The Kalmthoutse Heide is one of the oldest and largest nature reserves of Flanders. It borders with the Netherlands. It used to be part of a vastly larger European heath landschape. As you can hear in the name… the Heide lies in Kalmthout.
It’s been a protected area since 1941 and became a state reserve in 1964, thanks to a petition.

The Kalmthoutse Heide is an area located in a cover sand region, in the north of the province of Antwerp. Its reliefs consists mainly of clay sediments and dunes who alternate with vast deflation planes with multiple moorland pools. The soil is sandy and the water is low in minerals and profoundly acid.

You can do a lot of walks in the reserve, and they are all very good indicated with different signs. The length of the walks and restrictions of some of them can be found on the website and in the information center.

There’s also a risk of burning in the Kalmthoutse Heide. Because of that you can always check the fire thermometer online and before entering the reserve.