Can Genk turn a picture-book walk into an accessible family day out?

The City of Genk

Place

Genk

Limburg city where the picture-book walk will open.

Why it matters

Limburg city where the picture-book walk will open.

About

Genk is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality comprises only the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in Flanders, located on the Albert Canal, between Antwerp and Liège.

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For families in Belgian Limburg, the immediate appeal is straightforward: the walk is intended to be free, outdoors and suitable for children from about four years old. Genk says the route is also being designed for visitors using wheelchairs or pushchairs, with provisions planned for blind, visually impaired, deaf and hard-of-hearing participants. Those accessibility features matter because they determine whether the project becomes a genuinely shared public amenity rather than simply another tourist installation.

The central story will be “Lekker Donker”, featuring woodland animals including an owl, hedgehog, squirrel and frog. Children’s author Guy Daniëls, creator of the Boekstappers concept, is working with the city to bring the book outside. Genk alderwoman for talent development Anniek Nagels, who is also acting mayor, described the formula as bringing walking, reading aloud, discovering nature and completing tasks together in a single outing. QR codes will provide recorded parts of the story, although the city has not yet published practical details about languages, device requirements or offline alternatives.

The route will follow the existing green Genk op Gang line through Schansbroek Park. Twelve story panels, plus starting and finishing points, are planned. Its woodland setting is not decorative background: Thor Park is an official gateway to Hoge Kempen National Park, whose management presents the site as a meeting point for nature, mining heritage and innovation. The national park’s visitor information already lists walks through heathland, woodland, the Schansbroek valley and the spoil heaps around the former Waterschei colliery.

That history gives the modest family project a wider significance. Waterschei’s coal mine operated during the twentieth century before closing in 1987; the wider site has since been recast as Thor Park, combining businesses, research, heritage, recreation and access to nature. Genk’s current strategy is therefore not to build an isolated playground but to encourage families to spend longer across the site. Existing attractions include the Steenmannetjes trail, the Thor app and its Thorbotje characters, while the city also runs the seasonal Schatten van Vlieg treasure hunt.

The picture-book walk is meant to work around dusk as well as during the day. It will connect conceptually with “Lichtsporen”, Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde’s light installation, which remains freely accessible. The combination could extend visits beyond conventional daytime hours, but the authorities have not yet explained whether the new route itself will have set opening times, additional lighting or seasonal restrictions. Hoge Kempen National Park generally says its natural areas are accessible between sunrise and sunset, so precise guidance will be important.

There are two legitimate ways to read the investment. Genk’s tourism and development officials see another step in transforming Thor Park into a complete destination: Mayor Wim Dries has previously said the wider Thor Experience strengthens the former mining site as both a tourist destination and a gateway to the national park. The visitor perspective is more practical. A free attraction lowers the cost of a family outing, but its success will depend on maintenance, clear accessibility information and whether the audio and activities work for children with different needs. Public transport is available from Genk station by De Lijn bus, according to the national park, though many visitors will still assess the outing through total journey time rather than admission price alone.

The project sits within a Tourism Flanders-supported programme for Thor Park’s further development. Its natural centre of gravity nevertheless remains local: this is a small Flemish public-space and family-tourism initiative, not an EU policy story. The next milestones are the opening date, confirmation of the accessibility arrangements and publication of practical visitor information. Until then, Genk has established the concept and the intended autumn launch, but not yet the complete experience families will encounter on the ground.