Terkaple can be explored from different perspectives via two routes: a 14-kilometre walk leads through meadows to Terkaple and back towards Terherne. A 16.1-kilometre boating route follows Frisian waterways through Terkaple. The church also offers a focus of its own: its history stretches from an earlier chapel to the building erected in 1854. For travel planning, the routes differ above all in how you travel and where they go.
Waterways and boating connections
The Terkaplester Puollen are part of the Natura 2000 area and are connected to the Goëngarijpsterpoelen, the Terhornsterpoelen and the Sâltpoel. One specific boating route runs from Terherne via Terkaple, Akmarijp and Goingarijp. It is 16.1 kilometres long and passes through Terkaple along the Lange Sleat, Syltsjesleat and Lykfeart. This clearly specifies both the route’s length and the sequence of the places and waterways named.
The connection via the Akkrumer Rak is different: from the Terkaplester Puollen, boats can travel along this waterway to destinations including Akkrum and Heerenveen. The boating route describes a set course with several place names, while the connection via the Akkrumer Rak names other possible destinations. When planning a trip on the water, this distinction helps you avoid treating a specific route as if it included every destination that can be reached.
Walking through the meadows
The 14-kilometre Sneekermeerzicht walking route leads from Terherne through the meadows to Terkaple and then back towards Terherne. The distance refers to the route as a whole, not just the section to Terkaple. Its course makes the village a destination along a route that begins in Terherne and returns there. If you are looking for a land route with a stated total distance, you can therefore easily distinguish it from the boating route: here, the defining features are the meadows and travelling on foot; there, they are the waterways and the sequence of several places.
Nearby, the Heerenzijl Bridge lies between the Frisian water-sports villages of Terkaple and Terherne, on Hearresyl-Weg. It provides another geographical reference point for locating the two villages and the routes in the surrounding area.
The church and its historical features
Terkaple’s present-day church was built in 1854 on the foundations of an earlier chapel. Its history therefore connects two building phases: the earlier chapel and the 19th-century church. The church floor contains gravestones belonging to the noble Van Oenema and Van Roorda families, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. They are among the church’s protected historical features and provide another specific historical point of interest alongside its architectural history.
The church and rectory stand on the Tsjerkepôle, a tree-covered spot in an otherwise relatively open landscape. The contrast between the trees and the open countryside provides a setting of its own for this part of Terkaple, distinct from the focus on waterways and routes. When choosing how to explore, you can therefore decide how much importance to give to the landscape, travel on the water, walking and the church’s historical features, without combining these different highlights into a single route.
As part of Tsjerkepaad 2026, the church took part and was open daily from 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm from 8 to 29 August. These dates apply to 2026. If you are planning a later season, check participation and opening hours again.
Discover more destinations: Oldeouwer, Joure, Rotsterhaule, Teroele, Legemeer, Idskenhuizen, Boornzwaag, Sint Nicolaasga
For the broader travel overview: Skarsterlân.
