See & do in and around Heemskerk

On the west side of Heemskerk is the North Holland Dune Reserve, which is managed by the water company PWN. On the bike or on foot it is possible to go to the Heemskerkerstrand. Motorized traffic is not allowed, unless with a special permit for local traffic. The Heemskerkerstrand is characterized as a family beach, where the summer is pleasantly busy. The distance is approximately 5 kilometers from village center to beach access.

The Heemskerkse Kermis takes place annually from the first Thursday of September and lasts from Wednesday before the relevant Thursday until the following Friday. On Wednesday morning at 11.00 am the fair will be ushered in with the traditional 'First Tune' in the two party tents in the village center. On Thursday the 'Harddraverij' takes place, a horse trotting competition with sulky's where one can bet on the results. The area around this trotting is often a meeting place of Heemskerkers who have not seen each other for a long time. The Heemskerkse Kermis is one of the Noord-Hollandse Kermissen, which can be experienced in West Friesland and other areas of North Holland in summer. That the Heemskerkse Kermis is a fairly large funfair can be seen in the brewery sales of the Amstel brand of the Heineken breweries: in the nineties the beer turnover of the Heemskerkse Kermis was one of the highest of all North Holland fairs.

An event that has grown from a local Heemskerk activity to a major happening in North Holland is the Polpenstokverpringen (the pole jumping pole) over the Neksloot. Buurtcentrum de Schuilhoek organizes this event on Whit Monday. More than 15,000 visitors annually enjoy this fun "Frisian" event on the border of West Friesland with many children's activities, fair, live music and old Dutch games.

Heemskerk has had a football field since 2008, which was made possible by the Johan Cruyff Foundation and is located on the Laan van Assumburg.