From Gouvy station to Vielsalm station

Gouvy Station, Rue de la Gare 31, 6670 Gouvy.

As it is possible to reach the starting point by train (from Liège or Luxembourg), by bus or by car, the route description begins on Rue de la Gare (N827), with your back to the station.

(S/E) With your back to the station, follow the Grand-rue (N827) to the left. Cross the railway bridge, then take the road immediately on the right, following a GR®, a GRP® and several signposts for local walking and mountain biking trails. Pass a street on the left and continue straight on along Rue du Naneux until you reach the cemetery.

(1) Just past the cemetery, go straight on into Rue de Crombé. Follow this for 500 metres, ignoring a street on the left. You’ll come out onto Rue de Houffalize (N827). Follow it to the right for a few metres, cross it with extreme caution, then head down a one-way street on the left. At the end of Rue du Centre, go past Rue du Wago and continue to the right towards Clervaux and Saint-Vith until you reach the TEC Centre bus stop.

(2) Just after this, head up to the left (stone cross) following the GR®, GRP® and a trail route. At the junction with a road coming up from the right, carry on straight ahead. Leave Gouvy and join a main road. Follow it to the right until you reach a Y-junction. In the distance to the left, you can catch a glimpse of Lake Chérapont.

(3) At the Y-junction, leave the main road and take the tarmac path on the left. In a wide bend to the right, leave the GR® markings, which head off to the left onto a grassy path. 120 metres further on, pass a tarmac path leading down to the left and continue straight ahead, leaving the tarmac after 30 metres. At the T-junction (with a bench), continue to the left, following the GRP® signposting, until you reach a road.

(4) Cross it and continue straight ahead onto a grassy track. Pass a track leading down to the left and, at the next junction, continue uphill along a stony track. Ignore several side tracks until you reach another junction.

(5) Still following the GRP® markings, turn a quarter of the way round to the left. Pass three paths on the right. At the third path, continue straight on, following both the GRP® and the Green Cross markings. After ignoring several side paths, you’ll come out onto a main road (N878).

(6) Cross it and continue straight ahead, still on a wide gravel track, until you reach a T-junction (with a bench). Turn a quarter of a turn to the left to follow the tarmac, following the GRP® and the Green Cross and Green Disc markings. You’ll join another road. First turn left then right and walk through the meadows for 150 metres, still following the GRP® and several local signposts, until you reach a crossroads.

(7) Turn a quarter of the way to the right towards Halconreux, following the Green Cross and Green Disc markings. Shortly after the sign marking the entrance to Courtil, turn a quarter of the way to the left and leave Courtil behind. Continue now following the Red Diamond, Green Disc and Blue Mountain Bike Route markings. After a long, 850-metre tarmac straight stretch through the meadows, you’ll reach a picnic area on the left.

(8) Ignore all the markings and leave the tarmac by turning right onto a wide stony track, running alongside the Chi Fontaine Nature Reserve. After 1.2 km, just before a junction on the right, head uphill to the left. After a gentle climb, the path narrows and enters a coniferous forest. Continue on, ignoring several side paths. The path begins to descend. At a junction, continue downhill following the Blue MTB route and the Yellow Rectangle on white markings. At the next junction, keep going straight downhill, following the same markings. At the junction with a path coming down from the right, continue towards Provèdroux. A few metres further on, at the T-junction, turn right and continue to the wide Ruisseau de la Ronce.

(9) Cross via a wooden footbridge and continue along the dirt track, following the mountain bike markings. Pass a track on the left and begin to climb. Pass another track on the left. Almost at the top (bench and cross), at the junction with a road, carry on straight ahead and enter Provèdroux. Reach a crossroads (bench and cross).

(10) Follow the road to the left for 120 metres, then turn a quarter of a turn to the right. Pass the entrance to a joinery workshop and head down the small road for 800 metres.

(11) At the bottom of the descent, cross the Ruisseau de Mirenne and head into the woodland. Shortly afterwards, at the Y-junction, continue along the path on the left. However, a few metres further on, at a second fork in the road, take the stony path on the right this time, following the Blue Disc trail. Follow this path for 1.6 km, keeping to the trail markings and ignoring several side paths. After a steep descent, you’ll come out onto the N89.

(12) Cross the road and continue straight ahead on the road leading to the hamlet of La Comté. Just after crossing the Ruisseau du Golnay, the road begins to climb. Pass the built-up area sign and emerge diagonally onto a street at a place called La Comté (alt. 435).

(13) Continue straight on for a few dozen metres, then, at the Y-junction, take the left-hand road. After 70 metres, as the road curves to the right, leave it to start the climb up the hill, heading towards “La Comté^{nos. 7}and 8”, on a concrete path that turns to a stony track after the last houses. From here, and almost all the way to the finish, the route follows the markings of the Sentier environnement – Leerpad leefmilieu trail maintained by the Triental C.N.B. Rangers, a trail marked on wooden posts with numbered plaques. When you come to a grassy path blocked by a wooden gate, continue climbing to the left, on a much gentler slope and still following the Blue Disc trail, until you reach a junction.

(14) At the summit (with a sweeping panorama straight ahead), cross the junction and head down the opposite slope along a wide stony path. After a few metres, ignore a path on the left. Further down, pass a wide path on the left and continue the descent to a junction.

(15) Please note: at this junction, a track and a path branch off to the right. Leave the wide track and turn right onto the grassy path running roughly level with the ground (i.e. the one furthest to the left of the two), following the Sentier Environnement markings (marker no. 32). The path quickly widens into a grassy track. Cross another junction and continue straight on until you reach a crossroads with a wide track, where the route follows the trail markings as well as the GRP® link to Vielsalm station. Keep going straight on. Pass a grassy track that climbs to the right. The path begins to descend steeply down the slope of the Coreux. On the left, there is a panoramic view of Vielsalm and the Doyards lake. At the bottom of the Chemin du Bonalfa, you’ll reach a road.

(16) Follow it to the left. Ignore the bridge over the railway lines, where the route leaves the various markings behind and continues straight on. At house number 42B, turn right down the concrete path which leads to platform 2 at Vielsalm station (E).

SNCB line 42 (one train every hour on weekdays; every two hours at weekends).
TEC stop: Gouvy Station – lines 18/3, 18/4, 18/7, 89, 163c, 163d, 163d2, 848.

Note
The finish is at Vielsalm station, Rue de la Station, 6690 Vielsalm. This information is useful as it could serve as a starting point for those travelling to Gouvy by bus or train.

Throughout the description, you will see ‘PL’ followed by a geometric shape and a colour, such as ‘PL Blue Rectangle ’. This refers to the signposting for the Blue Rectangle Local Walk.
You may also see ‘SGR’, ‘GR®’ or ‘GRP®’followed by the colours White/Red or Yellow/Red. These are the markings for the Sentiers de Grande Randonnée network.

At (E), depending on your mode of transport, you will either be on the correct platform or you can go under the tracks via the tunnel provided for this purpose to reach platform no. 1, the car park or the area near the TEC stop (E).