GR Trails

Long-Distance Trails or GR Trails are hiking routes that span long distances. You can follow them using white-red markings, a GPX track, or a topographical guide. They are never the fastest routes from A to B, but always the most attractive. And as much as possible, unpaved. The Flemish network has nearly 5,000 GR kilometers and seamlessly connects to routes in Wallonia and our neighboring countries.

Hiking

Free

GR Trails through Lommel

GR 561 Kempen – Maas Trail

The GR 561 starts at the Schaffense Poort in Diest and ends on the old Sint-Servaas Bridge in Maastricht. At the start of the route, you walk through the Hageland, flirt with three provincial borders, and might spot otters in the Nete Valley. Then, you make your way through the desert sands of the Lommel Sahara and discover the fairy-tale winding Dommel at the Dutch border. As you turn south near Valkenswaard, the landscape becomes rougher: Leenderbossen, Stamprooierbroek, and traces of gnawing beavers. Passing through Opitter and Opoeteren, you reach the Mechelse Heide, the highest point in the Hoge Kempen National Park. And before you know it, you arrive in the Maas Valley, ready to explore Maastricht.

Route

GR Marking: 222 km

GR 564 Kempen-Condroz

In the first part of your journey, you discover the sandy hills of the Limburg Kempen. The route heads south through forests and nature reserves, past fens and ponds. First, through the natural areas of Terhaagdoornheide and De Teut, then further along the estates of Kelchterhoef, Hengelhoef, and Bokrijk. In Diepenbeek, you cross the Albert Canal and move from the damp Demer Valley, through Kortessem, towards Limburg’s Haspengouw. A rich region with larger farms, square farmsteads, grain and beet fields, and orchards that shine with blossoms in the spring. Beyond Landen, you cross the language border and enter the region that was the heartland of the Merovingian mayors of the palace centuries ago. During the last part of your journey, you walk from Haspengouw through Hannut and Avennes, reaching the Mehaigne. Now, you begin to climb and descend: through damp valleys with forests and swamps, fields on the heights, and here and there an imposing castle. Once you arrive in Huy, your journey ends on the banks of the Maas and at the edge of the Condroz, where the route connects to GR 576.