Waterfall Hike in the High Fens in Belgium

Waterfalls in Belgium? Yes! Bayehon and Reinhardstein are the most beautiful waterfalls in Belgium. During this hike you will explore both of them!

Description of the waterfall hike

Distance: The total distance for this hike is 19 kilometers (loop hike)
Elevation gain: The total incline was 500 meters
Moving time: According to Strava my moving time was 3 hours and 55 minutes.
Difficulty: I would rate this as an intermediate hike. The path can be quite slippery so hiking shoes with decent grip are a must. Elevation gain is pretty spread out and except around the Reinhardstein Castle most trails are not that steep.
Address start: Moulin du Bayehon – Route du Bayehon 64, 4960 Malmedy – Belgium
Price: Free

This hike passes through the town of Xhoffraix, here you can buy food or water. Usually I just bring my Grayl Geopress Bottle that filters water from any stream you find on your way. Free water always at your disposal!

There’s plenty of parking in the neighborhood but as the Bayehon waterfall is quite popular to local tourists it can get quite crowded on sunny days. I’m sure you will find a spot somewhere not too far away.

Use the pinned location below so you can navigate straight to where the hike starts. 

How to get to moulin du bayehon?

To get to the starting point of this hike it is absolutely recommended to use your own transportation. From Brussels to Moulin du Bayehon it’s about 1 hour and 40 minutes driving.

A quick Google search teaches me that it’s 3 hours and 35 minutes with the train to get there. You would have to take a train to Verviers and then 2 more buses.

Hiking to the Bayehon and Reinhardstein waterfalls could be a perfect afternoon activity when you’re staying in the Malmedy region.

How to hike to the beautiful waterfalls in belgium?

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).

Download the GPX file right here: waterfall-hike-bayehon-and-reinhardstein.gpx

HOW IS HIKING IN THE BAYEHON VALLEY IN MALMEDY?

This hike starts at the bar/restaurant Moulin du Bayehon next to the Bayehon river. You could easily grab a lunch here before starting this beautiful waterfall hike. Alternatively you could have dinner there upon your return. Or both? No judgement from me.

Immediately when starting this hike you will hike in the valley of the Bayehon river. From the start the ground consists of slippery rocks (even during summer) so hiking shoes with good grip are a must! Even better if they are waterproof. Goretex to the rescue! The ones I use are actually trail running shoes but very suitable for hiking as well: Mizuno Men’s Wave Daichi 6 GTX Trail Running Shoe

The Bayehon river is not the most impressive river but the valley it flows through consists of some of the most dramatic landscapes in Belgium! The little Switzerland of Belgium maybe? Something like that but smaller.

Just about 2 kilomers into this hike you reach the first highlight of this hike. Hikelight? The Bayehon waterfall, which I’ll discuss below. Because of the popularity of this waterfall the first 2 kilometers and the kilometer around the Reinhardstein waterfall are quite crowded. Besides these two spots it was rather quiet.

When leaving the Bayehon waterfall behind you will soon reach the swampy fields of Vieux Chêne. The reason I was praising Goretex shoes was mostly because of this area. I saw some other people with normal sneakers who had their feet completely soaked here. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

A bit later you arrive in the valley of the Pouhon river. A few weeks prior to this hike I did another one. If you’re in the market for a hike similar to this one (minus the waterfalls) and a bit longer: Hike The Valley of Bayehon in Malmedy (25 km)

The only place where you could get some food or water is in the town of Xhoffraix. We pass here around 7 kilometers into the hike. Alternatively you can use your own waterfilter like I do. I use the trustworthy Grayl Geopress Bottle. It filters 99,99% of all bacterias out so it’s very safe!

About halfway at the 10 kilometer mark we reach Carrières de la Warche. This is a quarry where they mine sandstone typical to the Warche valley.

The Carrières de la Warche mark the start of a new beautiful walk through the Warche Valley which is probably the easiest path to navigate. Both technically and physically there’s nothing really challenging here. However it is a piece of heaven when it comes to beautiful views! For about 4 kilometers you will walk next to the Warche river. It’s almost flat so the perfect moment to prepare yourself for a steep climb towards the viewpoint Le nez de Napoleon and shortly after that the Reinhardstein Castle and its waterfall (further discussed below).

During this hike I didn’t get too close to the Reinhardstein castle. If you would like to get a good view over the castle just follow the signs from the waterfall towards the castle and then return on your steps to follow this route again.

After checking out the Reinhardstein waterfall you will follow the Warche river and then the Bayehon river back to the starting point. Especially the last 3 kilometers of this hike are stunning because of the huge hills (Belgian huge) you are surrounded by while walking through the Valley of the Bayehon river.

Bayehon Waterfall

When I saw the Bayehon waterfall I was suprised of its height (9 meters). On photos the waterfall always looks smaller. You really have to see it to believe it. Because there was lots of rain the days prior to my visit the flow rate of the waterfall was pretty high.

The easiest way to get to the Bayehon waterfall is from Moulin du Bayehon and then follow the trail upstream next to the Bayehon river for about 2 kilometers.

This is the same route as the hike above. Once you reach the waterfall you can have a look from above or descent down. Be very cautious because there are no stairs. It’s all natural which means lots of rocks and roots where you stumble on.

Reinhardstein Waterfall

It wasn’t the first time I saw the Reinhardstein waterfall so my expectations were rather low. I knew this was the highest waterfall in Belgium (60 meters) but because it cascades in 3 stages and usually there isn’t really much water it sounds more impressive than it actually is. Because of the heavy rainfall there was a lot more water than I saw on my previous visits.

The easiest way to get to the Reinhardstein waterfall is to park your car as close as possible to the Reinhardstein Castle and follow the wooden signs that say ‘cascade’. It shouldn’t be more than 30 minutes to get there.

If you’re doubting if you should descend the steep and slightly dangerous hill towards the Warche river to get closer to the waterfall I can definitely tell you that it is worth it! Look at the photo that was shot from the bottom and the one from up on the hiking trail and decide for yourself.

For who is this hike to the waterfalls in belgium?

This hike passes along the most beautiful waterfalls in Belgium. It covers both the Bayehon and the Reinhardstein Waterfall / Castle and it’s one of my favorites so far in the High Fens in Belgium.

You could try to get as close as possible to the waterfalls with the car and then hike for about 30 minutes but for me that takes away the magic.

If you followed this route let me know! I’m always glad to hear from you!

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