In Belgium’s De Wijers Lake District, a unique cycle-path cuts directly through a lake, creating an experience that looks almost surreal.
When the lake is glassy, it’s a very striking appearance, almost like the world’s largest infinity pool. And for the cyclists, it’s a magical experience, being able to ride at water level, seeing wildlife and nature at such a perspective. The project attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.
The path is called Fietsen door het Water, or Cycling Through Water, and it opened in 2016 in the Bokrijk nature reserve near Genk, in the Belgian province of Limburg. Designed by the landscape studio BuroLandschap, it runs 212 meters across a pond with concrete walls that hold the water at eye level on both sides, so a rider’s head is level with the surface and the ducks. It won a string of design awards and was named one of Time magazine’s greatest places in 2018. Its success led to a sequel a few miles away, Cycling Through the Trees, a circular ramp that lifts riders ten meters into the forest canopy. Via DesignBoom:
Belgium keeps turning up in our nature coverage. See the magical blue forest trail in Hallerbos, where bluebells carpet the ground each spring, and for other places where design meets water, the +POOL floating swim destination in New York and London’s Sky Pool. More like this in our travel section.
