The best running trails around Mill En Sint Hubert

The Molenheide fen lies within the Molenheide nature reserve, a short distance from the village of Wilbertoord, about a ten-minute walk from the town. The fen formed in a wet depression and is fed primarily by rainwater and groundwater, creating a shallow, nutrient-poor body of water typical of original heathlands. Moisture-loving plants grow around the fen, and along the edges, roughs and peaty vegetation develop, important for dragonflies and amphibians. The open water and surrounding transition zones provide an attractive habitat for breeding and foraging birds. The fen is part of a larger heathland and woodland mosaic maintained through management measures such as grazing with Highland cattle and targeted management; this ensures the area remains diverse and valuable for species that depend on an open, light-rich, and slightly moist landscape.

Molenheide is a Dutch nature reserve located between Mill, Wanroij and Wilbertoord and owned by the Association of Natural Monuments.

The Railway Monument in Mill (municipality of Mill and Sint-Hubert) consists of approximately 60 meters of rails and a number of asparagus barriers. The dead-end railway line ends abruptly and the last meters of steel are twisted. For this purpose, pieces of H-profile have been dug in such a way that they protrude almost two meters above the track surface: the so-called asparagus. A rest bench and an information board have been placed near the rails. Source and more information: www.4en5mei.nl

View of the Molenheide

Mountain sprint training, very good terrain and a pleasant long incline

Beautiful typical Peelbos. You walk through alternating parts with conifers, deciduous trees and heath. Most parts are wide paths and lanes but also parts with narrow winding forest paths. On the way you walk along a beautiful fen.

The Molenheide nature reserve is located in a series of forest and heathland areas between Oss and Venray, in the northeast of Brabant. The name refers to the vast heathland of yesteryear. This heathland disappeared when coniferous forests were planted for timber production between 1920 and 1939. Natuurmonumenten is restoring the heathland here. The land where a large poultry farm stood until the early 2000s has been dug up, so that heather bushes can germinate again. Animals in the forest and on the heathland The forest is home to all kinds of insects, small mammals and birds of prey such as the hawk, the sparrowhawk, the buzzard and the hobby. You can also encounter deer in the area and you have a very small chance of seeing a fox or badger. The two ponds in the Brabant nature reserve are rich in dragonflies and other aquatic life. A small building from the former poultry farm has been left standing and now serves as a bat winter shelter. 10 long-eared bats have been observed around this building. The blue-winged grasshopper is a true pioneer on the heathland in the area. This grasshopper likes bare and low-growing soils and particularly benefits from hot summer days in July and August. We let Scottish highlanders graze on the heathland to prevent grasses from overgrowing the young heather bushes. Badger tracks have even been found in the nature reserve. Rare plants thanks to nature management Rare plant species such as ground star, small sundew and marsh clubmoss are growing again in some damp, sandy areas. Natuurmonumenten is changing the straight roads and paths that were once constructed for timber production and timber transport into adventurous winding paths.

Unpaved gravel / forest avenue through the Molenheide forest. Official bicycle connection in a forest where you are not allowed to cycle. Can be done on 28-30mm tires, but of course better to ride on a gravel bike :-)