Discover Mariahout: Grotto, Forest and Walking Trails

For a stay in Mariahout, you can choose different focuses: sacred heritage and local history, walks and woodland scenery, or open-air performances in spring and summer. If you are looking for a hotel, first consider which of these themes you would like to include in your travel plans. Each of the places and routes mentioned offers a different focus.

Cultural Heritage and the Lourdes Grotto

The Onze Lieve Vrouw van Lourdes complex in Mariahout comprises the Roman Catholic O.L. Vrouw van Lourdes church, a processional woodland with religious sculptures, a cross and a rectory. The church was designed by Tilburg architect Phil Donders. Together, the church, processional woodland and the other features mentioned form the sacred heritage that characterises the complex.

The Mariahout Lourdes Grotto was built in 1934 and consecrated on 30 May 1935. Following its reconstruction, the new Lourdes Grotto was ceremonially inaugurated on 30 May 1999. The construction history and the later inauguration dates are therefore among the site's historical points of reference.

Woodland and a Patchwork Landscape

The Mariahoutse Bossen, also known as Lieshoutse Bossen or Lieshoutse Heide, is an elongated woodland area of 158 hectares immediately north of Mariahout. Its size and precise location provide a clear point of reference when exploring the woodland around the village.

The area enclosed by the Ommetje Zuid - Mariahout covers 68 hectares. Pollarded willows and small wooded banks shape the patchwork landscape, alongside arable land and pasture. Many features from the last period of drainage and land development, around 1920, are also visible there. The focus here is therefore not only on the area's size, but also on its landscape features and their historical context.

Walking and a Variety of Trails

Mariahout's walking trail network includes 16 improved walking trails. The Ommetje Mariahout Zuid offers two options: a boot trail and a trail for people with disabilities. The two options are therefore explicitly described as different. One walk leads to the observation tower at Keelgras.

The historical “Mariahout Pioniersdorp” route passes through Mariahout's built-up area. Along the route, 18 signs with QR codes lead to 70 historical stories that can be read online. This offers a different focus for planning than routes centred on woodland, water or landscape features: here, local history is the connecting theme.

The Torrevenroute is a walking route focused on water, following peat lakes, ponds and ditches. It also passes Haverven, where there is a birdwatching hut. While this route is characterised by its waterside scenery and observation point, the Mariahout mountain bike route has different features: it has only minor elevation changes, is 95 percent unpaved and follows singletrack, forest floor and natural trails. You can distinguish between the routes by their themes and surfaces, without treating walking and mountain biking as the same kind of outing.

Open-Air Performances in Spring and Summer

The Mariahout Open-Air Theatre puts on outdoor performances in spring and summer. This seasonal cultural offering complements the historical and landscape themes. If a performance is important to your travel plans, check the dates for your travel period, as the programme may change.

When choosing a stay, you can weigh the different options directly against one another: sacred architectural history and the Lourdes Grotto, local history along the Pioniersdorp route, walking trails with different themes, or the mountain bike route described above. The open-air theatre adds a seasonal element. Which side of Mariahout you include in your plans depends on whether cultural history, scenery, exercise or a performance is to shape your stay.

Discover more destinations: Beek En Donk, Aarle Rixtel, Lieshout

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