Vaalserberg

Start at Vaals bus station on the Maastrichterlaan, or anywhere in the town centre. Follow the Viergrenzenweg ('four borders road') south and uphill past the Bellevue flats. Waymarked paths, including the long-distance GR 128, GR 56 and Krijtlandpad, leave the road and climb through beech woods along the Dutch–German border. The main climb is about 1.3 km at an average of 7%, on gravel and earth paths that are muddy after rain. Near the top of the slope the path passes the Wilhelmina Tower (35 m, lift and glass skywalk, small fee), then continues almost level along the ridge for about 700 m to the Drielandenpunt. The Drielandenpunt is a busy visitor area with car parks, cafés, the Amikejo Spektaklo maze and a playground. Here stand the 1926 boundary post where the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet, and the 1896 stone marking the highest point of the Netherlands (322.4 m above NAP on the official figure). The hill's natural high point, about 323 m on OpenStreetMap, lies roughly 150 m further south on the Belgian side, near the 50 m King Baudouin Tower. All of these points lie within a few minutes' walk of each other. Return the same way, or make a loop through the Dutch woods to the west (Vaalserbos and Vijlenerbos) or the German Aachener Wald to the east. At weekends and in school holidays, Arriva's tourist bus line 149 links the Drielandenpunt with Vaals bus station, so you can walk one way and ride the other.