Terril gravelTerril gravel
©Gravel on the Ledoux slag heap|LeNord

Sport and Nature on our slag heaps

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Are you a sportsman? Do you love the great outdoors? Treat yourself to a unique sporting experience, with a change of scenery guaranteed! Our slag heaps, remnants of our industrial past, have become ideal sites for nature sports.

Published on 11 October 2024
Cyrille Daillet

Are you a sportsman? Do you love nature? I've designed a series of "Running on a slag heap" sheets for you! In the Valenciennes region, treat yourself to the unique experience of running on the Chabaud-Latour site, a change of scenery guaranteed!

from the Nature and Leisure Centre by bike

The Chabaud-Latour nature and leisure park, located on a former mining site and vast wetland complex covering 670 ha, boasts a particularly remarkable flora and fauna.

It offers a wide range of activities and is the starting point for a number of hiking trails (circuit de la canarderie, circuit des remparts de Condé). The leisure center also offers bike and tandem rentals. This leisure and relaxation area is open all year round.

The point-noeud vélo network

An authentic cycling adventure where history meets nature. Thanks to a network of bike nodes, you can pedal your way through a UNESCO World Heritage mining site, cross the Belgian border and stop off at protected areas that are refuges of biodiversity. Certainly one of the most beautiful cycling itineraries in the Nord!

Bike outing
©Bike outing|@Noémie Martel
    Chabaud Latour de Condé-sur-l'EscautChabaud Latour de Condé-sur-l'Escaut
    ©Chabaud Latour de Condé-sur-l'Escaut|©Claude Waeghemacker
    Courir Sur Un Terril Chabaud LatourCourir Sur Un Terril Chabaud Latour
    ©Running on a Terril at Chabaud-Latour

      2 to 14 km in short strides Running on the slag heaps

      Terril trail – 2km

      Sarels Ponds trail – 5.5km

      Ponds circuit – 14km

      Why is that good?

      Reason #1

      It’s a real immersion in the history and culture of the mining basin. You’ll travel along vertiginous slag heaps, through ancient mining towns

      Reason #2

      Once there, you can enjoy :

      Several km of restored paths and 17 modified walking routes, as well as 72 orienteering markers…

      Reason #3

      Prefer to come by bike? A “chaussidou” (a roadway that encourages soft mobility) has been laid out, and a cycle path runs around the pond and slag heaps.

      How do you live this experience?

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