The Zwin Nature Park is one of the most beautiful spots along the Belgian coastline. The park, also dubbed the international airport for birds, offers great scenery, lovely walks, and a whole lot of information for the curious by nature.
You could easily spend a day discovering the Zwin Nature Park and its surroundings. If you don’t have much time, you could only visit the park itself for a couple of hours, like we did. We went at the end of the day and were treated to a wonderful sunset at the Zwin Plain. Our time here was magnificent, but we didn’t have the opportunity to experience everything the area has to offer. On the one hand because we didn’t have enough time and on the other hand because some parts of the Zwin Nature Park were closed due to corona measurements.
The Zwin area
Around the actual Zwin Nature Park you can find dunes, polders, plains and grazing areas for animals. The surroundings of the park count several paths for hiking and cycling. We didn’t have time to explore this part of the Zwin domain, but we drove partially through it and it looked gorgeous in the autumn light.
What’s more is that the surroundings of the Zwin Nature Park are free to visit. If you don’t want to pay entrance for the park, but want to hike or bike in lovely nature near the Belgian coast, the Zwin area is exactly what you’re looking for.
The Zwin Nature Park
The Zwin Nature Park consists of a visitor centre with an exposition on migratory birds, the park with the experience trail and the Zwin Plain. An entrance ticket costs €10 for adults and €5 for minors. Due to coronavirus we had to book our tickets in advance through the website and we had to pick a time slot to enter.
You can visit Zwin Nature Park at any time of year, according to the website. Depending on when you go to the park, you will be able to spot different species of birds. The natural scenery, too varies according to the season. I can assure you that the Zwin Plain looked gorgeous on the sunny autumn day when we visited. Especially when the sun started setting, the plain looked magical.
The park and the experience trail
When you leave the visitor centre, you enter the park and its experience trail. Along the circular pathway, you’ll find several huts in which you can truly indulge yourself in the local nature. Every cabin has a different focus. There are for instance a feeding hut, where you can watch the birds feast from a very short distance, a listening hut and dune, where you can enjoy birdsong and other natural sounds, and a laboratory hut, for closer examination of freshwater creatures. Some cabins, like the laboratory hut, are occupied by a guide who can give you more information.
The experience trail is about one kilometre long, but it can be extended in two places. The trail in the park is easy to navigate and a lovely short walk, even if you do not visit the cabins.
Zwin Plain
The most beautiful part of Zwin Nature Park is in my opinion the Zwin Plain. Before you enter the actual plain, you pass some lookout points along the experience trail. From there you have a great view of the partially flooded Zwin plain.
You can take two short walks of two kilometres on the Zwin Plain itself. If you have the time and the weather allows it, I believe doing both is certainly worthwhile. We didn’t have time to finish both, because we were there quite late in the afternoon. We opted for one of the walks, but had to turn around at one point, because part of the path was flooded. We added a small part of the other walk before heading back.
On the Zwin Plain you can spot lots of birds and natural scenery. Part of the blue walk passes through a grazing area with galloways. And if you want to, you can even do a barefoot walk on the plain or take a guided tour, so you can visit a part of the park where you aren’t allowed to go without a guide.
Zwin Nature Park has a lot to offer for a day trip filled with nature along the Belgian coast. You can find more on the website of the park.
Looking for an active cultural day trip at the Belgian Coast? Check out Ostend’s street art walk with a virtual guide.
Looking for more natural beauty in Belgium? A day trip to Terhills, part of a national park might be your cup of tea.
Pingback: Discovering Ostend's street art with a virtual tour guide - Cities and Seasides
Comments are closed.