If you want to have a floral adventure in Europe, then look no further than the Bluebell forest located at Hallerbos, Belgium.
Located just 30 minutes outside of Brussel, you will find a beautiful wooded area that offers paths through the famous and popular Bluebell forest.
When is the best time to see the Bluebell Forest in Belgium?
The blooming period of the bluebells starts in the beginning of April, and can last until about beginning of May. There is not an exact answer, as it is of course weather dependent but a trip in about mid-April to late April will be a great time to explore the Bluebell Forest.
What is the best time to explore the park to see the Bluebells?
I recommend going early in the morning. I arrived at 0640 and had the park to myself for the majority of my time exploring. I only ran into some other visitors when I was walking back to the parking lot area to depart. Around my departure at 0900 there were more people coming in – meaning it won’t be as peaceful and serene. I am a personal advocate of getting to outdoorsy locations as early as possible in the morning because: 1. Sunrise is some of the best photography time, and 2. Everyone stays up for sunset, but not many will be up for sunrise.
I have heard around mid-day the bluebell forest can become very crowded, so I would stick to either early morning or late evening. With the bluebells blooming in April – there is no shortage of sunshine with the sunrise at approximately 0630 and sunset not until 2100.
If you have flexibility in your trip, a weekday will be significantly less crowded than the weekend. The worse time to visit would be about mid-day on a Weekend as that is when a majority of people will be there.
You also don’t want to wait until too late into the season to visit, or there won’t be much left other than wilting flowers.
What is Hallerbos or “The Blue Forest”?
Hallerbos is just Dutch for Halle Forest.
Hallbros refers to a forest area between Zenne and Zoniën. This forested area is well known as the “Blue Forest” as during month of April the floor of the forest is covered in Bluebells. These small flowers make a carpet of blue under the trees creating a unique experience for visitors.
How much does it cost to visit the Bluebell Forest?
One of the great aspects about the Bluebell Woods is that a visit is free. There are 8 different parking areas around the forest – and even shuttles on long weekends. You can park for free at the various parking areas and enter into the forest to go exploring.
Where is the Belgium Bluebell Forest?
The popular location to spot bluebells in Belgium is at Hallerbos, aka the Bluebell Forest. It’s located just 30 minutes outside of Brussels or one hour away from Ghent. The location makes it a great morning trip from any of the popular cities in Belgium.
Due to the location, it’s great to stay overnight in a city and just do a day trip out to enjoy the forest.
How do you get to the Bluebell Woods?
Conveniently located just outside of Brussels, a visit to the Bluebell forest is great for mixing a little bit of Belgium city exploring with a walk through nature. Hallerbos is located just 30 minutes away from Brussels, a very easy commute by car. The easiest way to get there? Just plug “Hallerbos” into your google maps, or navigation system and you will be taken right to the forest area.
At the forest itself, there are 10 different parking areas to visit. I personally went early in the morning on a Saturday (arrived at 0640) and was one of the first 5 people at the park. By the time I departed around 0900, the parking lot at Parking Area 1 was almost full.
The easiest way to reach the bluebell woods is by vehicle, as there is plenty of options for parking around the park.
By public transport
On work days: From the station in Halle to “Vlasmarktdreef” (which is 4 minutes from the forest museum): TEC bus number 114 (9 minutes bus ride). For timetables check here.
On weekends and public holidays: From the station in Halle to “Lembeek Congo”: De Lijn Bus number 156 (17 minutes by bus + 17 minutes on foot to the “Vlasmarktdreef”, entrance forest). This bus runs once every hour.
Or: from the station in Halle to “Essenbeek Mooi Vergezicht”: De Lijn Bus 155 (15 minutes by bus + 15 minutes on foot to Parking 1 Hogebermweg, entrance forest.
Walking Paths at the Bluebell Forest
Once you arrive and begin exploring the forest you will quickly realize there are numerous trails through the forest. This is great as if you wait until mid-day to go – these side trails are a great way to get away from other visitors.
The forest is laid out in a way that allows visitors to have options in how much they want to explore. There are shorter routes that create a 5k loop from parking lot 1, and then there are longer routes that take you around the entirety of the forest. Exploring is easy, there are posts along the trails so if you want to follow a particular route then you follow the post for that route. The major road intersections also had maps of the forest highlighting “where you are” so you can determine where each trail heads off to at that intersection.
The Bluebell trail is a straight forward pole path to follow – just look for the poles that are purple with the white line in the middle. Follow that along the pathways and you will complete the loop around to see as much of the bluebells as possible.
Trails of the Bluebell Woods
The trails are well established meaning it’s easily accessible for a majority of visitors. The path that runs through the middle of the forest is a cobblestone path. The other paths that loop around is the standard walking trail of just dirt.
There are some hills, but nothing that the average person would not make up (we are talking like a 100m “uphill” of maybe 2% grade).
Overall I would give the rating of the paths as well maintained. I would only see some concern if it was following a heavy rain as the trails may turn muddy.
Rules of the Bluebell Forest
The bluebell forest is fairly strict with the visitors. While there is no one around to enforce it – there are plenty of signage stating that all visitors are restricted to the paths. While it may be tempting to go frolic in the field for that great Instagram shot – it’s highly discouraged.
You will see areas of trampled grass and bluebells where people have walked out to stumps or logs in the middle of the bluebell fields. It ruins the views some – but during my visit it appeared the amount of people violating the rules was minimal.
So while it may be tempting to get a photo in the bluebells – resist. The rolling landscape with all the bluebells is much more enjoyable if there are not random trails of trampled grass and bluebells.
Picnic in the Bluebell Forest
If you want to turn a visit to the bluebell forest into a full experience then bring along a picnic basket or pack a lunch to go. There are picnic tables located in the bluebell forest.
During my visit – I did not see any tables that had spectacular views of the bluebell forest, but there were a couple of benches located throughout the walking trails that offered visitors the chance to sit for a break and look out over the blue fields.
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