The Harskamper Pines were planted back in 1850 to act as a wind-break and stop the advancing sands. Just a few minutes from the campsite, an area of quicksand called the Kootwijkerzand was conserved and is the largest area of quicksand in the whole of Western Europe! It gives visitors an idea of what the Veluwe looked like over a century ago due to over-cultivation.

At the end of the 1950s, the government asked the Forestry Commission to design a “model site” for residential leisure activities. In 1961, the doors were opened for the first time and today, more than fifty years later, people are still coming in their droves to camp here.

A part of the Harskamperdennen campsite has the status of a natural campsite. This part of the site is a member of the De Groene Koepel Foundation. This Foundation set out a number of criteria which must be respected by a site to be authorised to claim the status of a natural campsite. These notably include being located on a natural site, respect of nature and other campers, peace and tranquillity, private sanitation installations and a separate entrance.