De Slufter
A large salt marsh connected to the North Sea through a gap in the dunes, flooded by the tides every day. In summer, sea lavender turns the marsh purple, making it Texel’s most iconic natural landscape.
De Slufter is a salt marsh of about 700 hectares in the northern part of the Dunes of Texel National Park. When a dyke was built in 1858, a gap was deliberately left in the dune line, and North Sea tides still flow in and out through it. This has formed a network of tidal creeks and salt-tolerant plant communities, making it a rare undeveloped coastal salt marsh in Europe. Sea lavender blooms in July and August, turning the whole marsh a pale purple. In spring and autumn, it is a resting place for migrating waterbirds. A dune viewpoint next to the car park offers a panoramic view, and the trail around the marsh takes about 1 to 2 hours. It is free to visit, and it is about 20 minutes by bike from De Koog.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Dunes of Texel National Park
- De Cocksdorp
- Eierland Lighthouse
- De Koog
- Den Burg
- Ecomare
- Texels Bierbrouwerij
- Hoge Berg