Brackvenn-Hill valley-Ternell-Kutenhard-Brackvenn 25 km

Great hike in the Natural Park High Fens (Hautes Fagnes, Hohes Venn, Hoge Venen), in the German-language part of Belgium. The hike takes you from the Brackvenn area via the valley of the Hill river to Ternell and back via the Kutenhard Fen. Hike through moors, forests and along streams. The day I did this hike there was about 5-10 cm of snow. The moor areas with the meres (small lakes in the fens) are an extraordinary landscape. The forests are mostly coniferous. There is a restaurant at Ternell, as well as a nature center. Part of the hike is on boardwalks through the fen, which can be slippery. Waterproof shoes are recommended. There is a free parking at the start.
From the parking you follow a path parallel to the Eupener Strasse (N67) to the Nahtsief parking lot. Across from the parking you enter a path consisting mainly of boardwalks through the ‘In Platten Venn’ moors, passing by several meres/lakes. At a bifurcation you turn south towards the Waldweg passing through the Hobbe Venn, passing another mere, source of the Spohrbach. At the Waldweg you follow a route on a forest road to the German border. There is a border stone there. From here you follow a minor path to Hohlenbornvenn through the forest. From this fen you follow wide forest tracks, partially paved towards the Pannensterzkopf. You do not get to the top at more than 660 meters. At a bit above 640 meters you follow a forest road descending towards the Hill valley. Just before the valley you have a good view across the valley and the fens and forests beyond. In the valley you pass by something which looks like an old stone quarry and you get close to the Hill. You then cross the Spohrbach, ascend a bit, and then take a steep narrow path down towards the Hill. Close to the river the path becomes wider and you follow the forest road all the way through the Hill valley to the Ternellbach, crossing several other smaller streams on fords and bridges. The last stretch is close to the river and there are opportunities to go to the river for a better look. The crossing of the Ternellbach is through a ford, and instead you take a pedestrian bridge. On the other side you follow the Ternellbach upstream to the Forsthütte (forest cabin) Ternell. From here you follow the forest road to Ternell where you find a restaurant, a nature center, an Arboretum and a parking. You cross the N67 and follow a forest road northeast towards the Getzbach. About halfway you take a path instead of the forest road, taking you steeper down to the stream. You cross the Getzbach on a bridge and then follow a path uphill towards Bennetchen. Here you are on the edge of the Kutenhard fen, and you follow a wide track along it until you get to a smaller path, initially a boardwalk. The path then takes you across Kutenhard fen, with moors and forest. The path ends at a forest, and almost directly afterwards you take another path crossing Kutenhard fen back towards the Getzbach. You cross the river on a bridge and the follow a paved forest road along Allgemeines Venn on one side and a forest on the other side to Entenpfuhl (duck pond). Next to the duck pond you take a path on the edge of Nahtsief and Puzen Fens, mostly on boardwalks. You cross the young Getzbach and follow the path/boardwalk through Puzen Venn all the way back to the N67. The parking where you started is across the road.