Nature · Since April 2026
Nationaal Park Hollandse Duinen
The Netherlands' newest national park runs along the coast right past Kijkduin's front door.
- Official national park since 28 April 2026, the 22nd in the Netherlands.
- Officially designated area: just over 18,000 hectares (about 183 km²), from Hoek van Holland to Hillegom.
- Kijkduin lies at its southern edge, next to the Westduinpark & Wapendal core area.
- The Sand Engine (Zandmotor) is part of the park.
What is Nationaal Park Hollandse Duinen, and when was it created?
Nationaal Park Hollandse Duinen is a Dutch national park along the South Holland coast, running from Hoek van Holland to Hillegom. It combines dunes, beaches, forests, estates, peat meadows and bulb fields with several towns and cities, and became the Netherlands' 22nd national park, and the first located entirely within the province of South Holland, on 28 April 2026.
Landscapes inside the park include beach and dune strips, beach ridges (strandwallen), parks and country estates such as Kasteel Duivenvoorde and Landgoed Voorlinden, forests including the Haagse Bos, agricultural land, and recreational areas: the Keukenhof and the region's bulb fields also have a recreational role within the park's boundaries.
When did Hollandse Duinen become a national park?
The plan was approved on 28 April 2026 by minister Jaimi van Essen, responsible for nature policy at the ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN). A first bid for the area was submitted on 9 December 2020, with a revised application following in September 2024.
Hollandse Duinen has a longer public history than its 2026 status suggests: in 2016 it entered a public vote for "most beautiful nature area of the Netherlands", organised via a bidbook submitted on 15 September 2016. It finished third, behind the Wadden Sea and the Veluwe, and the campaign won €300,000 toward developing the area.
How big is the new national park?
Two figures matter here and they are not the same thing. The officially designated national park covers just over 18,000 hectares, roughly 183 km². The broader Hollandse Duinen partnership area (the collaboration of more than 60 partners that includes surrounding land not carrying park status itself), spans about 453 km², recorded elsewhere as 47 km long and up to 8.5 km wide.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Official park designation | 28 April 2026 |
| National park number | 22nd of the Netherlands |
| Officially designated area | 18,000+ hectares (~183 km²) |
| Wider partnership area | ~453 km² (47 km long, up to 8.5 km wide) |
| Natura 2000 area within the region | ~6,000 hectares |
| Species recorded | 7,000+ plants and animals |
Sources: Rijksoverheid.nl and Provincie Zuid-Holland, both accessed 11 August 2026.
How many species live in the national park?
Nationaal Park Hollandse Duinen is home to more than 7,000 recorded species of plants and animals, spanning the park's mix of dunes, beaches, forests, estates and peat meadows (Source: Rijksoverheid.nl, accessed 11 August 2026). The figure reflects the whole park area, not any single reserve within it.
Where does Kijkduin fit into the national park?
Kijkduin sits at the park's southern edge in The Hague. Its neighbouring dune reserve, Westduinpark & Wapendal, is one of the park's Natura 2000 core areas, and the nearby Solleveld & Kapittelduinen reserve is another. The Sand Engine (Zandmotor), the artificial sand peninsula just north of Kijkduin, is also part of the park.
The wider Natura 2000 network inside Hollandse Duinen (about 6,000 hectares, part of a 14,500-hectare Natuurnetwerk Nederland) also includes Meijendel, Berkheide and Coepelduynen further up the coast toward Wassenaar and Katwijk.
Is the Sand Engine part of the national park?
The Sand Engine (Zandmotor), the artificial sand peninsula just north of Kijkduin, is part of Nationaal Park Hollandse Duinen. It sits within the park's southern stretch alongside the Westduinpark & Wapendal and Solleveld & Kapittelduinen reserves, the two Natura 2000 core areas nearest to Kijkduin. See the Sand Engine guide for how it works.
Can you visit Solleveld & Kapittelduinen without restrictions?
Solleveld & Kapittelduinen, the dune reserve near Kijkduin, is managed by drinking-water company Dunea rather than the municipality. Access is limited: visitors need an online day ticket, and Dunea caps the number of people allowed in on a given day. This differs from neighbouring Westduinpark & Wapendal, which the municipality of The Hague manages with open access. See the Westduinpark guide for that reserve.
Which organisations created the national park?
Hollandse Duinen is a partnership rather than a single managed estate. It was developed by drinking-water company Dunea together with regional municipalities, IVN, Natuur en Milieufederatie Zuid-Holland, Staatsbosbeheer, Stichting Duinbehoud, Stichting Duivenvoorde and Zuid-Hollands Landschap, alongside 29 further area partners. Day-to-day management stays with individual site managers rather than one central body.
What vocabulary do you need to read about the park?
- Natura 2000
- An EU-wide network of protected nature areas; several Hollandse Duinen reserves, including Westduinpark & Wapendal and Solleveld & Kapittelduinen, are designated under it.
- Natuurnetwerk Nederland
- The Dutch national ecological network connecting nature areas; Hollandse Duinen's Natura 2000 zones form part of this wider, roughly 14,500-hectare network.
- Strandwal (beach ridge)
- A low, sand ridge formed by the sea over thousands of years, running parallel to the coast further inland than the current dunes.