Monkeybos The Hague – ‘Play forest’ for all ages

The Dutch are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to squeezing joy from the mundane. You think your country has impressive playgrounds, eh? Holland would like to introduce you to the play FOREST. Yes, that’s right, an entire forest (parking nearby but otherwise completely isolated from the rest of the world) dedicated to family-friendly nature activities. It's at the top of my list for 'hidden gems of The Netherlands'.

There’s nothing remotely modern here—no tech, just wave upon wave of trees pruned specifically for climbing, heaps of branches assembled into sundry wooden huts/caves/igloos (this is after all for kids), rope ladders and expertly placed tree stumps for skipping over the hot lava sand pits that seem to have taken over the jungle... where were we again?

The Netherlands may have a reputation for being small and compact, but this reputation conceals the Dutch virtue of land preservation. The surroundings of Monkeybos are a treat for all ages, with a classy cafe but more important endless walking and biking trails in a land area that is only a few hundred meters from the ocean on one side and a major highway on the other side. It’s a great place I like to go with my daughters in order to get away from ‘it’ all.