Dunes of La Slack, a varied dune area

Dunes de la Slack, a dune area of the Parc naturel régional des Caps et marais d'Opale

Les Dunes de La Slack - Les Dunes de la Slack is a beautiful nature reserve on the Côte d'Opale, between Wimereux and Ambleteuse. They are named after the Slack River, a river that flows through the dunes and empties into the sea at Fort d'Ambleteuse. You can take a beautiful walk of about 7 kilometers here, which takes you along different landscapes: beach, dunes, forest, marshy area and meadows. You will also see lots of birds, plants and maybe even curious frogs, salamanders or seals.

We start the walk from the 'Dunes de la Slack' car park, but also 'Parking de la Pointe aux Oies' or 'Parking Dunes de Slack Nord' (near Ambleteuse) can be the starting point. It is important to take into account the direction of the wind and the tides, in order to plan the passage of the beach on the bay of Saint-Jean at low tide.

We start the adventure counterclockwise to start with steeper trails in the soft sand, to the dune observation platform with a beautiful view of this Dune dune belt of Slack dunes rich in relief. After 500 m of dirt road through these dunes, we get a completely different landscape: a coniferous forest with meadows, followed by a wetland with ponds and swamps.

The ever-changing landscape of dune forests, meadows, dunes and swamps brings you to the river 'La Slack'. You pass under the D940 by a wooden staircase and arrive at the Parking Dunes le Slack Nord. From there, follow the path along the Slack, with the river on your right and the dunes on your left. After a hundred meters you will reach the beach, where you can see Fort Mahon or Fort d'Ambleteuse on the right.

We turn left to form a straight line towards Pointe aux Oies (at low tide or low tide) on the vast beaches of Baie Saint-Jean. Barefoot through the waves spotting their foothills and seals or looking for unique shells, take us quickly 2 kilometers further into this beach passage. We take a steep path to the top of Pointe aux Oies, where you will have a beautiful view of the steeper Opal Coast between Wimereux and Boulogne-sur-Mer. After enjoying this view, you descend to the D940, where you return to the car park after a piece of flowery dunes. The end of a beautiful walk through these special dunes of the Dunes de la Slack.

Places of interest along the way:

- The Dunes of the Slack are a vulnerable dune area and offer a varied landscape of dunes, coniferous forests and swamps. This region offers the beauty and biodiversity of a coastal strip on the North Sea.

- The Regional Natural Park of Caps and Marais d'Opale is a beautiful nature reserve in the north of France. The park stretches from the coast of the English Channel and the North Sea to the marshes of Saint-Omer. The park offers a great diversity of landscapes, such as dunes, cliffs, forests, valleys and 154 villages. This area of more than 125,000 hectares is also rich in cultural heritage, with typical houses made of chalk stone or straw clay.

- The Slack is a 21.8 km long river that rises near Hardinghen, to flow into the English Channel at Fort Mahon. Napoleon Bonaparte built a port to conquer England.

- Ambleteuse is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the arrondissement of Boulogne-sur-Mer in eastern France. A village that was first mentioned in the 8th century as 'Amfleat'. A Saxon origin that refers to a river or bay. From 1880, this village developed into a seaside resort for the wealthy citizens of Lille and Paris, which led to the development of oyster farming at the mouth of Slack Bay.

- Fort Mahon or Fort d'Ambleteuse is a fort built around 1680 to protect the war port. During World War II, it was used by the Nazis to keep forced laborers captive and currently functions as a museum about the history of the fort and Ambleteuse, with an observation deck with an orientation table at the top of the tower.

- Pointe Des Oies southern part of the Dunes de la Slack with as a reward a beautiful view of the Opal Coast steeper