Beach access Hargen aan Zee: from the car to the beach

One road leads there: the Hargerstrandweg, and it starts in Camperduin. If you come from Schoorl or Groet, you drive north first. Halfway along you pass the Groet gas extraction site.

How far do you walk from the car to the beach?

The pavilion puts it at 200 metres down a surfaced path. The site is long and narrow, so that mainly holds on the west side. If you park on the east side, you walk a fair bit further. Drive on to the front if you are coming with small children or a lot of gear.

What does parking cost?

From 1 March to 1 November every day from 10.00 to 19.00, 2,45 euros per hour and a maximum of 7,35 euros per day (zone F, 2026 rate). From 1 November to 1 March parking is free, including on public holidays. That differs from Bergen aan Zee, Egmond aan Zee and Schoorl, where you do pay on Saturdays and Sundays in winter.

You can pay in cash, by card at two machines at the start of the site and a third one halfway along, or through a parking app using the number on the signs. Faults go through Parkeerservice gemeente Bergen (the Bergen municipality parking service), not through the pavilion. Electric cars may use the designated spaces all year round, charging costs money and works with a charging card.

Can the dog run off the lead here?

On the beach all day from 1 October to 1 May. From 1 May to 1 October only before 10.00 and after 19.00. In between the dog may come along on a lead on the activity beach (orange post tops), but on the sun beach (yellow) not at all. At Hargen the middle section is sun beach, so walk on to the north or the south.

A different regime applies in the dunes. The car park and the path to the sea lie in the Schoorlse Duinen (the Schoorl dunes), where Staatsbosbeheer requires a lead from 1 March to 1 September. In March and April your dog may therefore run off the lead on the beach all day, but no longer on the path leading there.

How do you get here without a car?

There is no bus stop at Hargen aan Zee. Community bus 410, de Strandvonder, runs from Egmond aan Zee via Bergen and Schoorl to Camperduin and ends at the Camperduin Strandafslag stop, about 1,4 kilometres to the north. It runs Monday to Friday 8.00-18.00 and Saturday 11.00-18.00, not on Sundays and public holidays. From Alkmaar station, bus 151 runs to Schoorl. By bike, cycle junctions 20 and 46 are the closest, and the pavilion is a cycle service point of the ANWB, the Dutch touring club.

What none of the signs tell you: at the pavilion you can borrow beach wheelchair de Jutter free of charge for two hours, but you can only reserve it by phone between 10 and 12, on 072 509 11 65. If you call at half past twelve, you are too late for that day.