Hiking in Hoge Kempen National Park Duinengordel Trail (purple)
Duinengordel - purple - 12,6 km
Start
Start: Orshof
Your hike begins at Orshof, located on the northern edge of Hoge Kempen National Park, Flanders’ first and largest national park. The park covers an impressive 12,700 hectares of woodland, heath, ponds, dunes, fields and valleys. Orshof itself is a traditional Kempen farmstead, now converted into a restaurant, seminar centre, and guest accommodation. If you fancy turning your hike into a short break, you can even stay overnight in one of its cosy guest rooms. It’s the perfect starting point for this Top Trail.
Solterheide
A large part of the national park lies on the Kempen Plateau, a slightly elevated landscape dominated by coniferous forests interspersed with small fields. The Solterheide area through which this trail passes is located on this plateau. From here, the trail gradually descends towards the village of Opitter, in the scenic Itter Valley.
Halfway Break: Itterdal Castle Park
Following a natural avenue of trees and passing picturesque ponds, you walk into the centre of Opitter. At this point, you’re roughly halfway along the trail. In Itterdal Castle Park, you’ll find the perfect place to take a break: Café Itterdal Young adventurers with energy to spare can enjoy the Multimove Trail (1.7 km) here, a fun course featuring natural obstacles and play structures.
Insidertip!
The village of Opitter has been home to the Cornelissen brewing family since 1859. Their brewery blends traditional craftsmanship with modern technology, resulting in an excellent range of high-quality beers. Cheers!
Pollismolen Watermill
After your break, you leave Itterdal Castle Park and follow a pleasant path towards the historic Pollismolen watermill. The Itterbeek stream was once a major source of water power. At one time, it drove 15 watermills, with Pollismolen being the second in the series. The mill dates all the way back to 1296. It still stands proudly to this day, although it now draws its water power from the nearby Wijshagerbeek stream.
Itterbeek Valley & Baatsbeek Valley
From here, your hike continues through the valleys of two streams: the Itterbeek and its tributary, the Baatsbeek. The nature organisation Limburgs Landschap manages large areas of meadowland, spring forests and wet woodland in this area. Observant walkers may spot special wildlife and plants such as marsh marigolds or even a kingfisher darting along the water. A perfect moment to bring out the binoculars.
Finish: Orshof
This completes the loop. The hike finishes where it began, back at Orshof. After a rewarding journey through Hoge Kempen National Park, you’ll have more than earned a relaxing drink or bite to eat.
Finish
Top 10 Trails
Hoge Kempen National Park offers endless opportunities for hiking, as the Top 10 Trails of the park clearly show. These trails meet strict quality standards in terms of landscape diversity, nature, cultural heritage, and infrastructure. Each of these circular trails proudly carries the European quality label Leading Quality Trail – Best of Europe, Day Walk, awarded by the European Hiking Federation. Well worth exploring!
