Strolling in the Houtsaeger and Noordduinen

You largely follow the West Coast hiking network through three lesser-known dune areas. The nodes are denoted in the text by KP followed by the number. Start at the car park on the George Grardplein in Sint-Idesbald, near the stop of the coastal tram) Go to the dike (KP 31) and follow it to the left until KP 25 just before the dune. Follow left towards FP 26. You will arrive at the Koninklijke Baan that you cross and continue your way to the right. Past a large white villa you come to KP 26. Take a narrow path to the left towards KP 27 and then continue straight towards KP 28. Where the path ends, turn left to a roundabout. Here to the right through an open gate. Take the narrow path straight ahead, always towards KP 28. On the asphalt road, turn right. At FP 28, keep going straight on to FP 29. At a gate with picnic bench you go through the meadow. Once in the forest, follow the left path (GR path) at a fork until KP 29. Here to the right until KP 30 (gate and info board). This is the only entrance and exit to the protected Houtsaegerduinen.

After the gate, follow the blue posts to the left. Continue 500 meters to the left again (red posts). After about a kilometer you come back to blue up to KP 30. Go to KP 29 and take the path on the left through the grove. At the fork, follow the left path and you will come to the picnic bench again. Fifty meters further, at KP 28, turn right into the narrow Sparrenlaan to KP 34. At the end of the street, turn left. Past an open green fence you come to a dune path. On the street road you turn right and past Home Mathilde Schroyens, then left into the Dageraadstraat. At the end of this street cross the road and follow the path to the right. You are now in the Noordduinen and continue following the path to KP 34. Turn right (through gate) and follow the orange posts until KP 36, where you cross an earth road. Go straight ahead (gate). At KP 37, turn left towards KP 43. On the street road, take the cycle path on the left. In front of you you can see the South Abbey mole on top of a dune. Take the roundabout on the left and cross the zebra crossing just before Ter Duinen Abbey. You arrive at FP 43. Follow FP 42 now. A little further on you cross the street again. Opposite the ruins of Ter Duinen Abbey you take a narrow path on the right. At KP 42 turn right again, into the dunes towards KP 40 (follow blue posts). On a wider earth road, turn left and follow the orange posts. Go past a gate to the left towards KP 40.

On FP 40 again to the left. Fifty meters further you temporarily leave the walking network and follow the GR signs to the right (indication on lighting pole) over a narrow bridle path. Follow the GR signs and keep to the right as much as possible until a T, where you turn left. At a white house fifty meters away you go diagonally right. Cross the Zeelaan at the Hoge Blekker and follow the GR to the left past the passage. You are back on the hiking network. Follow this direction KP 50 (with info board), where you turn right onto the dune, direction KP 55 (GR). On top of the dune on three benches you have a beautiful view of the vast dunes.

Continue straight until FP 55, where you follow KP 56. Attention: at the Hoge Blekkerlaan, 200 meters further, you turn sharply to the right. From here you carefully follow the signs to KP 56, street in, street out. Where there are no indications, just go straight ahead. This is how you get to the Koninklijke Baan.

Here you have two options. You can take the coastal tram towards De Panne (stop 200 meters to the left) and get off at the Sint-Idesbald stop. If you want to continue on foot over the beach and dike, take the Dorlodotlaan straight ahead. Before the car park, turn right and then left until KP 56 at the beginning of the beach. Turn left over the beach until KP 47 (clock Koksijde Bad) where you follow the dike and continue via KP 46 (monument Star of the Sea) to the end point (KP 31).