Camping Duinhorst has existed since July 1965.
The current camping grounds and the grounds of horseracetrack Duindigt belonged together to the large Duinhorst estate. A cinder track was built on the Duinhorst grounds in 1933.
Duinhorst during the Second World War
On 8 September 1944, the first V-2 rockets were launched from the Duinhorst estate by the German occupying forces with destination London.
The population of Wassenaar-Zuid (about 10,000 people) had to be evacuated as the location of the V-2 rockets had to be kept secret as much as possible. A total of 1039 V2 rockets were fired from Wassenaar and The Hague.
On 3 March 1945, 55 Allied bombers flew towards The Hague with the aim of destroying the V-2 storage sites. Unfortunately, the pilots had been given the wrong coordinates, causing the bombs to fall on the “Bezuidenhout” district.
Partly due to evacuations from surrounding areas, the damage was extensive: more than 500 people died and 12,000 were left homeless. A few days later, on 3 March 1945, the Duindigt estate did get hit. The estates Duinhorst, Duindigt and some service houses were totally destroyed in the process. The stored V-2 rockets were destroyed as a result.
Sports park Duinhorst
From 1952, the current camping site became an official sports park with a football pitch and in the middle of it a paved concrete cycling track, replacing the cinder track from 1933. During football matches, there were temporary stands on the cycling track.
The football clubs ” S.V.V. Scheveningen” and “De Flamingo’s” (later Holland Sport) had their home base here from 1952. As the public hardly knew how to find the remote grounds in Wassenaar, “Holland Sport” started playing at the Houtrust stade from 1955.
The cycling track was used by the cycling club “De Spartaan”. Many races were held here and in winter, foxhunts and cross-country races were organised by the cycling club.
Duinhorst campsite
After the departure of the football clubs and the cycling club, the site was converted into a campsite in 1965.
The cycling track is still very recognisable on the campsite; both the shape of the track and its location have remained unchanged over the years. The current “Middle Ground” on which the caravans and campers are parked used to be the football pitch
The changing rooms of the former sport clubs are currently the large sanitary building of the Middle Ground. The former main stand is now the restaurant and snack bar of Pavilion Duinhorst.
Camping Duinhorst currently has about 130 tourist pitches for caravans and campers and 200 permanent pitches with mobile homes. The various tent pitches can accommodate around 100 tents in total.
