New hiking node network De Wijers officially opened

The new network of 450 km connects the most beautiful spots in the 7 municipalities of the land of 1001 ponds, allowing hikers to plan their own routes. At the same time, the existing hiking loops – marked with colored icons – are retained. These suggested loops guide visitors to the most beautiful spots in the region.

450 km of hiking pleasure

The creation of the new hiking network involved meticulous work: discussions with all partners, nature associations, and land managers, inventorying all routes and infrastructure, and mapping out the most beautiful routes. Regionaal Landschap Lage Kempen, which is rolling out the network, engaged the social economy company De Winning for the installation of the poles. 3,320 poles were placed, with a total of 297 nodes. This amounts to 451 km of hiking routes, of which 70% are along low-traffic paths and no less than 6.8 km on wooden boardwalks. De Wijers is indeed an extensive pond area, where the hiker regularly steps over the water… Water is certainly the leitmotif of the hiking network: hikers walk over dikes between ponds, admire the patchwork of ponds from lookout towers, spot waterfowl from bird hides, and step on and even through the water.

Tourist hotspots and focus on nature

De Wijers is spread over 7 municipalities in the heart of Limburg, close to large cities like Hasselt and Genk. Those hiking in De Wijers are thus never far from civilization, although they often have that feeling. This also means there is sufficient hospitality nearby, but other attractions are also connected by the De Wijers hiking network. Think of the Abbey of Herkenrode, Domain Bovy, Bokrijk, Domain Kiewit, Kelchterhoef, the Hermitage of Bolderberg, the lookout tower in Zonhoven, Demerstrand, Molenheide, Hengelhoef, and the mining sites C-mine, ZLDR Luchtfabriek and Greenville. However, the focus of the hiking network is always on connecting the most beautiful nature. For example, the network passes along nature reserves such as De Maten, De Teut, Ten Haagdoorn, the Mangelbeekvallei, Dauteweyers Platwijers, Wijvenheide, Thiewinkel, or the Stiemerbeekvallei.

Suggested loops

In addition to the hiking network, the 47 colored loops are retained as suggested loops. If a hiker does not want to plan a route themselves and just wants to follow the most beautiful route, this is still possible via these well-known colored icons. The new hiking network and the colored loops will appear together on one clear hiking map: the De Wijers regional map, available at the tourist information offices in De Wijers or via our webshop.