Sailing area Edge Lakes

Navigate on the Edge Lakes or Randmeren

The Randmeren area is a popular water sports area among sailors, motor boaters and speedboaters. Every year, thousands of water sports enthusiasts experience a wonderful boating weekend or an enjoyable boating holiday on the Randmeren. The Randmeren are popular among water sports enthusiasts who want to sail from the Randstad to Friesland (or vice versa). Besides being part of this cruising route, the Randmeren are in themselves also an ideal place to stay for a holiday by boat. Did you know that the Randmeren is the largest uninterrupted sailing area in the Netherlands? This beautiful area asks to be discovered by rental boat!

The Randmeren near Flevoland start at the mouth of the river IJssel and end at the 'Hollandse Brug' past Almere. The total length is approximately 80 kilometres. Anyone sailing a 'Round trip Randmeren' will successively pass the Ketelmeer, Vossemeer, Drontermeer, Veluwemeer, Wolderwijd, Nuldernauw, Nijkerkernauw, Eemmeer and Gooimeer. Each of these lakes has its own unique character. The width of the water differs considerably. The Nijkerkernauw and Nuldernauw are narrow and sheltered, while the Gooimeer is 3 kilometres wide. The Wolderwijd is even wider at 4 kilometres. The Vossenmeer and the Drontermeer have widths of several hundred metres. This combination of spacious, open water and sheltered water makes the Randmeren suitable for all types of water sports enthusiasts. Fans of fast boating can also enjoy themselves on the Randmeren in the indicated speed boating zones.

Berths on the Randmeren

Beloved cruising areas are often also popular among water sports entrepreneurs. There are plenty of cosy marinas, sailing schools and boat rental companies on the Randmeren. In addition to the well-known marinas, the Stichting Gastvrij Meren (Hospitable Lakes Foundation) manages various moorings for passers-by along the Randmeren. In total there are 375 moorings at 13 different locations.

Boat rental on the Randmeren

Renting a boat on the Randmeren is a good idea. The range of boat rental on the Randmeren is large and varies from tenders, motorboats, open sailboats, sailing yachts, catamarans to SUPs. A week, midweek or day of relaxed sailing does not have to be expensive. Of course, the costs for boat rental on the Randmeren depend on the type of boat, the duration of the charter and the season. Renting a boat at the Veluwemeer can be done for a few tens of euros per part of day.

A peaceful boating holiday on the Randmeren

With all the beauty of nature, sailing on the Randmeren is a pleasure. Certainly when the weather is nice, it is a nice and calm waterway with many islands to moor. Ideal for a picnic with a homemade lunch. If you get tired of sailing, you can also sunbathe and swim at one of the lovely sandy beaches. And after a beautiful day on or near the water, you can easily step inside in the evening on a nice terrace, in a cozy beach tent or in a relaxing beach club.

Fast sailing on the Randmeren

For the daredevils, the Randmeren offer plenty of opportunities. It is perfect for catamaran sailing, kite surfing and waterskiing. And how about windsurfing on the Randmeren? Because the lakes are not very deep, you can easily step on and off your board. Fast sailing on the Randmeren (faster than 20 km/h) is only allowed in the defined areas. These can be found on the:

- Ketelmeer: on the part west of IJsseloog (near the dredging depot) with the exception of a strip of 250 metres from the shore.
- Veluwemeer: fast sailing is permitted north of the fairway and east of the water skiing centre 'de Harder'. This area is marked with yellow barrels.
- Nijkerkernauw: fast sailing is permitted in the areas marked by yellow barrels to the south of the channel between the steam pumping station Hertog Reijnout and the entrance to the port of Spakenburg.
- Gooimeer: the speed boating and the jet ski area near the Gooimeerdijk are perhaps the best known in the Netherlands. For a time, the access channels to the fast sailing lane in Lake Gooimeer were plagued by water plants. In the meantime, more attention has been paid to mowing this sailing area. Those who follow the buoyage will more or less enter the fast sailing lane and the jet ski area free of water plants.

For more information take a look at the speed boating map.

Accessibility Randmeren

The Randmeren are centrally located in the Netherlands and are therefore very easy to reach by water as well as by road. From the IJmeer you will sail under the A6 (Hollandse Brug), after which you will enter the Gooimeer. If you prefer to start in the north, you can sail from the IJsselmeer to the Ketelmeer. You will also pass under the A6 (Ketelbrug).

Sailing routes Randmeren

Depending on the starting position, various sailing routes on the Randmeren are recommended.

Sailing route Randmeren - from north to south or vice versa

If you have the time, it is certainly nice to discover all the Randmeren one by one. If you sail a round trip around the Randmeren, you will pass two locks: the Nijkerker and Roggebot locks. On busy days the waiting time can increase considerably. The Sailing Route Randmeren is a sequence of the following routes.

Sailing route Flevoland Oostzijde

The east side of Flevoland is very well navigable for sailboats, motorboats and tenders. With this you can explore the Gooimeer and the Eemmeer. Nice trips include Naarden-Vesting, playground Oud Valkeveen, Huizen and Almere Haven. Sailors should take into account the clearance height at the Hollandse Brug and the Stichtse Brug. The maximum clearance here is 12.7 metres.

Sailing route Harderwijk-Bunschoten-Spakenburg

The old Hanseatic city of Harderwijk is a nice starting point. Don't forget to explore this city on foot and visit the Vischpoort, the City Museum and of course the Dolfinarium: the largest marine mammal park in Europe with seals, dolphins, sea lions, walruses, sharks and rays. As you leave Harderwijk, you sail in an easterly direction up the Wolderwijd. You will see Zeewolde on the starboard side and later Strand Horst on the port side. After that you will cruise along the cosy beaches of Nulde. After passing the Nijkerkersluis lock you are almost in the old fishing village of Bunschoten-Spakenburg with its famous traditional costume and fishing museum.

Sailing route Veluwemeer, Drontermeer, Vossemeer and Ketelmeer

From Harderwijk you can also sail to the west. This brings you to the Veluwemeer where you can enjoy wide views and water fun.There are a large number of campsites and marinas on this lake and also Nunspeet and amusement park Walibi Holland are close by. If you sail further, you will reach the authentic Zuiderzee town of Elburg with its beautiful city walls, museums, Vischpoort, eel smokers and Veluwe Strandbad recreation area via the Elburg bridge. From Elburg you turn into the Drontermeer. There are three small islands in the Drontermeer. On one of them you can relax (de Eekt) and the other two are intended for nature (Abbert and Reve). Follow the waterway to the north and pass the Roggebotsluis lock to reach the Vossemeer. This lake has an average depth of 2.4 meters. Centrally on the Vossemeer there is the 150 meter long island called De Zwaan (The Swan) where many bird species live. Cruise even further to arrive at the last and northernmost Randmeer: the Ketelmeer. This is also an important shipping route for commercial shipping, so it is often busy here. In the middle you will find the artificial island of IJsseloog which serves as a dumping ground for commercial shipping.

History and water quality

This beautiful water sports area was created after the impoldering of Flevoland. Originally, the Randmeren were intended as drainage of the Veluwe. This also gave rise to a particularly beautiful sailing area. Over the past decade, the water quality of the Randmeren has improved considerably.