Three walks on Mechelse Heide in the Hoge Kempen

Three colour-coded walks start from the same car park at the Mechelse Heide gateway. You can do one, two, or all three, depending on your energy and the time you have. UPDATED MAY 2026

Mechelse Heide is one of those places that rewards you every time. Walk the same path in June and then again in September and it will feel like a different world. The mix of woodland, open heathland, and old gravel lakes makes it one of the most varied hiking areas in the whole of the Hoge Kempen National Park, and arguably the most dramatic. Here are three colour-coded walks to explore.

Walk 1: 5.5 km – Yellow

This circular walk starts and ends at the Mechelse Heide car park. All three walks are well signposted, and you simply follow the colour of your chosen route. Just stay with the yellow markers and you won’t go wrong.

The first stretch takes you through mixed woodland of ash, silver birch, and oak. It’s a pleasant walk in any season, but spring is when it really comes alive. The canopy fills with the songs of blackcaps, chiffchaffs, nuthatches, treecreepers, and at least half a dozen species of tit – great, blue, coal, crested, long-tailed, and willow. At times it’s almost deafening.

Then the trees part, and you step out onto the open heathland. Even blindfolded, you’d know the difference immediately. Gone are the woodland birds, replaced by the sounds of the open country: skylarks spiralling overhead, linnets calling from the gorse, whitethroats and stonechats perched on the tallest twigs they can find.

In August and September, this stretch becomes a sea of purple as the heather blooms. In autumn, the bracken fronds turn copper and the leaves scatter across the path. There’s no bad time to come.

Download or print the yellow walk from RouteYou.

Walk 2: 5.3 km – Blue

If you have the time and the legs for it, the blue walk makes a natural companion to the yellow. Do walk 1 in the morning and walk 2 in the afternoon, with a stop at the Salamanderke café in between for lunch. They have a terrace for fine weather and a small playground for young children.

The main attraction of the blue route is elevation, or at least, the Limburg version of it. The walk takes you up to 104 metres above sea level, which is the highest natural point in the entire Hoge Kempen National Park. It doesn’t sound much, but it’s enough to open up sweeping views across the plateau. On a clear day you can see as far as Liège, Maastricht, and across the border into Germany.

The last time I walked this route, I heard one of my favourite birds: the grasshopper warbler. I didn’t see it. In fact, I’ve never seen a grasshopper warbler, and that’s not a confession of poor birdwatching. It’s simply a bird that prefers the inside of a gorse bush to the open air, skulking low and keeping its head down. But its call travels up to a kilometre. It doesn’t really sing in any conventional sense. It’s more a continuous mechanical reeling, like a fishing reel being wound backwards. Once you’ve heard it, you won’t forget it. Listen out for it in spring and early summer.

Download or print the blue walk from RouteYou.

Walk 3: 12 km – Green, then Brown, then Blue

The longest of the three, and the one that takes you deepest into the heart of the national park. You could squeeze it in after one of the shorter walks if you had an early lunch, but it’s better treated as a day out in itself. There are plenty of good spots to sit and simply take things in.

The route heads south from the car park, first along the green path and then a brown connecting section that passes under the E314 motorway to reach the marshy Kikbeekbron area. In spring, squadrons of dragonflies patrol the ponds here, dropping their eggs into the water with an efficiency that would put most military operations to shame.

From there the route circles a large and scenic expanse of water. It’s the remains of an old gravel-digging industry. The industry has long since gone, and what it left behind has become a habitat of real quality. In spring, watch the steep sandy sides of the quarry for sand martins nesting in their excavated tunnels.

On the return, the oak woods around the camping area are worth checking carefully for pied flycatchers and redstarts.

Download or print the green/brown/blue walk from RouteYou.

The Top Trail Mechelse Heide

Since the original version of this post was written, the national park has developed a new 9 km route called the Top Trail Mechelse Heide. It was awarded the European quality label Leading Quality Trails – Best of Europe in 2025, one of only ten routes across the park to receive this distinction.

The Top Trail takes in the main highlights of the area in a single loop: gravel lakes, moorland, hollow roads, viewpoints, and the highest point in the park. It’s a good option if you’re visiting for the first time and want a structured introduction to everything Mechelse Heide has to offer. Route information and GPX files are available via Komoot through the national park website.

Then you step out from the woods into heathland, and even if you were blindfolded you’d notice the difference immediately. Gone are the woodland birds, and in their place are the songs and calls of the birds of the open country: skylarks, linnets, whitethroats and stonechats.

At this time of the year though (November) it’s great to experience the colours of autumn, in the leaves from the trees (now mostly on the ground after the weekend storm) and on the fronds of bracken on the heathland. And as throughout the park, there are plenty of benches and picnic spots.

Where to stay near the Mechelse Heide

• Porta Cité: “Very nice hotel in a very good location. Very spacious rooms, clean and the staff is helpful. Breakfast is also very good”
• B&B Asmara: “The place is really fantastic: comfortable, spacious, cosy, beautifully designed, super clean and not that expensive for what you get.”
• Bed & Breakfast ‘t Vèèrke: “Very friendly owners, good breakfast, nice location. Nice starting place for bicycling in the area.”
• Terhills Hotel: “Well designed hotel, stylish, comfortable. Very tasty breakfast which includes non gluten options, and plant milks for coffee.”Save

Ever wondered what you just walked past?

Three pocket guides to help you identify what you see in the Belgian countryside: from the crops in the fields to the berries, seeds & nuts in the hedgerows.

Farm Crops Field ID Guide

Know your wheat from your barley, your flax from your rapeseed, in the fields you walk through.

Get the guide (€4)

Hedgerow Berries ID Guide

From elderberries to sloe: know what’s in the hedgerow and whether it’s edible.

Get the guide (€4)

Seeds & Nuts ID Field Guide

Identify the seeds and nuts you find along the path or underfoot in the woods.

Get the guide (€4)

Denzil Walton

I created Discovering Belgium in 2011 to share the country’s hidden stories, fascinating places, and remarkable people. Through articles, photography, and audio walks, I share discoveries that reveal Belgium beyond the obvious. Hope you enjoy this site.