The wooded heights of the Ourthe river at the start of Hotton

This walk begins by following one of Wallonia's iconic rivers, with some beautiful rocks as a bonus, before offering a pleasant loop through the forests and countryside south of the tourist town.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.77 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 352 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 351 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 410 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 173 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) From the free car park at the Île d'Oneux playground, the route heads towards the old Moulin d'Oneux (1) and then follows the course of the Ourthe towards the Rochers de Rénissart (climbing site) (2).
A short detour at km 1 takes you to the Fré D'Jame hole (3), which overlooks the Ourthe.
After the stone bridge (4), downstream from one of the two resurgences of the Isbelle, the walk continues towards the Château de Héblon (5) before crossing the Ourthe and the national road to gradually reach the wooded heights above Hampteau.
After the highest point at a place called "Sur Waha" (10), the route branches off towards Marenne (13), where it joins the countryside beyond Menil-Favay (15).
For those who are not put off by a detour of a good kilometre, you can visit the pretty Alouette Reserve: at Croix Gaillard (16), take the path on the right that descends and cross the stream to the site of the old quarries.
On the way back, the route crosses the communal park, its observation tower (18) (unfortunately closed to the public since spring 2025) and its arboretum before reaching the Île d'Oneux via the footbridge (19) on Rue Simon.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 179 m - Car park at the Île d'Oneux playground - Ourthe (rivière) - Belgique
  2. 1 : km 0.33 - alt. 176 m - Mill on the Île d'Oneux (Faber mill) - Moulin Faber
  3. 2 : km 0.74 - alt. 192 m - Rénissart Rocks
  4. 3 : km 0.99 - alt. 206 m - Fré D'Jame
  5. 4 : km 1.42 - alt. 181 m - Stone bridge over the Isbelle
  6. 5 : km 1.83 - alt. 182 m - Entrance to Héblon Castle
  7. 6 : km 2.61 - alt. 182 m - Rue Chavée
  8. 7 : km 4.18 - alt. 368 m - Fork
  9. 8 : km 5.31 - alt. 298 m - Crossroads
  10. 9 : km 7.38 - alt. 381 m - Four-pronged fork
  11. 10 : km 8.51 - alt. 402 m - Place called Sur Waha
  12. 11 : km 10.06 - alt. 390 m - Bois du Fond du Grand Pouhon
  13. 12 : km 10.42 - alt. 371 m - Bois du Fond
  14. 13 : km 11.75 - alt. 271 m - Entrance to Marenne
  15. 14 : km 12.71 - alt. 251 m - Grand Pouhon stream
  16. 15 : km 13.47 - alt. 265 m - Menil-Favay
  17. 16 : km 14.64 - alt. 220 m - Croix Gaillard
  18. 17 : km 15.5 - alt. 180 m - Rue de la Libération
  19. 18 : km 16.09 - alt. 217 m - Communal park
  20. 19 : km 16.48 - alt. 177 m - Rue Simon footbridge
  21. S/E : km 16.77 - alt. 179 m - Car park at the Île d'Oneux playground

Notes

There are numerous shops and restaurants in the centre of Hotton.

Worth a visit

Hotton is located approximately halfway between Marche-en-Famenne and La Roche-en-Ardenne

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 2 reviews

Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
User 12601869

Overall rating : 3.5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 10, 2025
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful trail, met some very interesting and friendly people (beekeeper, farmer).

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jacques.nys
jacques.nys

Glad you enjoyed it... that's the main goal of sharing experiences

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etiennedenis59
etiennedenis59

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 22, 2025
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I recommend it, a very beautiful hike!

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