The best cycling routes around Park Masy

Thor Central is a powerfully impressive industrial building that was protected as heritage after the closure of the mines. The search for a meaningful function for the Waterschei mining site and the option to develop the site into a technology park also included the task of giving this beautiful building a new future. Thor Central has evolved into the beating heart of the Thor Park site. Besides the Food Plaza with restaurant Partaasch and brasserie Lampada, the building mainly has a business function, with meeting rooms, an auditorium, a central reception, and even a daycare center. Events and exhibitions are regularly held there.

Genk has three former mining sites: in Winterslag, in Zwartberg and in Waterschei. The latter can call itself the very first coal mine in Limburg. Although André Dumont first discovered coal in As in 1901, exploitation for our province started in Waterschei. The main building of the mining site is still a real eye-catcher. Today, technology, energy and innovation gather here under the name Thor Central, the ideal hot spot for a congress, meeting or team event. Moreover, from Thor Park you can explore the wonderful nature of the Hoge Kempen National Park.

Cycling across the heath takes you right through the Hoge Kempen National Park. In this park, vast pine forests alternate with endless heathlands. Thanks to the new connection between cycle nodes 550 and 551, nature is presented to you on a platter. You cycle across the Mechelse Heide, with 700 hectares, one of the largest heathland areas in Flanders. The highlight of this route is undoubtedly the almost 300-meter-long wooden bridge, a recognizable element in the landscape. From the bridge, you have a panoramic view of the natural surroundings.

Station As is a former railway station on lines 21A (Hasselt-As) and 21B (As-Eisden). The station building now houses a restaurant and the Kolenspoorvereniging (Coal Railway Association) uses it for the operation of the tourist railway line Waterschei-As-Eisden. Station As is also one of the gateways to Hoge Kempen National Park and has an observation tower.

The cycle path through the water leads cyclists over a 212-meter-long and three-meter-wide concrete path, with water at eye level on both sides. Swans and other waterfowl swim along the banks, curiously watching the cyclists. Since its opening, interest in this unique cycle path has been enormous. On average, 800 visitors per day explore this unforgettable part of the Limburg cycle network, with peaks on Saturdays and Sundays, and on some days even up to 5,000 cyclists.

Super Great

Lord Fangorn the guardian of the Entwood…

Deep in the woods around Thor Park and the Klaverberg, the old train tracks still lie, silent witnesses to Genk's industrial past. These tracks were once the lifeblood of the Waterschei coal mine: wagons full of coal, and sometimes even workers, would rush along the rails, connecting them to the rest of Limburg and Belgium. Today, the tracks are abandoned and partly overgrown with moss, ferns, and young trees. The contrast between the rusty steel and the green vegetation makes it a particularly photogenic landscape. During walks, you can follow the tracks along winding forest paths, sometimes almost completely hidden by fallen leaves and undergrowth. The old train tracks are more than just decorative: they tell a story of labor, industry, and the transformation of the landscape. Hikers experience both the tranquility of the forest and the historical power of the industrial past, making every step along the tracks feel like a connection between then and now.