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You walk from the village of Oenkerk to Giekerk. Just outside this village you pass the Delft blue Elfstedentocht bridge – the last bridge the skaters pass under on their way to the finish line. On one side of the bridge, Delft blue portrait tiles depict skaters competing in the event. On the other side are the words 'IT SIL HEVE' (‘IT WILL HAPPEN’).
You carry on along the bank of the Dokkumer Ee canal through the little villages of Lekkum and Snakkerburen to the stretch of water that served as the finish line until 1963. Later the finish line of the tour skating event was moved to the Bonkevaart canal, a side branch of the Dokkumer Ee canal that runs alongside the Groningerstraatweg road. But this is not a pleasant road to walk along,
so you sk…
You walk from the village of Oenkerk to Giekerk. Just outside this village you pass the Delft blue Elfstedentocht bridge – the last bridge the skaters pass under on their way to the finish line. On one side of the bridge, Delft blue portrait tiles depict skaters competing in the event. On the other side are the words 'IT SIL HEVE' (‘IT WILL HAPPEN’).
You carry on along the bank of the Dokkumer Ee canal through the little villages of Lekkum and Snakkerburen to the stretch of water that served as the finish line until 1963. Later the finish line of the tour skating event was moved to the Bonkevaart canal, a side branch of the Dokkumer Ee canal that runs alongside the Groningerstraatweg road. But this is not a pleasant road to walk along,
so you skip this bit. Instead, you carry on to the nicer setting of Prinsentuin park in Leeuwarden where you can feel very proud of having completed the ‘tour of all tours’!
You trekked an impressive 283 kilometres through the Frisian countryside and visited all of Friesland’s eleven cities: Leeuwarden, Sneek, IJlst, Sloten, Stavoren, Hindeloopen, Workum, Bolsward, Harlingen, Franeker and Dokkum! Congratulations! We hope you will enjoy looking back on your experience of walking the Elfstedenpad hiking trail for a long time to come.
Sights on this route
Starting point: Rengersweg 62 9062 EG Oenkerk
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Elfstedenmonument Tegeltjesbrug Gytsjerk
Weg tussen Gytsjerk en Miedum Canterlandswei Gytsjerk
Al eens gehoord van het plankje van Tolsum? Het plankje van Tolsum is een Romeinse schrijfplankje uit de collectie van het Fries Museum in Leeuwarden waarop de oudst bewaarde geschreven tekst van Nederland te lezen is en is in 1914 gevonden bij Tolsum.
This 283-kilometre hiking trail through the province of Friesland is divided into 16 sections and takes you to the eleven historical cities and many picturesque little villages.
Wommels is the starting point of this 11-kilometre Roaming Route through the open landscape of Friesland. The village was originally built on a mound. Over the years it has become the central hub of the area.
Setting off from the famous Waterpoort water gate in Sneek, this part of the trail takes you through the southwest of the province to the Frisian city of IJlst. From here you make your way to the town of Balk in the Gaasterland region.
