Overijssel is made up out of sandy soil, traversed by rivers and streams, polders and lakes. There are several national parks in this province, where you can spend the day walking, biking and stop for a picnic of course. I will highlight a few that I think, should definity be on your list for visiting!
De Sahara
Between Zeesse and Junne there is a sand drift, also well known as the Sahara of Ommen, at just 10 minutes from the campsite. The area was forested in 1840 to reduce the sand drifts. The result is a beautiful area of sand and pine trees. This unque place is loved by tourists and kids, they can play in the sand for hours. Go for a long walk, to return at the a picnic bench for a nice lunch. This place is well worth visiting!
The battle against wind. Many trees are skewed in this open sandy plain.
Estate and Castle of Eerde
Another place I think you should visit is the estate and Castle of Eerde. The castle has been build in 1715, complete with majestic stables and a tomb (the rumor goes that there have been ghost encounters here!). You can explore this wonderful castle with a guide, who will tell you all about what has happened in and around the castle, such as the story of the knight who used to live here around 1350. It is also possible to roam the beautiful estate around the castle to admire the estate’s English landscape style and look for badger tracks in the forest. See how the river, called de Regge, just flows troughout the forest. The many stately tree avenues also make a very inviting picture, espacially in the morning. For photographers like me, this is the perfect place to wonder!
Lemelerberg
Another very special place to visit is nature area Lemelerberg, which is a moraine that came into being when glaciers where pushing sand and dirt up, some 150.000 years ago. Because of the grazing of the sheep, there now is a vast moorland, adjacent to tall pinetrees, alternated with little springs. This varied landscape makes up for a pleasing habitat for birds, insects, but also lizards and there are many beautiful hiking routes. I visited the area in the heather bloom season, which makes this even more special. It felt like walking through a purple fairytale! Right next to the Teahouse, you will find a new play forest, called ‘Hol van de Leeuw’. Here, kids can play and romp around in nature. It is a great place for climbing and scrambling. Build huts, chill in the hammocks or play hide and seek.
The lovely purple heather in the morning, felt like a fairytale!
A new play forest, called ‘Hol van de Leeuw’
Oldemeyer Lake and Forest
Ready for a swim? Then visit the lake called De Oldemyer at forestry Hardenberg. It is a place for everyone to enjoy! You can swim all the way to the little island in the middle of the lake, while for the younger children, there is a beach around the lake for some splashing around in the shalllow waters. There is even a kiosk to buy some snacks and drinks. When you finished cooling off in the water of lake Oldemijer, you can always go for a walk in the surrounding woods, where it is very possible to encounter some deer or bird of prey swooping through the forest. There is even a forest theatre, where in summer times there are all kinds of shows,to enjoy with the entire family.
The beautiful lake of Oldemyer with its sandy beach. It is such a tranquil place in the morning.
pick your season
Camping is normally something you would think of doing in the summer. As I have been here in autumn and with all the fascilities the Huttopia trappeur tent brings, I found it very comfortable. The perks of glamping; having a warm stove, plenty of blankets and a warm shower, it is all there. Combined with the fresh autumn air, the heather in bloom and the piecefull misty mornings, I would highly recommend to try out this glamping experience in autumn! To get an impression of the surroundings, check out this video below:
I would like to thank Huttopia De Roos for a warm welcome and a great experience! Your recommendations were spot on and I hope to be back soon, as there was so much more to discover in the area!