Wet sand, tall trees and room to run, often a short bike ride from home. This list covers the city's parks, woods and dunes, plus the playgrounds we'd send a friend to, from fenced neighborhood speeltuinen to nature playgrounds where kids wade, dig and balance on logs. Pack spare clothes: the good ones end in muddy knees.
The Paleistuin is a one-hectare park behind Noordeinde Palace, laid out in the English landscape style with winding paths, lawns, a pond and a sculpture garden. From the paths you see the back of the palace and the Royal Stables. A play area was added in 2008.
In 1785 Jean-Pierre Blanchard took off from this garden in the first crewed balloon flight in the Netherlands.
Park Vreugd en Rust is the public garden of an old Voorburg estate, laid out around 1830 with curving ponds and winding paths. Kids head for the deer enclosure, which has grown into a small animal park, and hunt for the sculptures dotted through the grounds. The former orangery now houses Brasserie De Koepel, and an ornate iron gate from the 1910 Brussels World's Fair marks the Parkweg entrance.
Scheveningse Bosjes is a wooded park on old dune land between the city center and Scheveningen, with rolling paths for walking, cycling and horse riding. Kids head for the big sand playground, with a skate park next to it. A large pond, the Waterpartij, sits on the sea side, and Madurodam borders the park to the north. Monuments and sculptures line the paths, including a Claes Oldenburg artwork.
Westduinpark is a protected dune landscape of 235 hectares (counting the neighboring Bosjes van Poot), with sandy slopes, small dune oak groves and lookout points over 30 meters high. The tallest dune, De Vulkaan, reaches 33 meters.
Scottish Highland cattle graze the open dunes and may cross the paths. Several WWII Atlantic Wall bunkers sit in the sand, and paths lead over the dunes to the beach.
Meijendel is the largest continuous nature area in South Holland: woods, high dunes and infiltration lakes run by water company Dunea. De Tapuit visitor center is the starting point, where kids look for water creatures in the aquarium, meet the dune animals and test what they know about drinking water.
Marked trails start here, one passing the Monkeybos, where kids may leave the path to play.
Madestein is a large recreation area on the city's southwest edge, laid out from 1969 on old polder land across from Loosduinen. Together with Ockenburgh and De Uithof it forms one long green belt.
Inside is Heempark H.J. Bos, an educational garden that recreates the plant life of different dune landscapes, and the rebuilt foundations of a 13th-century stone house, left on view for visitors.
Clingendael is a landscaped estate park with woodland paths, an old Dutch garden of box hedges and flower beds, a curving 18th-century fruit wall and a dogs' cemetery under a linden tree. Its Japanese Garden, laid out over a century ago by Baroness Marguérite van Brienen after a trip to Japan, is the largest in the Netherlands, with stone lanterns, a thatched pavilion and fragile moss.
Haagse Bos is a centuries-old forest in the middle of the city, protected since the Act of Redemption and the oldest protected forest in Western Europe. Kids build their own huts in its two play forests, and deer rest in the Koekamp among ponds and winding paths.
There are open lawns for lounging, and a skate track by the Malieveld with bumps for skaters and BMX riders.
Westbroekpark is an 18-hectare park between Madurodam and Scheveningen, built around one big central lawn. Its showpiece is the International Rosarium, where about 20,000 rose bushes bloom in summer on some 300 beds.
A trail of 17 sculptures by 20th-century Dutch artists runs through the park, including a bronze Puss in Boots for kids to find. Two World War II bunkers still stand in the grounds.
Zuiderpark is a 1920s people's park laid out around a large pond, with three big play lawns covering 14 hectares. Around them sit a six-meter play castle, a western playground, a nature playground, a skate park, a city farm, mini golf, a riding stable and an indoor pool.
Kids can hunt for the Ot en Sien statues, climb the De Villierskopje lookout hill and ride a model steam train.
A neighborhood playground in the heart of Oud-Rijswijk, kept open by a team of volunteers with Welzijn Rijswijk. It was recently rebuilt with new climbing and slide equipment, a zip line, a sandpit and a small caged football pitch (a pannakooi). Parents and neighbors use it as a meeting spot while kids play.
Monkeybos is a natural play forest in the Meijendel dunes, a short walk from De Tapuit, the visitor center of water company Dunea. Kids let off steam among the trees while parents rest nearby.
The Vossentocht, a trail of 10 small nature tasks for the youngest, starts beside it. The Duincampus, with three themed outdoor routes for ages 6 to 12, begins at De Tapuit.
Speeltuin Westerpret is the outdoor playground of the Westerpark bowling and recreation center, and its operator calls it the biggest in the Zoetermeer area. Kids climb, slide, bounce on trampolines, swing and ride a zip line, and there is water play and a separate toddler zone.
Mini golf and kart rides are paid extras inside the grounds.
Het Apenbos is a fenced playground tucked under the dense tree canopy at the edge of the Bosjes van Poot woods. Kids from the local scout group and the school next door helped plan it, and the result is mostly wood: climbing frames with rope nets, rope bridges to balance across, swings and a slide, all set on wood chips.
A woodland playground in the Bosjes van Pex, a 24-hectare nature area on an old dune ridge, named after the Pex family who farmed there. The equipment sits in sand under tall trees: a climbing frame with slide and rope ladders, a big swing, a tire swing, a climbing bridge, a balance beam and stepping stones, plus a toddler sandpit and slide. Benches, logs and picnic tables seat parents.
't Speelduin is a natural playground set in the sand of the Westduinpark dunes, just behind the Duindorp neighborhood. The 50-meter play area is mostly wooden: a big frame with slides, a cable run, balance beams, climbing bridges, a tire swing and tree trunks to clamber over. Toddlers get their own sandpit with little houses and a low bridge, and benches line the edge for parents.
A public playground in Westbroekpark, the 18-hectare park between Madurodam and Scheveningen. Kids get a climbing castle, swings and a zip line, with a big play lawn right beside it for ball games.
The rest of the park is worth a loop: a duck pond, sculptures by 20th-century Dutch artists, and the rose garden, where about 20,000 rose bushes flower in summer.
Natuurspeelplaats Zuiderpret is a nature playground at the edge of the big play meadow in the Zuiderpark. A fast-flowing stream runs through an open area between the bushes, and kids cross it on stepping stones, logs, swinging ropes and footbridges.
A footbridge between the hills leads to a lookout tower, a crawl tube runs through another hill, and a separate section is set aside for children under 6.
Speelbos Robin Hood is a natural play forest in the Haagse Bos, run by Staatsbosbeheer. Kids follow an adventure route over rope and suspension bridges, fly along a cable slide, swing through the trees on ropes and take on a climbing wall.
For a slower pace there is a big rope swing to lie back in and a tree trunk where kids sit and tell each other stories.
Wet sand, tall trees and room to run, often a short bike ride from home. This list covers the city's parks, woods and dunes, plus the playgrounds we'd send a friend to, from fenced neighborhood speeltuinen to nature playgrounds where kids wade, dig and balance on logs. Pack spare clothes: the good ones end in muddy knees.
The Paleistuin is a one-hectare park behind Noordeinde Palace, laid out in the English landscape style with winding paths, lawns, a pond and a sculpture garden. From the paths you see the back of the palace and the Royal Stables. A play area was added in 2008.
In 1785 Jean-Pierre Blanchard took off from this garden in the first crewed balloon flight in the Netherlands.
Park Vreugd en Rust is the public garden of an old Voorburg estate, laid out around 1830 with curving ponds and winding paths. Kids head for the deer enclosure, which has grown into a small animal park, and hunt for the sculptures dotted through the grounds. The former orangery now houses Brasserie De Koepel, and an ornate iron gate from the 1910 Brussels World's Fair marks the Parkweg entrance.
Scheveningse Bosjes is a wooded park on old dune land between the city center and Scheveningen, with rolling paths for walking, cycling and horse riding. Kids head for the big sand playground, with a skate park next to it. A large pond, the Waterpartij, sits on the sea side, and Madurodam borders the park to the north. Monuments and sculptures line the paths, including a Claes Oldenburg artwork.
Westduinpark is a protected dune landscape of 235 hectares (counting the neighboring Bosjes van Poot), with sandy slopes, small dune oak groves and lookout points over 30 meters high. The tallest dune, De Vulkaan, reaches 33 meters.
Scottish Highland cattle graze the open dunes and may cross the paths. Several WWII Atlantic Wall bunkers sit in the sand, and paths lead over the dunes to the beach.
Meijendel is the largest continuous nature area in South Holland: woods, high dunes and infiltration lakes run by water company Dunea. De Tapuit visitor center is the starting point, where kids look for water creatures in the aquarium, meet the dune animals and test what they know about drinking water.
Marked trails start here, one passing the Monkeybos, where kids may leave the path to play.
Madestein is a large recreation area on the city's southwest edge, laid out from 1969 on old polder land across from Loosduinen. Together with Ockenburgh and De Uithof it forms one long green belt.
Inside is Heempark H.J. Bos, an educational garden that recreates the plant life of different dune landscapes, and the rebuilt foundations of a 13th-century stone house, left on view for visitors.
Clingendael is a landscaped estate park with woodland paths, an old Dutch garden of box hedges and flower beds, a curving 18th-century fruit wall and a dogs' cemetery under a linden tree. Its Japanese Garden, laid out over a century ago by Baroness Marguérite van Brienen after a trip to Japan, is the largest in the Netherlands, with stone lanterns, a thatched pavilion and fragile moss.
Haagse Bos is a centuries-old forest in the middle of the city, protected since the Act of Redemption and the oldest protected forest in Western Europe. Kids build their own huts in its two play forests, and deer rest in the Koekamp among ponds and winding paths.
There are open lawns for lounging, and a skate track by the Malieveld with bumps for skaters and BMX riders.
Westbroekpark is an 18-hectare park between Madurodam and Scheveningen, built around one big central lawn. Its showpiece is the International Rosarium, where about 20,000 rose bushes bloom in summer on some 300 beds.
A trail of 17 sculptures by 20th-century Dutch artists runs through the park, including a bronze Puss in Boots for kids to find. Two World War II bunkers still stand in the grounds.
Zuiderpark is a 1920s people's park laid out around a large pond, with three big play lawns covering 14 hectares. Around them sit a six-meter play castle, a western playground, a nature playground, a skate park, a city farm, mini golf, a riding stable and an indoor pool.
Kids can hunt for the Ot en Sien statues, climb the De Villierskopje lookout hill and ride a model steam train.
A neighborhood playground in the heart of Oud-Rijswijk, kept open by a team of volunteers with Welzijn Rijswijk. It was recently rebuilt with new climbing and slide equipment, a zip line, a sandpit and a small caged football pitch (a pannakooi). Parents and neighbors use it as a meeting spot while kids play.
Monkeybos is a natural play forest in the Meijendel dunes, a short walk from De Tapuit, the visitor center of water company Dunea. Kids let off steam among the trees while parents rest nearby.
The Vossentocht, a trail of 10 small nature tasks for the youngest, starts beside it. The Duincampus, with three themed outdoor routes for ages 6 to 12, begins at De Tapuit.
Speeltuin Westerpret is the outdoor playground of the Westerpark bowling and recreation center, and its operator calls it the biggest in the Zoetermeer area. Kids climb, slide, bounce on trampolines, swing and ride a zip line, and there is water play and a separate toddler zone.
Mini golf and kart rides are paid extras inside the grounds.
Het Apenbos is a fenced playground tucked under the dense tree canopy at the edge of the Bosjes van Poot woods. Kids from the local scout group and the school next door helped plan it, and the result is mostly wood: climbing frames with rope nets, rope bridges to balance across, swings and a slide, all set on wood chips.
A woodland playground in the Bosjes van Pex, a 24-hectare nature area on an old dune ridge, named after the Pex family who farmed there. The equipment sits in sand under tall trees: a climbing frame with slide and rope ladders, a big swing, a tire swing, a climbing bridge, a balance beam and stepping stones, plus a toddler sandpit and slide. Benches, logs and picnic tables seat parents.
't Speelduin is a natural playground set in the sand of the Westduinpark dunes, just behind the Duindorp neighborhood. The 50-meter play area is mostly wooden: a big frame with slides, a cable run, balance beams, climbing bridges, a tire swing and tree trunks to clamber over. Toddlers get their own sandpit with little houses and a low bridge, and benches line the edge for parents.
A public playground in Westbroekpark, the 18-hectare park between Madurodam and Scheveningen. Kids get a climbing castle, swings and a zip line, with a big play lawn right beside it for ball games.
The rest of the park is worth a loop: a duck pond, sculptures by 20th-century Dutch artists, and the rose garden, where about 20,000 rose bushes flower in summer.
Natuurspeelplaats Zuiderpret is a nature playground at the edge of the big play meadow in the Zuiderpark. A fast-flowing stream runs through an open area between the bushes, and kids cross it on stepping stones, logs, swinging ropes and footbridges.
A footbridge between the hills leads to a lookout tower, a crawl tube runs through another hill, and a separate section is set aside for children under 6.
Speelbos Robin Hood is a natural play forest in the Haagse Bos, run by Staatsbosbeheer. Kids follow an adventure route over rope and suspension bridges, fly along a cable slide, swing through the trees on ropes and take on a climbing wall.
For a slower pace there is a big rope swing to lie back in and a tree trunk where kids sit and tell each other stories.
