In-depth guide · CampingSpirit
From Hasselt via Bokrijk, the Hoge Kempen and the Grensmaas near Maaseik into the sand landscape of Lommel, then on to Tongeren and back through the orchards of Borgloon and Sint-Truiden: around 310 kilometres on which the bike gets moved at least as often as the camper.
The spirit of the route
Belgian Limburg is a land of transitions. In the north lies the Kempen: pine forest, purple heath, sandy tracks and flooded gravel pits, with the headframes and spoil heaps of the collieries that mined coal until 1992 in between. In the south the landscape tips over into Haspengouw, where gentle loess hills, standard-tree orchards and manor farms define the horizon. In the morning you look out of the sliding door at pines beside a pond in Genk; in the evening at rows of pear trees under a low sun near Borgloon. Distances are short, roads are flat, and cycle paths cross everywhere – the junction network was invented here, and that is exactly how to travel the province: park the camper, take the bikes down, and ride through a pond, through treetops and across heathland. Add to that jenever in Hasselt, Roman walls in Tongeren and a church made of steel plates that the wind whistles through.
Stage-by-stage plan
1Stage 1: Hasselt to Bokrijk (approx. 15 km)
- The drive
- A town day with a short transfer: you explore Hasselt on foot from the camper site, then head via the outer ring road and the N75 towards Genk to the Bokrijk estate. Flat, well-built roads with separate cycle paths, around 20 minutes' driving. A 30 km/h limit applies around the old town, and the inner ring (Groene Boulevard) is optimised for cyclists and buses – in a motorhome you are better off going round the outside.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Nationaal Jenevermuseum in Hasselt: a 19th-century distillery where jenever is still distilled, with a tasting at the end of the tour.
- Japanese Garden in Kapermolenpark, laid out with the twin town of Itami: teahouse, waterfall, koi pond and cherry trees; open only in the warmer half of the year.
- Openluchtmuseum Bokrijk: more than a hundred faithfully rebuilt farmsteads, mills, chapels and town houses from all over Flanders, plus traditional crafts and livestock breeds.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: For your arrival night in Hasselt, the municipal camper site Kapermolen lies right by the park of the same name, within walking distance of the centre: up to around 20 pitches for motorhomes only, no reservations; electricity and water for a fee, waste disposal available – check the current fee on the town's website beforehand. A few kilometres south of Bokrijk, the Kampeerautoparking Demerstrand at the leisure area of the same name offers about ten pitches with electricity and water; if you want toilets and showers, you will find several campsites around Genk and Zonhoven.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): In Hasselt and around Bokrijk, overnight stays outside the camper sites are not intended; the estate's large visitor car parks are for daytime parking only. No chairs, awning or levelling jacks on public car parks – in Belgium that counts as camping and is prohibited.
- Insider tip for campers
- “Fietsen door het water” is not inside the museum but freely accessible in Bokrijk's pond area: a cycle path sunk into the pond, with the water at eye level on your left and right. On sunny weekends queues form – go early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The estate's visitor car parks usually charge a fee.
2Stage 2: Bokrijk to Genk (Kattevennen, Hoge Kempen National Park) (approx. 20 km)
- The drive
- Via the N75 into the Winterslag district to the former C-Mine colliery, then south-east through residential areas and pine forest to the national park's Kattevennen gateway. Short and straightforward, but Genk has many roundabouts and traffic lights; around 30 minutes' driving.
- Highlights & must-sees
- C-Mine in Winterslag: headframes, engine halls and the colliery site are now a culture and design centre; the “C-Mine Expeditie” takes you through underground passages and up the headframe.
- Hoge Kempen National Park, Belgium's first national park: circular walks from Kattevennen through pine forest and heath and past ponds, with red and blue routes well waymarked.
- Cosmodrome at the Kattevennen gateway, a planetarium and observatory – an option for rainy days.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Camperterrein Kattevennen right at the national park gateway: twelve pitches behind a barrier, around €10 per day, water and electricity extra. Register on site via the aanuit.net app or at the payment machine, which issues a five-digit code for the barrier. If the site is full, a sign at the barrier lists alternatives. If you need toilets and showers, choose one of the holiday parks on the edge of the national park.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Wild camping in the national park is out of the question: Flemish nature conservation and forest law prohibits camping outside designated areas, and overnight stays are not intended on the gateway car parks. Dogs must be kept on a lead, and you must not leave the paths. In dry summers there is a heightened fire risk on the heathland – open fires and barbecues are then off-limits.
- Insider tip for campers
- The heather flowers in late summer, but is also photogenic in autumn with morning mist. If you want to see the full expanse of the heath, drive first thing the next morning to the Mechelse Heide gateway in Maasmechelen. In Genk there are several large filling stations on the arterial roads; Belgium sets maximum fuel prices, and independent and supermarket filling stations are often below them.
3Stage 3: Genk to Kessenich (near Maaseik) (approx. 45 km)
- The drive
- East via Zutendaal and As to the Mechelse Heide in Maasmechelen, then on the N78 north parallel to the Meuse via Dilsen-Stokkem to Maaseik and on to the village of Kessenich near the Dutch border. Flat country roads with cycle paths, the N78 with a lot of through traffic; around an hour's driving without stops.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Mechelse Heide: open heathland with views into the Meuse valley and over sand hills; from the national park gateway the experience cycle path “Fietsen door de heide” also runs through the landscape.
- Stokkem: a small Meuse town with remains of its ramparts and narrow lanes, plus the gravel lakes and floodplains of the Negenoord nature area in RivierPark Maasvallei, where Galloways and Konik horses graze.
- Maaseik: market square with lime trees and the monument to the van Eyck brothers, patrician houses and the Romanesque church in the Aldeneik district.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Camperplaats Kessenich, a private site between Kessenich and Geistingen (municipality of Kinrooi), around a kilometre from the village and half a kilometre from the Meuse: up to around 30 pitches on grass, electricity, water and waste disposal included, shower and toilet extra; open only in the summer season (roughly May to early September), from around €17 per night for two people (check current details). Between Maaseik and Kessenich there are also the campsites De Boomgaard and Heerenlaak.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Within RivierPark Maasvallei the Meuse bank is largely a nature reserve and also the floodplain of the Grensmaas – no overnight stays here. There are no tolerated overnight spots on the car parks in Maaseik and Stokkem either; use the sites in Kessenich.
- Insider tip for campers
- The Grensmaas is an unchannelled river with gravel bars; after heavy rain it rises quickly and riverside paths are closed – take the signs seriously. Maaseik's old town is narrow and partly pedestrianised: park outside the ramparts and walk in. If you want to explore Maaseik further or look across into the Netherlands – Thorn and the Maasplassen are covered in the CampingSpirit guide to Dutch Limburg.
4Stage 4: Maaseik to Lommel (approx. 65 km)
- The drive
- West via Neeroeteren and Bree to Bocholt on the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal, then via Peer to Hechtel-Eksel and north to Lommel. A typical Kempen route: long straight sections through pine forest, canal bridges, village through-roads with a 30 km/h limit and many crossings with cycle paths. Around 1.5 hours' driving.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Kempen-Broek near Bocholt and Kinrooi: a landscape of carr woodland and fen with walking trails and bird hides, home to cranes and otters.
- “Fietsen door de bomen” in Bosland near Hechtel-Eksel: a spiral cycle path that winds up to about ten metres high through the crowns of a pine and mixed forest.
- Zuid-Willemsvaart canal near Bocholt: a flat towpath, ideal for a bike ride with no climbing.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: In Lommel, by the canal at the Jachthaven De Meerpaal marina, there is a camper site with electricity, water and waste disposal for about eight vehicles; in addition there is Camperplaats Calmante in town and the Passantenhaven De Welvaart in neighbouring Pelt. With toilets and showers: lakeside campsites such as Parelstrand and Blauwe Meer in Lommel. In Bosland National Park there is the Kampeerautoterrein De Bosuil.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Like the Hoge Kempen, Bosland is protected forest and heathland; overnight stays on the walkers' car parks and forest tracks are not permitted. In Lommel and Pelt the municipalities have deliberately created camper sites – wild camping is tolerated very little as a result.
- Insider tip for campers
- For “Fietsen door de bomen”, use the car park at the Bosland gateway and cycle the last few kilometres; the route is easily manageable for children too. Some of the canal bridges in the Kempen are narrow. The cycle junction map is available at every tourist office – Limburg introduced this system in the 1990s.
5Stage 5: Lommel to Tongeren (approx. 80 km)
- The drive
- First short detours in Lommel to the sand landscape and the war cemetery, then via Leopoldsburg to Beringen and on the N72 to Hasselt; via the ring road and the N20 south through the first hills of Haspengouw to Tongeren. Beyond Hasselt the landscape visibly changes from sand to loess. Around 1.5 hours' pure driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Lommel Sahara: open sand flats, pines and a deep blue lake in a former sand pit; from the lookout tower you survey a landscape created by deforestation, zinc smelter fumes and sand extraction. Lommel is still known today for its pure quartz sand, which goes to the glass industry.
- Lommel German War Cemetery with around 39,000 dead of the Second World War – a place for a quiet walk, without picnics or noise. A small Polish war cemetery lies nearby.
- be-MINE in Beringen: a mining museum in the former colliery and a spoil heap you can climb via steps and paths.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Camper site at Pliniuspark in Tongeren, quiet and green a little outside the centre and within walking distance: a good 20 pitches, electricity, water (for a fee) and waste disposal, around 1.5 km to the old town; registration is online with number-plate recognition at the entrance – check the fee and booking procedure beforehand on the Visit Tongeren website. In Beringen there are also a few camper pitches by the be-MINE site for a stopover.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Around the Lommel Sahara and the war cemetery, overnight stays on the car parks are not intended. The sand flats are a nature area: do not drive onto them, and do not leave the paths.
- Insider tip for campers
- Visit the war cemetery ideally in the morning, before you put the kilometres in; dogs stay in the vehicle or on a short lead. The N20 to Tongeren is well built; in Tongeren itself a 30 km/h limit applies inside the ring of boulevards, and the old town has narrow one-way streets – the motorhome stays at Pliniuspark.
6Stage 6: Tongeren to Sint-Truiden (approx. 45 km)
- The drive
- First north-east along narrow country roads to Alden Biesen near Bilzen, then west through orchards and sunken lanes to Borgloon and on along the N79 to Sint-Truiden. Hilly, with some single-track farm roads and tractor traffic during the harvest; around an hour's driving.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Tongeren in the morning: the Gallo-Roman Museum, the Basilica of Our Lady with its treasury, the Roman town wall and the béguinage (part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Flemish béguinages). The town's antiques and flea market is one of the largest in the Benelux – check the day and time beforehand.
- Landcommanderij Alden Biesen: a moated castle of the Teutonic Order with courtyards, orangery and gardens, now a cultural centre.
- Kerk van Borgloon: a see-through church silhouette made of stacked steel plates in the middle of the orchards near Borgloon – solid or almost invisible depending on the angle.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Haspengouw Camperpark on the edge of Sint-Truiden: a private camper site with around 30 pitches, electricity, water and waste disposal; check the season and prices beforehand. Quieter is the Camperterrein De Verborgen Parel between Sint-Truiden and Borgloon with a good dozen pitches. At the Alden Biesen car park, the town of Bilzen designates camper pitches without services.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): In Haspengouw many campers stay in the farmyards of fruit growers and wineries – with the owner's permission this is legal and the best alternative to wild camping. Farm tracks and orchards are private land; overnight stays at the roadside or by the Kerk van Borgloon are not permitted.
- Insider tip for campers
- Only a narrow farm track leads to the Kerk van Borgloon; park in the village or at the signposted visitor car park and walk the last stretch. The fruit blossom in spring draws many cyclists, and in autumn the farm shops with apples, pears and pear syrup are worth a stop. In Sint-Truiden, explore the centre with its belfry, abbey tower and béguinage church on foot.
7Stage 7: Sint-Truiden to Hasselt (via Zoutleeuw) (approx. 40 km)
- The drive
- West on the N3 to Zoutleeuw in Flemish Brabant, then north via Halen and Herk-de-Stad through the Demer valley back to Hasselt. Flat to gently rolling country roads; just under an hour's driving.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Sint-Leonarduskerk in Zoutleeuw: one of the few churches in Flanders whose furnishings survived iconoclasm and revolution unscathed, with the stone sacrament tower by Cornelis Floris.
- Het Vinne nature area near Zoutleeuw: a lake with a circular path and birdwatching, good for a short break.
- Final evening in Hasselt: a glass of jenever in one of the pubs on the Grote Markt.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Back at the Camperterrein Kapermolen in Hasselt or, for a night with showers, at one of the campsites north of the town. Another camper site lies on the way at Olmenhof in Herk-de-Stad.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Zoutleeuw is small and has no tolerated overnight spot in the centre. As everywhere in Flanders: overnight stays only on camper sites, campsites or on private land with permission.
- Insider tip for campers
- In Zoutleeuw, park on the edge of town – it is tight around the market square. If you want to continue west or to the coast, you will find Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges and the coast in the CampingSpirit guide to the Flemish coast and art cities; to the south, the CampingSpirit guide through the Ardennes to Luxembourg follows on.
Camping practice & local rules
Wild camping & overnight parking
- In Belgium you may sleep in a properly parked motorhome unless a municipal by-law or signage prohibits it. Camping behaviour on public land – chairs, table, awning, levelling ramps, extended jacks – is prohibited. Wild camping in nature is forbidden in Flanders; in forests and nature areas, forest and nature conservation law prohibits camping outside designated areas.
- The Hoge Kempen and Bosland national parks and the nature areas along the Meuse (RivierPark Maasvallei, Kempen-Broek) are off-limits for overnight stays; park rangers and local police carry out checks. The “Paalkampeerplaatsen” in Flanders are basic tent pitches for hikers, not for vehicles.
- Limburg has a dense network of camper sites: municipal sites in Hasselt, Genk, Lommel, Tongeren and Bilzen, plus many private sites on farms, at fruit growers and at marinas. Several sites work with a barrier and app registration; pitches usually cannot be reserved.
- Useful: Campercontact (particularly complete for Belgium), park4night, and the camper pages of Visit Limburg and the municipalities. If in doubt, the local police or the tourist office can help.
Waste disposal & supplies
- Almost all camper sites in Limburg have fresh water and waste disposal, often for a fee by card or via an app; stand-alone service points outside the sites are rare. Empty grey water and cassettes only at the service point.
- Many camper sites have no toilet block. Plan a campsite every two or three nights – there is plenty of choice around the lakes near Lommel and on the Meuse near Kessenich.
- Tap water is drinking water. There are supermarkets and bakeries in every town, and many shops are closed on Sundays.
- Gas: German exchange cylinders are not exchanged. LPG is available at many filling stations; for refillable cylinders or gas tanks you usually need the bayonet adapter common in Belgium and the Netherlands. Arrive with two full cylinders.
Vehicle size & traffic rules
- Speed limits in Flanders: 50 km/h in built-up areas, 30 km/h in many town centres; 70 km/h outside built-up areas unless 90 is signposted; 120 km/h on motorways for motorhomes and vehicle combinations up to 3.5 t. Above 3.5 t gross vehicle weight, the limit is 90 km/h on motorways and 70 km/h on other roads outside built-up areas, or a lower signposted limit. Priority to the right applies even at inconspicuous junctions.
- Tolls: Belgium is introducing a digital vignette linked to the number plate for motorways and regional roads, priced according to emissions standard and period of validity. Before your trip, check on the official websites whether it already applies and whether your motorhome is affected. The distance-based toll with a Viapass on-board unit applies to goods vehicles over 3.5 t – if your motorhome is registered as a lorry, clarify this beforehand.
- Low emission zones: there is no LEZ in Limburg. If you arrive via Antwerp, Brussels or Ghent and drive into the cities, you must register your vehicle beforehand (Brussels with its own registration); cameras record violations. Passing through on the motorways generally does not affect you – check details on the official websites before you travel.
- Cycle traffic: in a “Fietsstraat” (cycle street) a 30 km/h limit applies and cars may not overtake cyclists. When overtaking cyclists, a minimum distance of 1 m is required in built-up areas and 1.5 m outside them. Watch out for cycle paths when turning right – cyclists on the cycle path alongside the road have priority, and they quickly disappear into a motorhome's blind spot.
- Equipment and alcohol: hi-vis vest within reach, warning triangle on board. Blood alcohol limit 0.5. Mobile phone at the wheel only hands-free. Projecting loads such as bikes on the rear rack must be marked and lit, and the number plate and rear lights must remain visible.
CampingSpirit packing & preparation checklist
- Bikes or e-bikes with a sturdy lock – half the highlights, from “Fietsen door het water” to the orchards, can only be properly explored by bike.
- A printed or digital junction map for Limburg, so you can put together rides from any camper site.
- Bayonet gas adapter for Belgian LPG filling stations.
- A bank card with contactless payment and a smartphone with the aanuit.net app – several camper sites run on payment machines and barriers with app registration.
- Binoculars for birdwatching in the Kempen-Broek, on the Grensmaas and at Het Vinne.
- Weatherproof shoes for the sandy tracks in the Lommel Sahara and the Hoge Kempen, which become deep and slippery after rain.
As of 2026-10. Closures, fees and booking rules change: check official sources before you go.
