The source area of the Braunlauf: four villages and an exceptional nature reserve

This walk takes you through the source area of the Braunlauf. This nature reserve is one of the pearls dear to Natura 2000 and is known for its great biodiversity and rare species. We walk around and through it, but stay on public roads. Natura 2000 organises guided tours of the region. Although we mainly walk through the open landscape, we pass four villages, each with its own character and sights. If it is already difficult to see the rare robin, there are many peculiarities that man has made in the region over the past centuries. Just take a look at the sights on this route.

This is a junction walk in the form of a loop. The process is as follows:
67 (Maldingen) - 68 - 25 - 26 - 65 (Braunlauf) - 71 - 21 - 52 - 63 (Crombach) - 65 - 22 (Weisten) - 23 - 64 - 66 - 24 - 67

Although we start the walk in Braunlauf, it is certainly possible to do it in each of the four villages. There is always parking at the church. The nearest junctions are 67 for Maldingen, 65 for Braunlauf, 63 for Crombach and 22 for Weisten.

We showed the route on the map and on the GPS here and there to deviate from these nodes. We make a detour to Grenssteen 89 (between 66 and 24) and Braunlauf (between 26 and 65). Just because we felt the off-trail sites are worth it. On the other hand, you will have to take the trouble to get off the junction road when you want to see interesting things. We recommend seeing the open churches of Crombach and Weisten. It is only a few hundred meters long and is easy to discover.

Although the road is largely on paved roads, there is an unpaved section of several hundred meters in the forest after exit 66. This can be inconvenient for strollers. But if you want to do the whole route by bike, it seems quite possible to us.

The distance is almost 17 kilometers. It may be too much for some. That is why we can divide the circuit into two parts. This is perfectly possible between points 65 and 64 (Maldingen loop) or 65 and 22 (Braunlauf loop). You can find these walks described separately in RouteYou:

The source area of the Braunlauf: two villages in a nature reserve
The source area of the Braunlauf: three villages in a nature reserve

The Eastern Townships are a region where people do not look more or less on a couch. Here too, there are many of them and we did not think it was worth listing them separately. Often, these resting places are in the neighbor of a slate cross, under the trees or strategically arranged for a wide panorama.

Catering is hard to find along the road. In Maldingen and Crombach there are cafes near the road, but opening hours are not always ideal. There are plenty of picnic banks along the road.

Just that. The many photos were taken in late summer 2022. It was also a very dry year for the Eastern Townships and sometimes we imagined ourselves in the south of the France. Normally, the area is a green paradise.

Van Brunefastraße 4, 4791 Braunlauf, Belgium
To Brunefastraße 4, 4791 Braunlauf, Belgium

Routing Works - nodes