Sint-Niklaas (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – From next summer, East Flanders will scrap the entrance fee at De Ster in Sint-Niklaas. Dagmar Beernaert confirmed free access, while the swimming zone remains paid. Nearly 400,000 visitors came this summer.
As VRT News reported, from next summer, the provincial domain De Ster in Sint-Niklaas will no longer charge an entrance fee. It is the only provincial park in East Flanders that still requires visitors to pay for access, while the other domains have always been free.
What changes are coming to De Ster Sint-Niklaas entrance fees?
Provincial Executive Dagmar Beernaert (Vooruit) stated that the entrance fee is a hurdle for many families. According to Beernaert, for a family outing, they would spend some 15 euros, even just for walking around the park or visiting the playground. The province has decided to make entry free in the summer of 2026. The authorities expect that the decision will increase visitors.
“For example, the swimming zone needs to be demarcated, as it will remain subject to a fee, just like in other provincial areas,”
Provincial Executive Dagmar Beernaert (Vooruit) said.
The province of East Flanders has released the official visitor numbers for the provincial domains during the summer months. Almost 400,000 people visited the parks, a figure that is roughly the same as last year. The number of swimmers increased compared to the previous season, with more than 183,000 visitors.
According to the province, the summer period passed without major incidents. In July 2025 and August 2025, no access bans were imposed on any of the provincial domains. There were also hardly any problems with blue-green algae, which had caused restrictions in earlier years.
A new treatment for the water was tried at De Ster in Sint-Niklaas, and therefore the park could stay open over the summer holidays, while, in previous seasons, closures had been necessary due to algae blooming.
De Ster in Sint-Niklaas is an important provincial domain which started in 1972 and has a number of facilities including beaches, playgrounds and a lake. At the time, it was the only park that still charged any entrance fee in East Flanders. Other parks, such as Puyenbroeck in Wachtebeke and Den Blakken in Wettere, have always been free parks.
The charge was introduced in the late 20th century to cover maintenance and management costs, but in recent years, criticised for restricting low-budget families from being able to visit. Visitor numbers in 2023 and 2024 remained steady across domains, yet De Ster often saw families choosing not to visit due to the expense.
