Nieuwe Statenzijl is the point where the Westerwoldse Aa meets the Dollard, the tidal inlet at the mouth of the Eems. Here a large sluice complex controls the discharge of water from a catchment of roughly 89,000 hectares out toward the Waddenzee.

The river, which flows from Wedde through the Westerwolde and Oldambt regions, ends its inland course at this point; beyond the dikes it continues as the Buiten A, Schanskerdiep, and Groote Gat.

The site sits on the Dutch–German border and draws both cyclists and hikers passing between the two countries.

A 600-metre boardwalk leads from the sluices through reed beds to the Kiekkaaste, a birdwatching hut on wooden posts — the only such structure outside the dikes in the Netherlands — overlooking the broad mudflats of the Dollard.