Blog · Rules · Sep 16, 2026

Wild camping in Belgium: banned, and the bivouac zones that are not

Belgium lets you sleep out in one place only: a bivouac area someone officially designated. Here are Wallonia's aires de bivouac and Flanders' bivakzones, the rules at each, the fine the Walloon forest code sets for everywhere else, and why none of it works for a motorhome.

FreeCampMaps Team Editorial team · 3 min read 5 sources cited

Belgium gives you exactly one legal way to sleep out: on an area that a named body designated for it. Everywhere else in the forest is off limits, and Wallonia puts a figure on it. The rest of this is where those areas are, what each one asks of you, and what changes the moment you arrive in a vehicle.

The Walloon rule, in two articles

The decree of 15 July 2008 on the Code forestier states it at article 19: résidence temporaire, temporary residence, is forbidden outside the areas set aside for it. Article 3 supplies the two definitions that matter. Temporary residence is a stay of less than 48 hours. An aire is a marked zone, used among other things for temporary residence, with no charge attached.

Two things follow straight away. A Walloon bivouac area is free by definition, and a night spent outside one is an offence. Article 102 sets the fine at 25 to 100 euros, and article 107 doubles the penalties where the offence was committed at night (checked on environnement.wallonie.be, September 16, 2026).

Finding the areas: search the trail, not the region

The Walloon government order of 27 May 2009 sets out how an area comes into being. An application to designate and mark one, permanent or temporary, goes to the chef de cantonnement of the Département de la Nature et des Forêts, who has 60 days to decide for a permanent area and 45 for a temporary one.

In practice that means there is no single Walloon map. Each area is published by whoever runs it: a parc naturel, a commune, a marked-trail project. So start from the route you are walking rather than from a regional overview.

One network that takes online bookings: the Parc naturel des deux Ourthes lists 2 aires de bivouac on its territory, at Gives (Bertogne) and Golet (Sainte-Ode), and says they are open only to walkers, mountain bikers and horse riders. Booking is required. Each site has a board carrying the charte du bivouaqueur, wooden posts marking the edge of the zone, and a fire ring. Read the board on arrival. It sets the detail, and the sign in front of you beats any website, this one included.

Flanders: bivakzones, free, booked in advance

The Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos is blunt on its camping page: pitching your tent just anywhere in nature is not allowed. What it offers instead are bivakzones, marked bivouac pitches, in Limburg, Oost-Vlaanderen, Antwerpen and Vlaams-Brabant.

The rules are identical across them. Three tents maximum, ten people in total, tent up between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m., so one night only. It costs nothing and booking is compulsory. The agency then adds the line that settles it for anyone reading this from a driver’s seat: you cannot get there by car.

Nationaal Park Hoge Kempen, also in Limburg, runs the same idea under the name paalkamperen, pole camping. Four pitches: Thorpark, Itter and Solt are free, Terhills costs 15 euros per person per night plus 1.50 euros tourist tax. Ten people and three tents maximum, tent inside the marked zone or within 10 m of the pole, no fires except in Thorpark’s fire basket when it is unlocked. You arrive on foot or by bike.

If you are traveling by motorhome

None of this network is for you. Article 22 of the Code forestier keeps motor vehicles off everything except roads, tracks and paths signposted for that use, and areas designated for it, and article 3 expressly excludes residence in a caravan or a motor-home from the definition of temporary residence. Flanders answers in one line: no car access.

For a night in a vehicle, that leaves designated aires and campsites, and outside the forest the rule belongs to the commune. Call the town hall before you count on a car park, and read the sign at the entrance. For how the rest of Europe handles the same question, start with the rules and the wild camping section. Belgium’s northern neighbor works almost the same way, which is worth knowing if you are driving both in one trip: wild camping in the Netherlands.

Sources

When a source is not in English, follow the link for the official wording.

Frequently asked

The questions people actually ask.

Is wild camping legal in Belgium?

No. You may only sleep out on an area officially designated for it. In Wallonia, article 19 of the decree of 15 July 2008 on the Code forestier forbids résidence temporaire outside the areas set aside for it. In Flanders, the Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos says on its own camping page that simply pitching your tent in nature is not allowed, and opens bivakzones instead. Checked on environnement.wallonie.be and natuurenbos.be on September 16, 2026.

What is the fine for camping outside a bivouac area in Wallonia?

Article 102 of the Code forestier sets a fine of 25 to 100 euros for breaching articles 14 to 21, which is where the overnight ban in article 19 sits. Article 107 doubles the penalties when the offence is committed at night. Checked on environnement.wallonie.be on September 16, 2026.

Can I use a Belgian bivouac zone in a motorhome or van?

No. Article 22 of the Walloon Code forestier bars motor vehicles from anywhere except roads, tracks and paths signposted for that use, and areas designated for it. The Parc naturel des deux Ourthes states that its bivouac areas are open only to walkers, mountain bikers and horse riders. In Flanders the Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos writes plainly that you cannot get to a bivakzone by car. Checked on September 16, 2026.

Do you have to book, and does it cost anything?

Booking is required on both sides of the language border, and it is normally free. Flanders' bivakzones are free with a reservation. In Wallonia the forest code defines an aire as a marked zone with no charge attached, article 3, 2 of the decree of 15 July 2008. The exception is Terhills in the Nationaal Park Hoge Kempen, at 15 euros per person per night plus 1.50 euros tourist tax. Checked on September 16, 2026.

How many nights can you stay?

One. Flanders' bivakzones let you pitch between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m., which allows a single night. Wallonia's forest code defines the temporary stay it permits as one shorter than 48 hours, and each Walloon area posts its own charter on a board at the entrance. Read that board when you arrive: it sets the detail, and it beats any website. Checked on September 16, 2026.

More · the blog

Keep reading.

All in the blog

Wild Camping in the Czech Republic: What the Law Actually Bans There is no single nationwide ban, but the forest act and the nature protection act between them cover almost anywhere you would sleep. Here is what the paragraphs say, where a bivouac ends, and what that leaves a motorhome. Wild camping in the Netherlands: banned, and what is actually legal Wild camping is not allowed anywhere in the Netherlands, and the free Staatsbosbeheer pole-camping sites that half the internet still recommends were dismantled in 2020. Here is what the municipal APV forbids, the free legal pitches that remain, and why none of it works for a motorhome. Wild camping in Poland: the state forest zones where it is allowed Poland bans camping in the forest outside designated places, then designates a lot of them. The state forest service runs a free program called Zanocuj w lesie covering over 600,000 hectares in 425 forest districts. Here is what it permits, and why your motorhome stays at the car park.