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When the heather in Schoorl turns purple, and exactly where
· updated September 5, 2026
The heather in the Schoorlse Duinen usually flowers from mid-August to early September, peaking around late August. The exact timing shifts each year with that summer's weather.
For most of the year the Schoorlse Duinen (the Schoorl dunes) are green and grey: pine forest, marram grass, bare drift sand. For a few weeks a year they turn purple.
When
Heather here usually flowers from mid-August to early September, peaking around late August. That is not a date you can pin down. A warm, dry summer pulls the bloom forward, a cold, wet summer pushes it back. Anyone planning a weekend around it does well to check how things stand a week ahead.
Why it is special here
Heather on dry drift dune is different from heather on an inland sand drift. Here it grows on lime-poor dune sand, between the pines and the open sand, and that produces a mosaic rather than an even field.
And the nightjar
Right in the middle of the flowering period, something else is nesting. The nightjar breeds on the ground and raises its young well into August. That is why Staatsbosbeheer, the Dutch state forestry service, stretches the lead season: dogs on the lead from 1 March to 1 September, wider than the usual breeding season. Walk through the heather bloom with a dog, and that is the rule that applies.
There is also a draft Natura 2000 management plan from the province of Noord-Holland that wants a year-round lead requirement across the whole area. That was open for public inspection for six weeks from 9 March 2026. Whether it has been formally adopted we have not been able to establish, so count on keeping the dog on the lead.
What this article covers
Schoorlse Duinen
The Schoorlse Duinen (Schoorl dunes) hold the highest dune in the Netherlands: the Catrijper Nok, 55.4 metres, with a staircase of 249 steps to the top. The area belongs to Staatsbosbeheer, is open all year round and has more than 60 kilometres of walking paths.
Schoorl
Highest dunes and planted pine forest
Stuifduinentocht Ranger Trail
The Stuifduinentocht is 17 kilometres long, starts at Buitencentrum Schoorlse Duinen at Oorsprongweg 1 in Schoorl and is waymarked with white arrows. The route runs largely over unsurfaced ground and, according to Staatsbosbeheer, is not suitable for walking with a dog, because you pass through a grazing area.