The Molenplas walking route starts at the Hompesche windmill. The special feature of the route is that it is located on an island surrounded by two tributary arms of the Meuse. First, a gravel path leads past a group of dead, two-thousand-year-old trees salvaged as part of gravel extraction and now giving the impression of prehistoric monuments.
A little further along the lakeshore is the town of Ohé with its fairy-tale castle Hasselholt, built in the 16th century. Now the route with its pronounced riparian vegetation leads along the Julianakanaal dike until, between two lakes, you have to cross the water. For this, boulders from the Meuse serve as stepping stones. Caution! In wet weather and in winter, the stepping stones may not be passable and you can take the extended route.
The next stop is a bird observatory, from where you have a great view of the lake. And then it's back to the Hompesche mill through a very varied plant world.
Hasselholt Castle was originally built in late Gothic style - as a year stone from 1548 attests - and completed in the Renaissance.
The 8-storey Hompesche windmill is 37 metres high and has been used as a corn and oil mill since 1722, with the basement serving as a prison.
Close by is the medieval fortified town of Stevensweert with a Spanish fortress, old cannons, cobbled roads and many listed houses.
The nature area around the Molenplas is managed by Natuurmonumenten (www.natuurmonumenten.nl). A small exhibition on the area and its genesis can be seen in the Hompesche Molen.