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Zwin Route

Hiking trails & Routes

Zwin Route

Moderate

4.5

(189)

1,174

hikers

Zwin Route

03:03

12.1km

20m

Hiking

The walking route through the Zwin, the oldest nature reserve in the Knokke-Heist region of Flanders, will surprise you with an incredible variety of landscapes and habitats containing rare and endemic fauna and flora. Old sea dykes bear witness to the struggle against the waves but it’s precisely because they sometimes lose this battle that the salt marshes here can thrive.

You walk through the Koningsbos forest, which bears the king in its name, on sandy paths and over boardwalks. Seagull cries fill the air, perfectly mixed with the sound of the waves. Scottish Highland cattle graze nearby and contribute soft lows to the symphony of the tides.

The experience is enjoyable even if there’s a stiff breeze, as you’ll be richly rewarded with magnificent views of the Zwin Plain.

by VISITFLANDERS

Last updated: August 9, 2024

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

82 m

Zwin hiking route

Highlight • Trail

The Zwin is a protected nature reserve, a true paradise for fauna and flora.

Before you start your adventure, take a look at the exhibition space.
Your Zwin experience starts here.

Hiking trails take you along the hut trail. The information in the cabins makes your visit a total experience. Enjoy the beautiful views in the watchtower. Every season has different protagonists here.
Tip, plan a visit during school holidays or during the weekends, then guides will be happy to give you a word of explanation along the hut trail.

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851 m

Kleyne Vlakte

Highlight • Natural

For many years, the Kleyne Vlakte, or "little plain", was overgrown and its true magic was hidden under small forests of bushes and trees. Only careful renaturation restored the original channels and the moist environment. Now you can see the original landscape and the open character of the dune polder crossing again.

A series of pools and water areas were also created, making the Kleyne Vlakte a true paradise for birds, amphibians and rare plants. Above all: the tree frog, for which it is (and not only) five to twelve in Flanders.

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6.04 km

Koningsbos

Highlight • Forest

In the Koningsbos you walk on winding sandy paths through mixed forest. The plants and trees grow here on dune soil. Although there are deciduous trees in the forest, the majority of the vegetation consists of pine trees.

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7.87 km

Zwin Dunes and Polders

Highlight • Natural

With an area of 222 hectares, this approximately 200-year-old dune area forms a natural transition between sea, beach and polder.

Until the end of the 19th century, these dunes, forests, pastures and meadows were constantly changing under the influence of the sea. The area looked like today's Zwin; with mudflats, salt marshes and gullies closed off on the sea side by a belt of dunes. The Zwin dunes and polders only got their present form in 1872-1873, when the international dike was built to protect the area from the sea.

Since then, man has left clear traces here again and again: in the summer of 1929 the area was a golf course (although you had to putt and hit between sheep, because it was still used as pasture), shortly afterwards a horse racing track and riding arena were built. International show jumping competitions were held on it until the 1960s. The Kleyne Vlakte next door was even converted into a 40-acre airport in the early 1930s.

Even the world wars left their mark on this tactically important area. Large areas were concreted over.

In 2002 the Flemish government bought the area and from 2004 it was restored. Today you can experience it in "natural", if not really original splendor, with fauna and flora, which ultimately can only survive here thanks to careful human intervention.

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10.4 km

Hospitality (Leaping Hare Sculpture by Barry Flanagan)

Highlight • Monument

The hopping hare that you can find in the dunes at the end of the sea wall of Knokke is a bronze sculpture by Barry Flanagan. Although the official name is Hospitality, the hare is also called keuning van’t Zwin, Bugs Bunny or t' keun by the locals.

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Tip by

11.7 km

Four stone pillars

Highlight • Monument

Knokke-Heist is a real art city. On every corner you will find works made of stone, steel or synthetic resin, also here in the middle of nature. The four colossal blocks are by Ulrich Rückriem, who also worked on the Cologne Cathedral Building Works. The stones he carved from Austrian granite rocks weigh a total of 48 tons.

You can still see the traces of his work. Let your associations flow: Does the ensemble remind you of part of Stonehenge? Or to a portal? The special thing about this work: Even though everything is so raw, it seems perfect. This is probably because the proportions follow mathematical principles and the work of art fits into the surrounding nature.

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Tip by

12.1 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

4.62 km

2.96 km

1.71 km

1.60 km

1.23 km

Surfaces

3.97 km

3.50 km

1.68 km

1.62 km

1.06 km

291 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Monday 11 May

14°C

8°C

17 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 31.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

August 24, 2021

The walking route through the Zwin, the oldest nature reserve in the  Knokke-Heist region of Flanders, will surprise you with an incredible variety of landscapes and habitats containing rare and endemic fauna and flora. Old sea dykes bear witness to the struggle against the waves but it’s precisely because

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