Mountain biking in Houffalize

Go to the Place de l'Eglise in Houffalize. This is where all the mountain biking trails begin. This sheet describes the yellow route. Back to the tourist office, pedal left in the rue du Pont. Cross the Ourthe and follow it to the right, along Avenue de la Gare. You pass HouffaBike, where you can rent a mountain bike for this tour and leave Rue Porte à l'Eau on the right. Continue pedaling along Rue Moulin Lemaire and pass a stand for TEC buses. Where it becomes one-way, turn right and cross the Ourthe a second time. Go up until you can take the path for cyclists and pedestrians on the right. You can immediately treat a short difficult climb of 17%. Below you will see the hotel Ol Fosse d'Outh.

At a T-junction, follow the yellow signs on the right. There is also a war memorial and a sign indicating Le Moulin de l'Ermitage. Here you can cut part of the route with a single track or simply continue following the paved path for cyclists towards Bourcy and Bastogne. You have been following the RAVeL Bastogne-Bourcy-Houffalize, located on the old railway line L613, for a while. At the bottom left of the valley you see a small river.

Then carefully cross the road to Tavigny and continue cycling on the asphalt cycle path towards Bourcy and Bastogne. It climbs gently and on the right you can see the cemetery of Vissoule. Cross a street and continue following the yellow mountain bike route. Further on, you pedal on the Wircourt stream via a bridge. It now continues through forests and fields, and at the crossroads you pedal left. It climbs slowly at first, then the climb becomes more difficult. The road becomes unpaved and you enter a spruce forest. When you get out, you come to a small intersection and reach the highest point. You will be rewarded with a beautiful view.

Continue straight. You can now descend and pedal on a hollow gravel road between the fields. Then there is another climb and just before the summit you pedal again on the asphalt to a crossroads. There is a wooded plaza with a picnic area under the trees. The red road turns right here. You pedal left between the meadows. Follow the concrete road to a forest. Turn right onto the single track and continue cycling along the edge of the forest. It rises gently and from the highest point you get a beautiful view of the fields.
You descend on a path with quite a few roots and the unique track turns into a country road. 0p the fork you pedal to the right and go down a beautiful half-hollow road to the T-junction on a busier road. Right. On the right you see the church of Saint-Rémy (early 18th century) and on the left the castle of Tavigny. Turn left and follow the N838 towards Gouvy, Steinbach and Cetturu. Turn with the road on the left and where it then goes to the right, continue straight ahead and exit the village. At the junction of a beautiful chapel, you stay on the left. Keep pedaling between the fields. It climbs gently and the road becomes hollow for a while. When you're upstairs, the concrete stops. Turn left. It continues to undulate on a gravel road between fields. Just before a traffic road, turn right at a crossroads. The gravel road turns into a single lane and then back into a country road. You descend between meadows to a T-junction on a paved road with a chapel.

You are now in Alhoumont. Turn right and turn left at the first intersection. The street is a dead end for vehicular traffic, but not for cyclists. The asphalt turns into a gravel road and you continue to meander between the fields. After a steep and technical descent, you will arrive at the Houffalize-Tavigny road. Follow it to the right until you reach where you just crossed the road. Turn right and reverse towards Hotel Ol Fosse d'Outh. At the end of the road with the 17% slope, it is a one-way traffic on the left. Therefore, pedal right for a while, and then take the road on the left. You set off along the Moulin Lemaire or rather, what remains of it. At the end of the one-way road, you are back in familiar territory. Straight ahead, after TEC, ignore the rue du Porte à l'Eau on the left, continue on HouffaBike and then return to the starting point by the rue du Pont.

Those who do not like cycling through Houffalize can opt for a shortened alternative. You then start on the square next to the church of Tavigny and follow the description of point 3 on the map, turn left at point 1 and finish the journey to Tavigny from there. This variant is 11.5 km long.