Paddling near Emmen, Drenthe

Emmen sits in the southeastern corner of Drenthe, a province defined by its network of historic peat canals and slow-moving waterways. The area around Emmen is paddling country in the flatwater sense: calm, navigable canals such as the Verlengde Hoogeveensche Vaart and the Kanaal Coevorden-Zwinderen wind through open polder and heath landscapes, while the Runde — paddled from the Emmen and Erica areas — is a well-known local route for canoeists and kayakers.