Hunebedden with Kids: Top 10 Things To Do and Family Holiday Guide

Parking near the hunebedden themselves is straightforward — most of the megalithic sites sit close to small roadside pull-ins or designated gravel areas, and the stones are rarely more than a short flat walk from the car. The area is spread across the Drenthe countryside rather than concentrated in a single town centre, so the practical rhythm of a family visit is: drive to a site, walk a few hundred metres, explore, return to the car. That compact structure means even young children can manage several hunebedden in one day without covering challenging distances.

Quick facts for families visiting Hunebedden

Top 10 things to do in Hunebedden

1. Visit more than one hunebed in a single morning — the sites are close enough together that moving between two or three feels natural rather than rushed.
2. Pick up a Hunebedcentrum leaflet or trail map before you head out; the visitor centre near Borger puts the stones in context and gives children something concrete to look for.
3. Combine a hunebed stop with a cycle along one of the signposted Drenthe routes — most paths are paved and genuinely suitable for children’s bikes.
4. Use the open heathland around the sites as a reason to slow down: pack a proper lunch and eat it outside rather than rushing to a café.
5. Plan a half-day extension to the Railway Museum in Utrecht if your trip spans several days — it pairs unexpectedly well with a Drenthe nature stay for families who want one big indoor day.
6. Look for the cup marks carved into the capstones of some hunebedden; spotting them gives older children a genuine archaeological observation to make.
7. Keep the afternoon loose — the Drenthe countryside rewards wandering, and unmarked farm tracks and small forests often turn into the best part of the day.
8. Check whether local farms near your accommodation sell fresh stroopwafels or dairy products; picking up something local makes the drive between sites feel like part of the trip.
9. Bring a simple field guide to Drenthe flora or fauna — heath, bog and mixed woodland all appear within a short distance of the hunebed trail.
10. End the day watching the light change over open heathland; Drenthe sunsets over flat countryside are genuinely worth stopping for.

Top 10 things to do in Hunebedden for kids

1. Challenge children to touch every capstone at a hunebed and count how many it takes to make one complete monument — the numbers are always bigger than they expect.
2. Ask younger children to guess what the stones were used for before you tell them; the gap between their answers and the real explanation is usually entertaining for everyone.
3. Bring a sketchbook and let kids draw one stone in detail — slowing down to look carefully at the texture and size of a capstone holds attention far longer than a quick glance.
4. Set a simple photography task: each child photographs the thing at each site that surprises them most, then compare the results at the end of the day.
5. Pack a magnifying glass for examining lichen, moss and small insects on and around the stones — the surfaces are covered in detail that is invisible from a standing adult’s eye level.
6. Let children lead the short walk from the parking area to each hunebed using a printed map or simple directions; even a fifty-metre navigation task gives small children a sense of ownership over the day.
7. Build in a stop at a Drenthe playground between hunebed visits — running off energy between sites keeps the next stop feeling fresh rather than like more of the same.
8. If older children are curious about Dutch history beyond the stones, the Centraal Museum in Utrecht makes a strong follow-up on another day of the trip.
9. Encourage children to collect one natural object — a feather, an unusual leaf, a piece of pine cone — at each site to build a small tray display back at the accommodation.
10. Finish with hot chocolate at a café in the nearest village and ask each child to name the one thing they want to remember from the day; it turns the end of the outing into something worth keeping.

Best family activities in Hunebedden

Walking from stone to stone is the core of any hunebed visit, and it works precisely because the distances are short. Children can clamber around the monuments, crouch underneath the capstones and run across the heathland between sites without adults needing to coax them along. That physical freedom — rare in more manicured tourist attractions — is genuinely what makes Hunebedden work for families with primary-school-age children.

For families who want to add a structured indoor element, De Stulp and the wider Drenthe museum network offer good wet-weather backup. The Hunebedcentrum near Borger is the most directly relevant indoor option — it explains the Funnel Beaker culture that built the monuments and gives children a timeline that makes the stones feel even more extraordinary once you are standing next to them outside.

Where to stay near Hunebedden

A forest holiday park or family campsite within Drenthe will put you within easy reach of multiple hunebed sites without needing long drives each morning. Many parks in the province offer bike hire on site, which changes the whole shape of a day — cycling between two or three monuments is a satisfying way to structure the visit rather than moving entirely by car.

Hotels and apartments in nearby towns like Assen or Emmen are worth considering if your group prefers a fixed address with restaurants nearby. The trade-off is that you will spend more time driving to the hunebed sites each morning rather than rolling out of a forest cabin straight onto a cycle path.

Nearby places to visit

1. Kasteel Moersbergen makes a calm contrast to a morning among the hunebedden — the castle setting is atmospheric without demanding a lot of walking, and children respond well to the change of scale after hours in open countryside.
2. Soestdijk Palace is reachable for families staying in the central Netherlands and pairs well with a Drenthe trip that spans several days; the grounds give children space to move while adults take in the royal history.
3. The heathland and forest around the hunebedden themselves extend into broader Drenthe nature reserves worth exploring if your group has energy left after the stone trail — no extra driving required.
4. Assen and Emmen both offer covered options for wet afternoons, including indoor swimming, local museums and shopping streets with cafés that welcome families.

Family travel tips

1. Pack rain layers even when the morning sky looks completely clear — Drenthe weather changes without warning and the hunebedden offer no shelter from a sudden shower.
2. Roadside parking near individual hunebedden is usually free and close, but it fills up quickly on summer weekends; arriving before ten in the morning makes a real difference.
3. Playgrounds and village benches are worth using as genuine rest stops between sites, not just emergency pauses when someone is flagging.
4. Let children choose which hunebed to visit first if you have a shortlist — small decisions like that tend to carry them through the less exciting stretches of the day.
5. Identify one indoor backup option before you leave your accommodation, not after the rain has already started and everyone is cold.
6. Do not over-schedule: two or three well-spaced hunebed visits with time to linger at each will leave a stronger impression than rushing through five.

FAQ

Is Hunebedden good for kids?

Yes — particularly for children aged roughly four to twelve. The monuments are at ground level, the surrounding heathland is open and safe to run around, and the story of five-thousand-year-old stones built without modern tools tends to catch even reluctant sightseers off guard.

What are the best things to do in Hunebedden with kids?

Walking the hunebed trail, cycling between sites on Drenthe’s family-friendly paths, and visiting the Hunebedcentrum near Borger are the strongest options. Adding a nature activity — lichen spotting, tracking birds, collecting natural objects — layers well onto the stone visits without extending the day beyond what young children can manage.

How long should families spend in Hunebedden?

A relaxed half-day covers two or three hunebed sites comfortably. A full day makes sense if you are combining the stone trail with a cycle route, a picnic lunch on the heath and a café stop in a nearby village.

What can families do in Hunebedden when it rains?

The Hunebedcentrum near Borger is the most logical indoor option — it is directly connected to the attraction you came to see. For a longer wet-day alternative, the Railway Museum and the Centraal Museum in Utrecht are both within driving distance for families based in the central Netherlands.

Where should families stay near Hunebedden?

Forest holiday parks and family campsites inside Drenthe are the most useful base — they put you close to the hunebed trail and typically offer bike hire. If your group prefers hotel-style accommodation, Assen is the nearest larger town with a good range of options.

Nearby Attractions

• Kasteel Moersbergen 🏰
• Centraal Museum
• The Railway Museum
• De Stulp
• Soestdijk Palace

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