Whether you prefer to walk, cycle, jog, gallop, tree-hug or whatever, there’s plenty of opportunities in the Forêt de Soignes.
Recently I introduced you to the Siberian Chipmunks of the Forêt de Soignes. This week it’s time to learn more about the forest, and the best starting points to enjoy it.
WHERE IS THE FORET DE SOIGNES?
South-east of Brussels, as shown on the map below. In the top-left corner is Brussels, so you can see how close the forest is to the city. It stretches from Watermal-Boitsfort right down to La Hulpe, and across to Tervuren in the top-right.

WHAT IS THE FORET DE SOIGNES?
It’s a 43-square-kilometre forest that spreads over nine communes, straddles Belgium’s language barrier, and consists of 94% deciduous and 6% coniferous woodland. Statistics, however, tell us virtually nothing; the Forêt de Soignes has to be experienced. But more of that later.
The Forêt de Soignes used to be much larger. Until the Roman times it was part of a huge forest that stretched from the Rhine and Moselle rivers in Germany to the North Sea. As the population of this area grew, the forest shrunk, when villages became towns and woodland was converted into fields. Some degree of protection was afforded in the 12th century by the Duke of Brabant, who was anxious to protect the forest as a hunting ground. Despite this, by the start of the 16th century the forest had been reduced to 100 square kilometres.

The 1730s saw the creation of tree nurseries, along with jobs for 19 foresters and four tree inspectors. Unfortunately, when France annexed the Belgian regions in 1795, tree felling activities increased, to bolster the French war chest. Nevertheless, reforestation continued. Reversing the trend towards planting beech trees, 100 hectares of young oaks were planted in Groenendaal. Many of these can still be seen today. Shortly after Belgium gained independence in 1830, the Belgian State bought the forest, and thanks to a Royal Decree, the Forêt de Soignes has enjoyed protected landscape status since 1959.
THE FLORA AND FAUNA OF THE FORET DE SOIGNES
The forest is home to 39 species of animal. Wild boar have been recently sighted, although they may have been released or escaped from captivity. (Don’t worry; wild boar generally avoid people.) If you sit by the one of the lakes in Groenendaal such as the Gansepootvijver on a warm summer evening you will see some of the fourteen species of bat which live in the forest. Common birds include treecreeper, nuthatch, jay, buzzard, green woodpecker and great spotted woodpecker, while rarer ones include sparrowhawk, black woodpecker and woodcock.
In clearings and around the lakes and streams there is an abundance of wild flowers. Rarities include two types of orchid, hartstongue fern, spiked rampion, wood melick and wood sanicle. Over 450 fungi live in the forest, including the rare peppery milkcap. Interesting butterflies include various species of fritillary. Less glamorous insects include the blue stag beetle and tanner beetle.
WHERE TO START FROM?
It depends on which areas of the forest are closest to you. I have divided the map above into three areas: north-east, north-west, and south.

THE NORTH-EAST REGION
You can start from the Rood Klooster, Tervuren Park, or the Bosuil in Jezus-Eik.

THE NORTH-WEST REGION
Here you can start from Bois de la Cambre in Brussels or Parc Tournay in Watermael-Boitsfort.

THE SOUTH REGION
There are four good starting points: Middenhut in Sint-Genesius-Rode, the Forest Museum in Groenendaal, the Koningsvijvers in Hoeilaart and Domain Solvay in La Hulpe.

Wherever you start from, there are limitless opportunities for everyone: walkers, cyclists, mountain bikers, joggers, riders, anglers, dog-walkers …. Or you can simply let your children play in one of the designated play areas. If you want some ideas for specific walks in the forest, here’s a collection on RouteYou.
Have fun in the Forêt de Soignes. And let me know how you get on! Any quick questions, just use this:
I see you say say ‘horse-riding’…! Would you, or any of your readers, know of possibilities to rent horses for riding in this beautiful place?!! I have a sister and her two daughters, who love to ride horses, they have their own horses at home in Norway – coming here to visit; I would love to make this place part of their ‘Belgian experience’! 🙂
I’ll do some research Tone, and maybe one of my readers will contact you.
There is a place not far from Groenendaal station that rents horses, but I don’t know the details. They serve lunch too
OK thanks for your comment. I’ll look into that.
I’ve never been to Belgium but it looks great. My daughter spent a year as aux pair In Brussel but I never visited. Sorry I didn’t
Maybe one day Gunnar. I hope your daughter enjoyed her time in Brussels.
39 species of animals–wow, that’s quite impressive for a forest so close to the city. I’m sure exploring its depths makes for a wonderful day.
14 of those are bats, and there’s probably a dozen or so small rodents, but I need to look at the list to see what the others are
Thanks Denzil! I’d love to hear more about the Fôret de Soignes. Is this going to be a series?
Not a series Daniel, but I might write one on the Arboretum in Tervuren. In the meantime, I have already covered the part around La Hulpe here: https://www.discoveringbelgium.com/2017/01/01/domain-solvay-and-chateau-de-la-hulpe/
We would definitely enjoy wandering here. It looks beautiful and shady.
Very cool on those very occasional very hot days in summer Carol!
The Foret de Soignes is the best thing about Brussels. Having such a large, beautiful forest so close to and accessible from even fairly central areas of the city is fantastic. Cycling into it in town and coming out the other side in semi-rural areas is also magical. It’s much bigger than London’s largest forest (Epping Forest), despite London being a much, much larger city, and also more accessible, which underscores how lucky blessed Brussels is to have it.
The one great shame about the forest in my view is that the authorities drove two motorways through it. Even deep within the forest, you can usually hear the sound of traffic, and in many parts of the forest you’re very close to at least one of them, which is a great shame – one goes into nature to get away from that kind of thing. It’s also particularly annoying that are also only a handful of crossing points for each of the motorways (and under the train line that also runs through the forest), which is a big constraint on walking and cycling routes through it – if I want to cycle its length from Uccle to Tervuren for example, there is basically only one overall route I can follow (with some options for minor variations) because of this.
But even so, it really is a great, great amenity for the city.
You are right about the motorways running through it. I think they naturally developed from tracks and then lanes to roads and then motorways. I would like to see more tunnels or bridges for sure, for both people and wildlife.
Yes good point about the impact on forest wildlife, I hadn’t thought about that.
Stukje mee gefietst 😉
Wow, how interesting to find rare orchid species here. 🙂
Yes. Never seen them myself though, but I do love discovering wild orchids, 🌸💮ðŸµ
I can only enjoy the forest vicariously, through your post, considering I have no idea if I will ever make it to Belgium! Looks like a beautiful place to spend a weekend hiking!
That’s the wonder of blogging eh?
This looks like so much fun! I love hiking through the woods and it’s good for you, too!
Absolutely Lisa!
This looks like a beautiful area to explore! My husband is going to get tired of me mentioning all of these places in Belgium that we need to see! 🙂
Thatblogwherecherieanddirkvisitbelgium
LOL, I love it!
Looks absolutely gorgeous. I’d love to be on holiday! Your beautiful pics took me away for a while. 🙂
We all need to be whisked away into another world from time to time Marje!
Yes! No doubt about that! 🙂
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Het is inderdaad een prachtige plek om te wandelen .Ik ben er al een paar keer geweest maar het geluid van het vrkeer stoorde me enorm.de natuur is er wel top
Dat is zeker een van de nadelen van een grote stad in de buurt
Beautiful. Gorgeous photos. Now on my bucket list. This blog does a wonderful service to the beauty and history of Belgium.
Thanks Pat!
I visit the place often for a walk, however, I find the maps from Google not good enough. Perhaps you can give OpenStreetMap a look once. You might find many more little paths you can follow.
Hi Marc, I do not use Google maps much but will look into providing more detailed walks in this area
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Wow
What a wonderful place to visit
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Beautiful. Gorgeous photos. Now on my bucket list. This blog does a wonderful service to the beauty and history of Belgium.