How to hike in the Saint-Hubert forest in Belgium (22 km) ?

reserve-rouge-ponce

This hike in the Saint-Hubert forest allows you to really enjoy silence and take in beautiful green atmosphere. Most of the way you will have a stream of water running next to the trail with once in a while a glimpse of a waterfall. This hike in a beautiful region of the Belgian Ardennes is rather long but because of the easy to navigate paths it never really feels hard.

Okay, I admit during the last 1,5 kilometer you will have to gain some altitude but it isn’t very steep.

Hike description

Distance: The total distance for this hike is 22 kilometers (loop hike)
Elevation gain: The total incline was 511 meters
Moving time: According to Strava my moving time was 4 hours and 9 minutes.
Difficulty: I would rate this as a rather easy hike. There is really only one steep and another not so steep climb and afterwards there’s always a flat walk to recuperate and catch some breath. Even when it snows it is completely alright to do this hike and bringing a dog shouldn’t be a problem either.
Address parking: Rue du Panorama, 6870 Saint-Hubert (It looks like you’re entering a military domain because of an old open iron gate that you pass, however do not worry, the – pretty wobbly- road continues for about another 800 meters until you will reach a crossroad where there’s a small parking).

I pinned the location on a Google map below so you can navigate straight to the trailhead.

Carrefour du Sapin-Fi (Parking) in Saint-Hubert
Faigne du Rouge Poncé

How to get to the Saint-Hubert forest?

The starting point is at the Carrefour du Sapin-Fi (Parking) in Saint-Hubert which is located at about 20 minutes driving from La Roche-en-Ardenne which is a very popular tourism destination in the Belgian Ardennes.

As to my knowledge there is no public transport available to get there. A car will be necessary. Parking is limited to about 20 cars, although I think it’s possible to park next to the street as well. Depending on the season and the weather it might become a bit crowded. I went in March on a rather gloomy winter day and didn’t have any difficulties finding a parking spot.

The trail starts right next to the parking. To start the hike in the Saint-Hubert forest you basically return about 200 meters from where you came from with the car (towards the N89 road) and then go left into the forest (see photo). Of course if you prefer, as this is a loop hike you could do it in the opposite direction as well. I started going right.

This could be a perfect active day trip from Brussels but make sure to leave early enough because it’s 1 hour and 40 minutes driving from the capital of Belgium.

What is the easiest way to do this hike?

Generally speaking for all hikes, the easiest way is to download a .gpx file that you can view on a gps device, a smartphone or smartwatch. It will tell you step-by-step how to walk. It also includes an elevation profile of the hike which can help you to decide if this hike is for you or not. All the hikes on this blog are being tracked on Strava (sports tracking smartphone application) and Wikiloc (community based hiking smartphone application).

This hike, which was pretty easy to navigate, can be done by following the blue rectangle signs.

If you prefer to follow a gpx you can see this hike on my Wikiloc page or alternatively check out my Strava entry.

Powered by Wikiloc

Download the GPX file right here: saint-hubert-forest-hike.gpx

Another hike that I actually enjoyed more is this one: How to hike around the Nisramont lake in the Ardennes (16 km) ?

How was hiking in the Saint-Hubert forest?

As mentioned above I started hiking right for about 200 meters on the road and then went left to reach a rocky gravel road through a pine forest. The road was mostly open, in not so dense forest, and even wide enough for a car to pass. I wouldn’t really call this a trail as it was more like a road. Actually during most parts of this hike the path/road was gravel or even asphalted which makes it possible for a car (probably a 4×4) to drive on. 

Hiking in Saint-Hubert forest
Le Ruisseau de la Donneuse

After about 1,5 kilometers you will start walking next to a small stream of water ‘Le Ruisseau de la Donneuse’ which translates to ‘Donneuse stream’. I even spotted the first waterfall of the hike there. Do keep in mind that I did this hike in March, so in summertime the waterfall might not even be visible. Until now you will be descending all the time.

At about 4,5 kilometer you will see on your right side a wooden camouflaged wall with 2 benches. My guess is that it is to spot wildlife. During this hike in the Saint-Hubert forest there will be a few more observation points like this one. Maybe if you go early enough you might be able to spot some of that rare belgian wildlife.

Wildlife spotting place
Wildlife spotting place

Around the 6 kilometer mark you will reach ‘Faigne du Rouge Poncé’ which because of a very particular humid microclimate it is like a scandinavian forest. It Also is one of the oldest natural reserves in Wallonia. Since 1969! For me it looked like a perfect place to record a creepy horror scene, add a bit of fog in the early morning and you definitely get a very mystical atmosphere. You can walk a loop of about 1,2 kilometer on a wooden path to see this swampy forest. I would highly recommend not to leave the path because it’s very swampy. And of course you could also skip it and keep hiking but in my opinion it was worth the 1,2 kilometer detour.

Faigne du Rouge Poncé
Faigne du Rouge Poncé

A few kilometers further you will reach another entrance to the forest where there’s also a parking. The entrance to Parc Agrumes de Wallonie is also here. I guess this parking is mostly used by animal observers that visit La Billaude observation center of Saint-Hubert that is just a few minutes walking distance further.

Make sure to take some time to check out the Billaude observation center. You can take a seat and observe a beautiful lake and maybe even some wildlife that goes there to drink. My best guess would be that you have the best chance to spot some animals in the early morning at sunrise or in the evening at sunset. I’m not an expert though.

La Billaude observation center of Saint-Hubert

Another descent starts now next to the lake’s outflowing stream. Do keep in mind that we are about halfway through the hike and you mostly descended but not for long anymore because soon you will have to climb for about 1,5 km next to a small river called ‘le Ri Romarin’. This was probably the hardest part of the hike in the Saint-Hubert forest but also my favorite as the terrain was a bit more rough and not accessible by car.

Once I reached the top I rewarded myself with a good lunch on a bench there.

Hiking in Saint-Hubert forest
Le Ruisseau river

Right after this I was a bit confused for a minute but soon enough I saw the blue rectangles and found the right trail again. Now I crossed the bridge over ‘Le Ruisseau’ river and here is where the ascend towards the parking started. 

For about 2 kilometers you will slowly but surely make your way back to the parking while gaining about 200 meter in altitude.

Congratulations, you reached the parking!

Carrefour du Sapin-Fi (Parking) in Saint-Hubert

1 thought on “How to hike in the Saint-Hubert forest in Belgium (22 km) ?”

  1. Pingback: Hiking in the Ardennes, Belgium - The ultimate Guide - Tim Tense

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