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Hiking in Nord

406

routes

8.9 km

median distance

22 m

median elevation gain

The Nord posts a median gain of 22 metres, but its Flanders hills are the exception. Cassel, Berthen and Godewaersvelde cling to outlier mounds standing more than a hundred metres above the plain — enough to see the sea on a clear day.

These are short, rolling walks between hop fields, estaminets, windmills and hillside woods. Mont des Cats and Mont Noir follow one another along a single ridge; Mont Cassel, a dozen kilometres west, forms a group of its own.

Around Lille and La Madeleine, routes follow the Deûle and its laid-out banks, flat and reachable by metro.

When to go — All year; the Flanders hills are especially good in spring and autumn, winter leaving the slope paths slippery.

OpenRando lists 406 hiking routes in Nord. The median distance is 8.9 km, and most routes fall between 4.6 and 15.6 km — from an afternoon loop to a full day out.

The terrain stays gentle: median elevation gain is 22 m, and even the hilliest routes rarely exceed 155 m. Good ground for long outings without the climbing.

The most common starting points cluster around: Lille, Berthen, Godewaersvelde, Cassel, La Madeleine, Houplin-Ancoisne. Every route comes with its GPX track, elevation profile and interactive map.

Longest routes in Nord

  • Boucle Terril du lavoir Rousseau – Petit étang paisible au départ de Raismes28.6 km
  • Boucle Bois du Mont Noir – Forêt du Hellegat au départ de Godewaersvelde28.4 km
  • Canal de la Deûle – La distillerie de Genievre au départ de La Madeleine27.3 km

All routes in Nord