Port Heeg

The village of Heeg is truly a unique place to visit. It is surrounded by some of the largest lakes and canals of the province of Friesland, such as the Heeger Lake, the Fluessen and the Johan Friso Canal. This location made it grow into a prominent water sports village, attracting many tourists in spring and summer every year.

From Heeg, Lake IJssel is easily reached and when booking overnight trips, the Wadden Sea can be sailed to as well!

Dating back to the 17th century, Heeg has a rich history of trade, with fishing on eel being its specialty. At that time, Frisian ships were often used to transport live eel from Friesland to London. They even had a private berth along the Thames; appropriately called the Dutch Mooring. When the beginning of the 20th century saw maritime transport motorised, the water polluted in a way that the fish population took a severe hit. This also reflected on the industry and the trade in eel heavily declined. Built in 2009, as a reminder to a time when canals and seas were the main line of transport, the old wharf in Heeg still showcases a replica of the eel barge Korneliske Ykes II.

Heeg offers many sailing schools, harbours and wharfs. Besides a lot of good quality water sports shops, the center invites you to sit back and relax on a terrace near the water. The restaurants serve you delicious lunch and dinners, with the use of local produce as their pride. Especially during summer, Heeg is infamous for its night life. For those who want to party all night long, bar & dancing d’Ald Wal is definitely the place to be. Heeg is also renown for the annual festival Heechspanning (“high voltage” in Frisian), where people go to check out bands and festivities.  

Daredevils go to the nearby Heegermeer. Here you can go flyboarding or, with a bit of luck, even watch a sailing race!