Oudsberg Sand Dune

Oudsberg Sand Dune

Highlight • Natural Monument

Oudsberg Sand Dune

Hiking

5.0

(421)

Cycling

3.9

(7)

Road cycling

5.0

(1)

This Highlight is in a protected area

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Nationaal Park Hoge Kempen

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Location: Meeuwen-Gruitrode, Maaseik, South Limburg, Flanders, Belgium

Tips

September 27, 2021

Hiking

Now you are in the middle of the dune belt: 3,000 hectares of pure gold! An overwhelming mix of untouched forests, colorful heaths, beautiful moors, fields and meadows.

In the …

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Dominiek Van Dooren

October 12, 2023

Hiking

The pearl of the Dune Belt is the Oudsberg: the highest and largest open drift dune in Flanders. It rises 85 m above sea level. The Oudsberg is surrounded by beautiful heathlands, stately forests and butterfly-rich heathland grasslands. Since 1998 it has been recognized as a Flemish nature reserve.
(duinenbanden.be)

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February 11, 2024

Hiking

The Oudsberg nature reserve belongs to a dune belt that used to stretch from Hechtel to Maaseik. 15,000 years ago, after the last ice ages, the Kempen Plateau experienced enormous sand drifts. Deep, empty depressions formed, in which fens arose. High sand deposits rose above the landscape like dune ridges. As the climate warmed, birch and oak forests developed.
In the Middle Ages, the soil southwest of De Oudsberg became impoverished due to intensive extraction. As a result, only heather could survive. Local overgrazing of sheep again caused sand drift, which shaped the current dune landscape. More at natuurenbos.be/natuurgebied/oudsberg

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