Belgium may only count one national park, it definitely is worth a visit. There are six gateways to the Hoge Kempen National Park, that is located in the eastern province Limburg. One of them is Terhills (formerly called Connecterra), which is known as the hiking paradise of the nature reserve. This area in Maasmechelen used to be the site of a coal mine. Nowadays nature has taken over again, making Terhills the perfect park for a hiking day trip.
Today Terhills boasts a natural landscape of hills and lakes, but the mining activity that once dominated the area is still visible. When you enter the park, two mine shaft towers welcome you. The one closest to the entrance is accessible to the public. The panorama from the top of the tower isn’t the greatest Terhills has to offer, as there’s mostly industrial activity visible on one side. Nevertheless, I would still recommend to climb the slightly scary stairs of the tower. It will make the views that follow later only more spectacular. At the bottom of the tower are some pictures depicting the mining activity that took place here.
Hiking in Terhills
Unless you want to fuel up on snacks and drinks or if you can’t get your kids out of the playground, it’s time to start hiking in Terhills. When we visited, the national park offered six different hikes of varying lengths and difficulty. In the summer of 2020, the yellow and red hike were interrupted, because of the construction of a new resort in Terhills. The purple hike was recommended as an alternative. We ended up doing this one, as it seemed to offer the most complete view of the park.
You can find an overview of all the hikes on the Terhills website.
The purple hike
The purple hike is the longest one in Terhills. It’s 13 kilometres long and according to the map it takes 3,5 hours to complete. But in my experience, the hike takes longer, unless you don’t stop at any of the viewpoints or to catch your breath.
If you do the purple hike, you’ll first walk through parts of heathland, followed by a less beautiful paved path before you start going up. At the end of the climb, you’ll be on top of the first mining-stone hill. Terhills has four of them and three are accessible to visitors.
This mining-stone hill is quite long. When you’re at the top, you’ll first have a great view over Maasmechelen, the surrounding woods and a small part of the lakes. If you visit in July, you’re lucky, because part of the hill will be covered in yellow moonbeam flowers (coreopsis verticillata). The flower isn’t indigenous to the area, but after the mine closed, several types of plants and bushes were planted here.
When you continue walking on the hill, you’ll find what the park itself calls ‘the most beautiful panorama of Flanders’. From here, you’ll have an idyllic view on the lakes and woods that define the landscape of Terhills. The only pity here is the sight on the new Terhills Resort, located on the banks of the lake. It makes part of the panorama less unspoilt and it is a shame they constructed a resort in the middle of the national park … Just avoid looking to the right too much!
Once you enjoyed this great vista, the path will lead you downwards. At one point, you’ll see the lake pop up right ahead of you. In my opinion, the view on the lake from close by is just as worthwhile as from up high. But be warned: while the water may seem really refreshing on a hot summer day, swimming isn’t allowed. Luckily, soaking in the views is permitted.
Afterwards the path takes you all around the lake for quite some time. The views on the lake are lovely, but rather scarce, because of the trees encircling the lake.
Once you’ve crossed a sandy part of the path, it’s time to prepare your calves for some heavy work. The climb up the second mining-stone hill is waiting and let me tell you: it’s a steep one. This was definitely the most challenging part of our hiking day trip in Terhills. Luckily, the views at the top were once again rewarding.
After descending for a little bit and then ascending once more, you’ll reach the top of the third mining-stone hill. The summits of the two last hills are very close to one another (which isn’t surprising when you know these hills are called twins). The views from the third hill are, however, less great, because of the dense vegetation. After going down this bushy hill, you have to return mostly via the same way along the water you took earlier.
Visiting Terhills
Terhills for sure is a beautiful corner in Flanders. The views from the first mining-stone hill are definitely the most wonderful and not to miss when you visit the National Park. If you don’t really feel like hiking, you can just go up the hill, by following the signs indicating ‘panorama’.
In addition, take your time to sit along the banks of the lake, for some calming views. Also make sure to keep your eyes open for butterflies while wandering through the park. There are plenty of colourful ones fluttering through Terhills.
The entrance to the park is €3 for adults. At the time I visited the hiking maps were free, but this could be because the hikes were adjusted due to the construction works. Anyhow, you won’t really need a map as all the hikes are clearly indicated with coloured symbols.
There’s a big parking lot across the road from the visitors’ centre. Make sure to take a look at the stately Terhills Hotel and its garden when you make your way to the entrance.
Surrounding area
Once you’re done hiking in Terhills, you’ll probably be hungry. Just next to the park is Maasmechelen Village, an outlet shopping area, with some great food options. We chose Italian restaurant Giuliano to fuel up, which offers a wide variety of pizzas and pasta dishes.
This part of Limburg is also suited for overnight stays and you’ll find a variety of lodging options in the region. If you want to, you can visit other parts of the National Park Hoge Kempen. All six gateways have a different identity and other activities on offer.
Looking for more natural beauty in Belgium? A day trip to the Zwin Nature Park might be your cup of tea.