Opoeteren, Opitter and Gruitrode

The rolling Belgian province of Limburg is a special piece of nature just across the border with the Netherlands. This beautiful tour, which you can cycle as a package with route 133168, leads you through the beautiful Gruitroderbos. The 660 hectare forest is located on the Kempen Plateau and is part of the Dune Belt nature reserve. The dunes in the area emerged approximately 10,000 years BC during the Ice Age. The pine forests on the ancient hill were planted in the first half of the twentieth century. The coal mines needed wood and these forests had to meet that need.