Discover the Haller Forest: A Spring Hike in Belgium

The beautiful forest of Haller is located near Brussel, Belgium. It is famous for the beautiful blue bells in spring. But the Haller forest is beautiful in every season. In March we hiked the 7 kilometer yellow roe deer route. It takes you through 3 of the 4 valleys you will find in the Hallerforest. And about 50% of the hike takes you through the blue bell areas in the forest. During blue bell season there are special blue bell hikes set out.

We started our hike at parking 1. There are different parking areas in the Haller forest and they are all free of charge. Since we parked at parking one, we had to hike about 1 kilometer to the start of the trail. We wanted to hike further than 7 kilometers, so this wasn’t too bad. One of the things we love about hiking in the Haller forest is that it isn’t flat like the Netherlands. So you start off with a descent and ascent right away. The other thing I love about the Haller forest is the variety in trees. Even in March, the forest wasn’t completely bare. It was actually still quite green in some areas with needle leave trees. And a big plus is that the needle trees smell amazing.

This hike completely takes you through the forest. If you want to hike even further, you can connect the yellow and the blue hike. This connection makes for an even longer hike. We decided while hiking up to the start of the route from the parking lot. We would only do the yellow route.

As I said the hike takes you through 3 of the 4 valleys of the Haller forest. I love the diversity of the different valleys, with different trees and different plants. Besides blue bells, you will find many wild flowers during spring here. We already spotted the first sign of wood anemones.

Also the height differences makes for a beautiful sight. It also makes this hike a little bit more challenging than the average forest hike in the Netherlands. Even though we have had a lot of rain this winter, the trails weren’t muddy. Which made for a pleasant hiking experience during this time of the year.

If you plan to visit during the blue bell season, check the forest’s website. This will guarantee you know which parking areas are open. You can also check and see if the bluebells are in bloom yet.