Gravel · MTB · Ardennes

Riding gravel in the Ardennes: gravel or MTB?

Updated 6 November 2026 · 5 min read

Grassy track lined with flowering broom, looking out over wooded hills and meadows

Here, gravel doesn't glide along white roads in the sun. It drops down stony tracks towards the Lesse, claws at the roots of the beech woods, crosses ground that drinks the rain and gives it back as mud. The Ardennes have a character: before you choose your bike, you have to learn it.

The Ardennes are not Tuscany

Three things make the Ardennes.

Water. The High Fens get close to 1,400 mm of rain a year, against a Belgian average of 910 mm. April is the driest month, December the wettest. The track that rolled in May turns into a rut by November.

Relief. It is never high: the Signal de Botrange tops out at 694 m. But the Ourthe, the Amblève, the Semois and the Lesse have carved short, steep slopes that give no respite. Our Conquête des Ardennes Offroad packs 8,000 m of climbing into 400 km: twenty metres up for every kilometre.

Ground. It is alive. Shale that slides, roots of beech and spruce, logging ruts, carpets of leaves in autumn. Ardennes gravel is not "Strade Bianche" gravel.

Loaded gravel bike leaning against a stack of logs beside a forest track — Logs by the forest track, twin ruts through the meadows: one bike, two kinds of ground.

Gravel bike lying on a twin-rut track between two meadows — Logs by the forest track, twin ruts through the meadows: one bike, two kinds of ground.

So the question is not "gravel or MTB?" in the abstract. It is: which bike for which track, in which season, over which distance.

What the law draws for us

In Walloon forests, the Forest Code chooses part of the route for us. On a bike, you ride on roads and on tracks, meaning any way more than one metre wide, dirt or gravel. Paths, which are narrower, are reserved for walkers, unless official waymarking opens them to mountain bikes. Firebreaks, logging tracks and hunting rides stay closed, even without a sign.

So the legal network of the Ardennes forest is the network of wide tracks: exactly gravel terrain. The mountain bike takes over where waymarking allows it, as on the marked trails of Houffalize or La Roche-en-Ardenne.

Straight stony forest road between two rows of spruce — A stony forest road between the spruces: natural gravel country.

A route that takes a forbidden path damages the forest, and the trust between riders and the people who manage it.

Gravel or MTB?

Gravel wins as soon as the distance grows and the track widens. The mountain bike wins when the ground gives way.

Terrain or situation	Best choice	Why
Gravel tracks, wide forest roads, greenways	Gravel	Lighter, faster, made for it
Long distance, several days, links on small roads	Gravel	An MTB wears out, and wears you out, on tarmac
Loaded bikepacking	Gravel, or a hardtail MTB if the route is very technical	Position, bags, efficiency over the long haul
Winter, deep mud, soaked leaves	MTB	On a gravel bike: wide knobbly tyres, and some pushing
Rocky descents, roots, slopes of 15% and more	MTB	A gravel bike gets through, but it takes skill and arms
Waymarked MTB networks (Houffalize, La Roche)	MTB	They are built for it, paths included

If you only have one bike for the Ardennes: a gravel bike that takes 45 to 50 mm tyres, with a very low gear. From March to October, it goes almost everywhere.

Stony track through a regrowing forest clearing, with a few lone beeches — A clearing growing back, a track running on: this is where gravel feels at home.

Setting up your bike for the Ardennes

In the Ardennes, you choose your tyres by the season, and your gears for the climbs.

Season	Tyres	Plan for
April to June, September	40 to 45 mm, semi-slick or small knobs	The best window: dry ground, long days
July, August	40 to 45 mm	Dust, heat, few water points in the forest
October to December	45 to 50 mm knobbly	Mudguards, lights, and hunting days
January to March	50 mm knobbly, or an MTB	Spare brake pads: the mud eats them

Gears. Aim for a lowest gear below 1:1 (chainring smaller than the largest sprocket). Ardennes walls come early and give no warning.
Tubeless. With sealant. Shale cuts, brambles prick.
Pressure. Lower than on the road: grip on a wet root is worth more than watts.

Stony track between two fields of flowering rapeseed — Rapeseed in spring, maize at summer's end: on the plateau tracks, the season makes the ground.

Dirt track between a maize field and a meadow, under a cloudy sky — Rapeseed in spring, maize at summer's end: on the plateau tracks, the season makes the ground.

Our routes: which bike?

Route	Distance and climbing	Terrain	Our advice
Hardennes Gravel Tour 100 and 200	100 or 200 km	Wide tracks, country roads	Gravel
Hardennes Gravel Tour 300	300 km	Fast-rolling, designed for gravel	Gravel
Hardennes Gravel Tour 500 and 700	500 or 700 km	Committing: gravel, forest tracks, a few singletracks	Gravel on 45-50 mm, or a hardtail MTB
Conquête des Ardennes Offroad	400 km, 8,000 m of climbing	Deep forest, steep slopes	Gravel on 45-50 mm, or a hardtail MTB

Our other brevets, the Conquête des Ardennes, the Royale Mosane and the Casse-Pattes, are ridden on the road.

Before you go

Hunting. From 1 October to 31 December, some forests close on drive-hunt days. The official notices at the edge of the woods are what counts; the Walloon Region's ChasseOnWeb map helps you plan.
The High Fens. Since March 2026, every way in the reserve has its own rule: bikes banned on some, allowed beside the boardwalks on others. The areas burnt in August 2026, including the Fens around Spa, remain closed indefinitely. Check the Region's map before you go.
Sleeping. Wild camping is not allowed; the DNF's 29 bivouac sites are free. It is all on our page Sleeping out in the Ardennes, map included, with water points.

The Ardennes are not tamed. You learn to read them, track after track, season after season.