A boardwalk — sometimes also called a raised walkway — is a raised wooden path that runs over wet, boggy or unstable ground. For nature managers this is the go-to solution to let visitors see vulnerable wetlands and peat bogs without trampling the flora. For wheelchair users, however, it's a mixed story: traditional boardwalks are not adapted (too narrow, bumpy, with edges that block wheels), but the new generation of wheelchair-friendly boardwalks is changing this.
In this guide: an overview of existing and upcoming wheelchair-friendly boardwalks in Belgium, with honest assessments per location.
What makes a boardwalk "wheelchair-friendly"?
A wheelchair-friendly boardwalk differs from a traditional walking boardwalk on four points:
- Width: minimum 1.20 m (instead of the traditional 60-80 cm) so a wheelchair fits comfortably and oncoming traffic remains possible
- Flatness: no edges, no bumpy transitions between planks — a smooth-flat surface comparable to an asphalt path
- Grip: anti-slip treatment (rubber strips or rough wood) because wet wood is slipperier than asphalt
- Raised edges on the sides that serve as wheelchair guides and are simultaneously visible to people with visual impairments
Major cost difference: a wheelchair-friendly boardwalk costs 2 to 3 times more than a traditional model — that's why they often depend on external funding.
🌾 Existing wheelchair-friendly boardwalks in Belgium
Hautes Fagnes / High Fens (Baraque Michel)
Limited wheelchair-friendly raised walkway network from Baraque Michel — a few main routes have adapted raised walkways, others are still traditionally narrow.
What works: the main route from Maison du Parc Botrange is largely wheelchair-friendly. Verify by phone — maintenance varies by season.
Practical: see our purple-heather-August guide for the High Fens context.
Kalmthout Heath (parts)
Parts of the adapted main route from Kalmthout Heath run via adapted raised walkways through wet heath sections. Not the entire circuit — ask De Vroente visitor centre which routes are currently accessible.
Hoge Kempen National Park (Mechelse Heide viewpoints)
Some adapted viewing platforms in Hoge Kempen National Park are built as small raised-walkway constructions — more platform than walking path, but wheelchair-friendly.
🚧 Upcoming: De Blankaart
The project this pillar partly revolves around: De Blankaart in Woumen (Diksmuide) is getting a fully wheelchair-friendly boardwalk via the Wandelsport Vlaanderen partnership with Natuurpunt.
See our news blog Wheelchair-friendly boardwalk De Blankaart for project details and donation info.
🔍 What we don't yet know (or non-adapted)
Traditional boardwalks — not wheelchair-friendly but still worth knowing about:
- Uitkerkse Polder (near Blankenberge): small raised walkways, not adapted
- Zwin nature (near Knokke): raised walkways in parts, adapted is limited
- Grote Nete valley: raised walkways in parts, not adapted
- Zwarte Beek (Limburg): same
- IJzer valley outside Blankaart: same — which makes the Blankaart investment all the more important
For these areas: verify with local Natuurpunt whether specific sections are adapted — status changes.
Why this scale-up matters
For wheelchair users, wetland nature is one of the most structurally inaccessible nature categories in Belgium. Forests, parks and heath areas often do have paved main paths, but wetlands fundamentally require different infrastructure (raised paths) — and these are traditionally not built as adapted.
Every new wheelchair-friendly boardwalk therefore means a new category of nature opening up. For visitors who really want to get to know Belgium — including the polders, marshes, peat bogs and tidal zones — this is indispensable.
What drempelvrij.be does with this category
We maintain an active list of existing and upcoming wheelchair-friendly boardwalks, with updates as soon as projects are delivered:
- Reviews per path — first-hand experiences with width, grip, maintenance
- Cross-links with nature reserves — the boardwalk in context of the wider park
- News about upcoming projects — such as the Blankaart news blog
- Contact with nature managers — if you want a specific path we should check out, let us know
Related content
- De Blankaart Woumen — location page
- Wheelchair-friendly boardwalk Blankaart news blog
- Purple heather August — Hautes Fagnes raised-walkway context
- Campine walking routes — Kalmthout Heath and Mechelse Heide
- Walloon Ardennes walking routes — Hautes Fagnes context
In closing
Wheelchair-friendly boardwalks are the key to a category of Belgian nature that would otherwise remain physically closed to wheelchair users and people with strollers. The De Blankaart investment by Wandelsport Vlaanderen and Natuurpunt is the first major structural step in Flanders — and hopefully the beginning of a series.
For wheelchair users who want to discover polder and wetland nature: follow this project closely — and if you can, support via a donation (tax certificate from €40).
Do you know other Belgian boardwalks — existing or announced — that we should include? Let us know — we'll expand this pillar as projects evolve.