Elfstedenpad Hiking Trail (Overview)

Inspired by the famous Elfstedentocht tour skating event - the ‘tour of all tours’, the Elfstedenpad hiking trail needs to be on your bucket list!  

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.

- Section 0: Tour of Leeuwarden
- Section 1: Leeuwarden-Mantgum
- Section 2: Mantgum-Sneek
- Section 3: Sneek-Balk
- Section 4: Balk-Wyldemerk
- Section 5: Wyldemerk-Stavoren
- Section 6: Stavoren-Workum
- Section 7: Workum-Bolsward
- Section 8: Bolsward-Wadden Sea Dike
- Section 9: Wadden Sea Dike-Herbaijum
- Section 10: Herbaijum-Berlikum
- Section 11: Berlikum-Hallumerhoek
- Section 12: Hallumerhoek-Dokkum
- Section 13: Dokkum-Wouterswoude
- Section 14: Wouterswoude-Oenkerk
- Section 15: Oenkerk-Leeuwarden

You can walk the Elfstedenpad hiking trail in any season and you can start the trail at any point. To make things easy, 8 of the 16 sections start from a train station. But of course, it is more rewarding to walk the trail over a period of several days and stay in local B&Bs in Friesland!  

The trail is indicated by the red and yellow markings used internationally to mark long-distance hiking trails. Here and there, the trail departs from the route followed by the skaters to take you along the most beautiful footpaths. Not only do you get to see Friesland’s eleven historical cities, you also discover the countryside in between. 

The 16 sections of the trail are described on our website. On these pages you can find the junction numbers for each section of the trail.