Wildflowers and Lost Places on the Auto-Pédestre Steinfort Trail

Start / end at 8436 Steinfort – 6 rue de l’Hôpital. Bus stop: “Steinfort Al Schmelz”.
Relaxed and varied 10km trail without any technical difficulties.
Family-friendly, but care should be taken if exploring the ruined buildings. Not suitable for pushchairs.

Stressed out? Anxious? Overwhelmed? Let me recommend a healthy dose of Auto-Pédestre Steinfort, a recently-revamped trail with ultra-clear signage, pleasant paths and a curious juxtaposition of natural beauty and fascinating “lost place” ruins. The trail runs both sides of the Luxembourg / Belgium border alongside the shimmering Eisch river and, in short, is a perfect option for a not-too-strenuous weekend hike with the family, or alone as a digital detox.

If, like us, you are hiking this trail on a sunny day in early spring, its most striking feature will be the wildflowers. Wood anemones, to be more precise, thousands upon thousands of them, lining the paths as far as the eye can see in almost every direction. I’ve been all over Luxembourg and have probably seen millions of wood anemones in my life, but I’ve never seen a display quite like this one.

Hike it at any other time of the year and you’ll probably forever associate this “auto-pédestre” with ruins. I mean this in a good way: intermittently scattered throughout the entire length of the hike are edgy, graffiti-strewn abandoned buildings in various states of being reclaimed by nature. It is one of Luxembourg’s great charms that these lost places are not fenced off for safety reasons; you’re generally feel to wander into them and explore. Listen closely enough and you’ll hear the ghosts of the past intertwined with the abundant birdsong.

These obvious highlights aside, the Steinfort Auto-Pédestre is simply a little slice of cross-border hiking joy. Think of it as a highly enjoyable stroll through the forest along the river to Clairefontaine convent and back, and you’ll return to Steinfort soothed, refreshed and ready to take on the world once again.