Paddling near Hoogezand, Groningen

Hoogezand sits in the province of Groningen, a flat, canal-laced landscape shaped by centuries of peat extraction and drainage works. The area is threaded with quiet kanalen and diepen — including the nearby Oosterdiep, Afwateringskanaal van Duurswold, and Drentsche Diep — that suit relaxed flatwater paddling. The province as a whole has around 850 km of marked kanoroutes, making it one of the more developed paddling regions in the northern Netherlands, with the Zuidlaardermeer close by adding open-water options.