Walking in Hoge Kempen National Park Pietersheim Trail (red)
Pietersheim - red - 11,2 km
Start
Start: Pietersheim – Children’s Farm
Your hiking adventure begins at Pietersheim, one of the nine gateways to the magnificent Hoge Kempen National Park, Flanders’ oldest national park. This former princely estate offers plenty to explore. Younger visitors can enjoy the children’s farm, where animals and outdoor fun await. But first things first: time to start hiking!
Pietersheim Moated Castle and Pietersembos
Nature and history sometimes go hand in hand. The story of Pietersheim dates back to the 12th century. Around 300 years later, the estate came into the hands of the influential noble House of Merode. In centuries past, a magnificent moated castle stood here. After a long history of plundering and sieges, only ruins remained. The castle has since been restored and serves as a visitor centre; a wonderful starting point for your hiking adventure.
Transition between Kempen and Maasland
Hoge Kempen National Park is a natural park with many faces, and the Pietersheim area beautifully illustrates this richness. The first part of this hike takes you across the loamy soil of the Meuse Valley. Your surroundings clearly reflect this fertile ground, as you walk among impressive beech trees. In spring, the forest floor is covered with white wood anemones and yellow lesser celandine. As you continue, the landscape gradually changes. The soil becomes increasingly sandy and with fewer nutrients. Suddenly birch trees, Scots pines and patches of bilberry dominate the landscape.
Steep Edge of the Kempen Plateau
This hike truly has its ups and downs. Here, you follow the steep edge of the Kempen Plateau, a high plain that stretches across much of the national park. Over the centuries, the Meuse River carved out a valley here. This created a steep escarpment with a sudden height difference of around 50 metres. As a result, you’ll need to tackle several short but steep climbs along the way.
Break: Campus St. Barbara
Since this hike is a real test for your calf muscles, you deserve a break now and then. Just past the halfway point, you’ll find a rather unusual place to rest: Bar Bouffe. This is the cafeteria of St Barbara Hospital, located right in the middle of a forest. This campus was originally founded to treat miners suffering from dust lung caused by coal mining. Nowadays, it specialises in respiratory diseases, oxygen therapy, and rehabilitation. At Bar Bouffe, everyone is welcome to catch their breath for a moment.
Asbeek
This marks the beginning of the final section of the hike. The landscape here is shaped by the Asbeek, a man-made stream which was originally created to supply water to the heathland mill located further downstream. In some places, the watercourse closely follows the steep edge of the Kempen Plateau, resulting in very pretty views. Fans of aquatic wildlife will love this spot. The water quality is excellent, and the stream is home to unusual species such as the brook lamprey and the beautiful demoiselle dragonfly.
Finish: Pietersheim – Children’s Farm
Your hiking adventure ends where it began; at Pietersheim. At the farmhouse located at this park gateway, you can relax and enjoy a well-earned drink or bite to eat after your walk.
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 hikes proudly carries the European quality label Leading Quality Trail – Best of Europe, Day Walk, awarded by the European Hiking Federation. Well worth exploring.
