Flanders Hikes from an Antwerp Base
Antwerp itself is flat city walking, but base yourself here and real trail country is a short train ride away, from a purple heath on the Dutch border to Belgium’s only national park. Here are the best hikes within reach, roughly nearest to farthest.
Kalmthoutse Heide
The closest real wilderness, north of the city toward the Dutch border and reachable by train. The Kalmthoutse Heide is a large cross-border heath of purple heather, pine woods, and sand drifts, with marked walking loops of varying length. Late summer, when the heather flowers, is the time to go.
Polders van Kruibeke
Just across the Scheldt southwest of Antwerp, the Polders van Kruibeke is a large controlled-flood nature area with flat, quiet trails through wet grassland and woodland, good for a half-day of easy walking and birdlife close to the city.
The coast dunes and Kusttram
Take the train to the coast (Ostend is about 1h35) and the dune belt behind the beach gives genuine coastal walking. The Kusttram runs the length of the coastline, so you can walk a stretch of dunes and marram grass, then tram back rather than retracing your steps.
Hoge Kempen National Park
The big one, and the farthest: Hoge Kempen, in Limburg, is Belgium’s first national park, a wide landscape of pine forest, heath, and old open-cast mining terrain with long, well-marked trails and viewpoints. It is a full day from Antwerp and worth it for travellers who want a proper hiking day rather than a park stroll.
The Sonian Forest
South of Brussels (which is 45 minutes from Antwerp), the Sonian Forest is a vast ancient beech woodland, part of it UNESCO-listed, with trails running for miles under high canopy. Reachable by combining the Brussels train with local transport.
Practical notes
All of these run on same-day SNCB tickets from Antwerpen-Centraal; only Hoge Kempen and the Sonian Forest really need a full day. Bring proper footwear and a rain layer, check the return timetable before you set out (some rural services run roughly hourly), and carry water, since facilities thin out fast on the heath and in the forest.
Read more: our Antwerp, Belgium day trips guide covers the train logistics, and the reserves to visit are in our nature trips guide .