Nature
Blueberry picking
Pick your own in America, on the edge of the Peel
Blueberry picking at a glance
15 minby car
11.3 kmdistance
- Location
- America, municipality of Horst aan de Maas
- Pick your own
- Handje Gezond and Blauwebessenland, Dorperpeelweg
- Picking season
- July to around mid-August, depending on the weather
- Booking
- not needed at Blauwebessenland
- Cycling route
- Blueberry Route (Blauwe bessenroute), 32 km
Pick your own at Handje Gezond
America is a village in the municipality of Horst aan de Maas, on the Limburg side of the Mariapeel. Blueberries thrive on the acidic sandy and peaty soil of the Peel: as early as the late 1950s, they were grown commercially in neighbouring Helenaveen.
At Dorperpeelweg 15, the De Kleijne family runs the Handje Gezond blueberry plantation (Blauwe Bessen Plantage Handje Gezond). In season you pick your own, and you can taste ten varieties, each with its own flavour. The shop sells jam, juice and blueberry wine; on the garden terrace you help yourself to coffee or tea with something sweet.
Season and opening hours on handjegezond.nl (opens in a new tab)
Picking at Blauwebessenland
A little further on, at Dorperpeelweg 1, are the pick-your-own fields of Blauwebessenland. Several varieties grow side by side: feel free to taste which berry you like best before you fill your bucket.
There is no need to book. You check in at the shop and take a bucket from the farm, or have your own bucket weighed empty first. If you would like to know more, you can join a guided tour, such as the walk with a landscape storyteller about how the Peel became blueberry country.
The Blueberry Route by bike
Would you rather cycle past the fields? The Blueberry Route (Blauwe bessenroute) is 32 kilometres long and signposted with Maasgaarden signs. You start at Museumdorp De Locht in Melderslo, a museum village about life in the North Limburg countryside run by volunteers, or at the church of Broekhuizenvorst.
Along the way you cycle through Broekhuizen along the Maas and can stop to taste berries at growers and cafés along the route. America is not on this route: picking your own is a separate outing.
The Blueberry Route on visitnoordlimburg.nl (opens in a new tab)
Tip from reception
The picking season is short and depends on the weather: in 2026 you could pick from 30 June to 18 August at Blauwebessenland and until 22 August at Handje Gezond. So check the grower’s website just before you set off to see whether picking is still possible. If you bring your own bucket to Blauwebessenland, have it weighed empty in the shop first.
Reception team, Parkhotel Horst
Good to know
Picking seasonRoughly July to mid-August, depending on the weather. The growers post the start and end dates on their websites every year.
Bucket and scalesAt Blauwebessenland you check in at the shop, no booking needed. You pick into a bucket from the farm or into your own bucket, weighed first.
Outside the seasonHandje Gezond has a farm vending machine that is open day and night; outside the season the shop is open on Saturday mornings (2026).
Blueberry Route32 kilometres of cycling from Museumdorp De Locht or the church of Broekhuizenvorst. The route is also available as a GPX on visitnoordlimburg.nl.
Photos: picking field USDA (public domain); vending machine FakirNL (CC BY-SA 4.0); via Wikimedia Commons. Bucket photo: Skyler Ewing via Pexels.
Make a day of it
From the breakfast buffet to the picking fields in America, and back to the wellness at your hotel.
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Start the day at the breakfast buffet of Parkhotel Horst.
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A fifteen-minute drive to America, where from July to mid-August you pick your own blueberries at Handje Gezond or Blauwebessenland.
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Back in Horst, the indoor pool, the saunas and the wellness lounge are waiting for you, free for hotel guests.
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End the day with dinner at restaurant BØFF.
Hiking Package Limburg
Straight from the hotel into the Kasteelse Bossen woods, with coffee and Limburg vlaai on arrival and a 3-course dinner of your choice
p.p. per night · based on 2 people in a Comfort room
The discount applies once per room per stay starting on a Sunday.
How to get there
From the hotel, it takes about:
Handje Gezond, Dorperpeelweg 15, 5966 PM America
Frequently asked questions
Any other questions? Call reception: +31 77 397 6000Where can you pick your own blueberries near Horst?
In America, a fifteen-minute drive away: at the Handje Gezond blueberry plantation, Dorperpeelweg 15, and at Blauwebessenland, Dorperpeelweg 1. Both growers have pick-your-own fields and a shop with blueberry products.
When is the blueberry picking season?
Roughly from July to mid-August, depending on the weather. In 2026 Handje Gezond opened on 30 June, and you could pick at Blauwebessenland until 18 August. The growers post the start and end dates on their websites every year.
Do you need to book to pick your own blueberries?
Not at Blauwebessenland: you check in at the shop and pick into a bucket from the farm or into your own bucket, which is weighed empty first.
Can you buy blueberries outside the season?
Yes. Handje Gezond has a farm vending machine that is open day and night, and outside the season the shop is open on Saturday mornings (2026). Blauwebessenland opens on a number of Saturday mornings; the dates are on its website.
Where does the Blueberry Route start?
At the church of Broekhuizenvorst or at Museumdorp De Locht, Broekhuizerdijk 16d in Melderslo. The route is 32 kilometres; follow the Maasgaarden signs. The picking fields in America are not on the route.
More in Nature
See all days out in Nature
Photos (More in Nature): Aat van den Heuvel (CC BY 3.0); Peter Bankers (CC BY-SA 4.0); via Wikimedia Commons.
Photos: Sander van der Wel (CC BY-SA 2.0); Dominicus Johannes Bergsma (CC BY-SA 4.0); Marc-Lautenbacher (CC BY-SA 4.0); USDA (public domain); via Wikimedia Commons.
After the Blueberry Route: pool, wellness and dinner at BØFF
Five minutes from the blueberry fields, you sleep surrounded by greenery, with wellness under the same roof.