After a dry summer, Dutch heather is still blooming — but purple now sits next to orange die-off and older gray sticks. This set is a field key for catching the purple sheets before mid-September closes the window.
Start with the three colors rangers are seeing on the ground. Purple is healthy struikheide in bloom now. Orange marks plants that died in this summer's drought. Gray is older dead stems from earlier years. Age and soil decide which strip you get: older plants and loamy pockets hold purple; young plants and coarse sand go orange first. Patches can flip within about 100 meters, so one orange parking view is not the whole park.
Before you drive, use live checks. Read the latest manager notes — Staatsbosbeheer mapped the three-color story on 20 August 2026. Scan photos of your target from the last three to seven days, and treat a still-listed heather walk as a staff signal that the area is worth it. Soft morning light after rain shows purple better than hard midday glare.
On site, spend the first five minutes reading purple versus orange. If orange wins, walk farther toward mixed-age or lower ground, or switch to a backup heath. Manager route lists such as Staatsbosbeheer heather walks and local notes from Natuurmonumenten help you shortlist entrances before you leave home.
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