Kinderdijk in winter
Enjoy a windmill winter wonderland
Anyone looking for a bit of peace and quiet will find that the winter period is a great time to visit Kinderdijk UNESCO World Heritage. Come by and feast your eyes on the breath-taking countryside, and if you’re lucky, you might catch it covered in a blanket of pure white snow.
Every year, as temperatures plummet far below freezing point, people from all around the Netherlands start to warm up in response as an annual surge of ice-skating fever takes hold. Within the confines of Kinderdijk World Heritage, this fever pitch is raised even further, with people visiting on sleds, on bicycles, wearing their skates, and even plodding through the wintery landscape bent low behind their wheeled walkers. The minute the ice seems thick enough to set foot upon it, the entire nation drops everything to rush out and test it. Nothing can stop us in our passionate love affair with the glacial charms of Dutch winter. Just like the churning waters that we have been battling for centuries, their frozen counterpart has become deeply ingrained in our national identity.
A thin layer of ice in the Lower Basin of the Overwaard.
Tour boat
But… .. then of course it has to freeze for a longer period of time. And unfortunately that does not happen every year. Do not worry, because even when it is not freezing, Kinderdijk offers more than enough during the winter season. The winter is also very suitable to come and enjoy the Kinderdijk windmills. All our visiting locations are open. Those who want to admire the windmills from the water do not have to be afraid of the cold: the tour boats are heated. When it freezes for a longer period of time they go out of service to let the ice grow.
Nothing can stop us from heading out onto the ice.
Taking pictures
In the Visitors Centre you can warm up while enjoying a cup of coffee or a delicious pea soup. The winter season also offers many challenges for photographers. Watch the sun rise between the windmills of the Overwaard, while a layer of fog moves between the reeds. Please check the current opening hours before you visit.