Drenthe Periphery “Route 7” Valthe

(65.0 km)

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  • Drenthe Periphery Route 7 Valthe starts and ends at the sports hall in Valthe. The route has a length of 65 km and passes through Nieuw-Weerdinge, Gasselternijveen, Gieten, Gasselte, Drouwen, Borger, Exloo, Odoorn and Klijndijk—and back to Valthe again.

    De Hondsrug – UNESCO Global Geopark
    A huge ice mass swept through Drenthe 150,000 yea…

    Drenthe Periphery Route 7 Valthe starts and ends at the sports hall in Valthe. The route has a length of 65 km and passes through Nieuw-Weerdinge, Gasselternijveen, Gieten, Gasselte, Drouwen, Borger, Exloo, Odoorn and Klijndijk—and back to Valthe again.

    De Hondsrug – UNESCO Global Geopark
    A huge ice mass swept through Drenthe 150,000 years ago. Large boulders were dragged along in it. The river flows under the ice generated hills (ridges) in the landscape. Drenthe Periphery Route 7 Valthe largely runs over the largest ridge of them all, De Hondsrug. Much of the history of the area—its essen (high-lying farmlands), rivers and dolmens, for example—is still visible in the landscape.

    Brinkdorpen
    On this route, you pass through the brinkdorpen Valthe, Gieten, Gasselte and Exloo. Brinkdorpen were built in medieval times—often atop a sandy ridge to remain dry. Each village had one or more squares; its brink. This was the centre of the village, around which houses and farms were built.

    A lot of things went on on the brink. You would often find a dobbe, a deep hole filled with water, there. This water was used as drinking water for livestock, but also to wash clothes or extinguish fires. In the morning, livestock was gathered on the brink to graze outside of the village; they would return in the evening, after which the farmers would pick up their own animals. The brinkdorpen often have many remnants from the past: old farms, dirt tracks, the brink, the es (high-lying farmland) and sometimes a dobbe

    Starting points with parking options
    There are multiple starting points for the route where you can park your car. This allows you to start the route from wherever you like. 

    Valthe: Near Hoofdstraat 29
    Gasselternijveen: Havenkade/VV (Football Club) Gasselternijveen (300 m)/Hunzelaan
    Gieten: Stationsstraat
    Borger: Brink/Dorpsplein
    Exloo: Town hall
    Odoorn: Valtherweg
    Klijndijk: Near roundabout

    Part of Drenthe Periphery 255 km
    This route is part of the route Drenthe Periphery 255 km, that runs along the border of the province of Drenthe. Within this long route, you can also pick and choose from among ten shorter routes—varying from 55 to 67 kilometres—or two routes of 135 and 170 kilometres.

    Sights on this route

    Starting point: Hoofdstraat 54
    7872 PL Valthe
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    This dolmen stands at an intersection of forest paths. It was excavated in 1918 by the Groningen archaeologist Van Giffen. He found fragments of pottery outside the dolmen, a sign that people here used to make sacrifices or have meals for the dead.

    Dolmen D30
    11

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    End point: Hoofdstraat 54
    7872 PL Valthe

    Directions

    Starting point: Hoofdstraat 54
    7872 PL Valthe
    • Start: Sports Hall Valthe (Hoofdstraat 54)
    • Hoofdstraat to. Nieuw-Weerdinge (Exloerweg/Valtherdijk) - 4th road TR to. Weerdinge (Paardewijksdijkje)
    • 1st bicycle path TL, becomes a road (Dikbosdwarsweg/Noordveenkanaal NZ) - ROU SA - TR to cross 1st road and TL follow bicycle path to. Nieuw Weerdinge (Weerdingerkanaal NZ)
    • Nieuw-Weerdinge
    • 1st road TL to. Valthermond (Drentse Mondenweg) - Valthermond - ROU SA to. Tweede Exloërmond
    • Tweede Exloërmond
    • ROU SA
    • Eerste Exloërmond
    • Nieuw-Buinen
    • ROU SA - end of the road TL to. Gasselternijveen
    • Gasselternijveen
    • CR TR (Hoofdstraat) - ROU SA
    • Gasselterboerveen
    • 1st road TL (Torenveenseweg) - CR TL (Bonnerdijk)
    • Gieten
    • T junction KL (Boddeveld) - end of the road TL to. Emmen (Stationsstraat) - end of the road TL to. Gasselte
    • Gasselte
    • ROU SA - 2nd road TR to. Drouwen (De Brinken/Dorpsstraat) - CSA to. Borger
    • Drouwen
    • CSA to. Borger
    • Borger
    • ROU SA to. Ees (Hoofdstraat/Eeserstraat)
    • Ees
    • CSA through Ees (Dorpsstraat/ Odoornerstraat) - 1st road TL to. Exloo (Bodenpad)
    • Exloo
    • End of the road TL (Hoofdstraat) - 2nd road TR to. Odoorn (Zuiderhoofdstraat) 

    • Odoorn
    • T junction KR (Exloërweg) - T junction KL to. Klijndijk (Hoofdstraat) 

    • Klijndijk
    • ROU TL (Melkweg/Hondsrugweg)
    • Valthe
    • ROU TR (Odoornerweg) - 1st road TL (Hoofdstraat)
    • Finish: Sports Hall Valthe (Hoofdstraat 54)

    Legend route description:

    CR = crossroad
    TL = turn left
    KL = keep left
    to. = towards
    TJ = T junction
    TR = turn right
    KR = keep right
    le. = left
    ROU = roundabout
    SA = straight ahead
    CSA = continue straight ahead
    ri. = right
    TrL = traffic light

    End point: Hoofdstraat 54
    7872 PL Valthe