BOLZANO TO TRENTO BIKE TOUR | TRENTINO ALTO ADIGE
The Bolzano to Trento path is the most important of all the cycle paths already built or projected in Trentino. It links, from north to south, the provinces of Bolzano, Trentino and Verona: the heart of the Alps to the Po Valley. Like it has been for thousands of years, the Valle dell'Adige is a transit route to Italy and remains the preferred route to southern European destinations, even for those who travel by bike. The bike path is 90 kilometres long and represents the cornerstone of the whole cycle route project in Trentino.
BOLZANO TO TRENTO BIKE PATH ROUTE NOTES
The bike path runs almost completely along the Adige river, alternating between its right and left banks, using the old riverside roads which cross fields and orchards, skirting past hamlets, villages and the cities of Trento and Rovereto. It doesn't matter which direction you choose to ride, the path, from the north or the south, the elevation gain between its highest and lowest points is insignificant and you don't even climb 100m. There are no demanding climbs, but there are a few steep ramps, the steepest are those required for climbing the river's banks. Nearly the whole length of the path is along roads protected from motorised traffic and is reserved exclusively for cyclists, pedestrians and very infrequent agricultural vehicles which use it when moving from one farm to another.
This guide starts describing the Bolzano bike path from its most northerly point, where cycle paths arriving from the city of Bolzano link it. Keeping to the left bank, the first stretch runs down along the river Adige to the Rotaliano Plain near the village of Mezzocorona, the path does not pass through Mezzocorona. The area it crosses is through orchards and vineyards, that sits in the valley between the high rock faces on both sides of this part of the valley. After 4½ kilometres, in the community of Masetto, the path move to the Adige's right bank and continues down the river, passing through the village of Grumo, separated from San Michele all'Adige by a grand arch bridge. In San Michele you can visit the interesting Museo degli usi e costumi della Gente trentina (Trentino People's Habits and Customs Museum), hosted in the ancient Augustine Monastery.
Continuing along the Adige, the path now run alongside a section of the Brenner motorway, an important and busy communication artery, without fee. After ten kilometres you will reach the village of Nave San Rocco where the path again crosses the river onto the left bank. The ride continues through the rural environment and there are equipped rest areas to stop for a break or to admire the surrounding views. After sixteen kilometres, the path moves away temporarily from the Adige, towards the centre of the valley for a short stretch up the Torrente Avisio. Consequently, you pass the mouth of the Avisio Biotope, a small protected area, the natural reserve is an important rest place for some species of migratory birds and a field centre for bird tagging, whose objective is the study of migratory flight paths used in crossing the Alps. On the outskirts of the town of Lavis the path crosses the Avisio over a wooden footbridge and continues towards the Adige, parallel to the Trento Nord motorway exit. For the next three kilometres the cycle path remains close to the river and the motorway, in view of the high, sheer rock-faces of the Soprasasso.
After 27 kilometres the path enters the city of Trento, initially along a busy street, then along the tree-lined bank, which separates the river from the Adigetto canal. The cycle path does not pass through the heart of the city of Trento, it merely touches it, but a visit to the City of the Council is an absolute must. Carrying on southwards, after 31 kilometres the path will once again cross over to the right-hand side of the Adige, there is also another branch of the cycle path on the left-hand bank. Once you reach the village of Mattarello, a southern suburb of Trento, the two branches of the cycle path come together on the left bank. A further eight kilometres the path reaches the village of Besenello, overlooked by the hill which houses Beseno Castle, summer home to interesting museum exhibitions of Trentino life from the past centuries. The path then goes past the village of Calliano on the right bank of the Adige and at Nomi crosses over next to another strip of land set up as a Biotope, a relic of the river environment which you could find along the Adige up until the end of the nineteenth century, before the river was completely banked. Right before the bridge of Nomi, we find the "Bicigrill", a rest stop and information point for cyclist.
By this point you will have completed 46 kilometres and another four the path continues along the left bank, skirting vineyards. Pass under the Sant'Ilario bridge, then the cycle path moves away from the river bank and using a lightly used road towards the outskirts of the town of Rovereto, Trento Province's second most important town. As in Trento, the cycle path does not head towards the city centre, easily reachable along a branch of the same path, which turns off by the River Leno crossing. Rovereto is a town worth visiting, full of unknown and interesting ideas and home of the artist Fortunato Depero, great exponent of the Futurist movement.
Rovereto is at 55 kilometres and the path again moves away from motorised traffic, another short section which once more carries us along the Adige until we cross it over the Mori Dam bridge, built to feed water into the Montedison Canal and the abandoned factory of the same name. At 60 kilometres, along the right bank of the Montedison Canal, the path will branch off from the cycle path which goes to Lake Garda via Mori. At the former Montedison factory we pass over to the Adige's left bank across the bridge and continue along a section next to the motorway and then alongside the Verona-Brennero railway line as far as the village of Chizzola, accessible on the other side via a footbridge. For the next 6 kilometres the cycle path is still being built, alternating between finished and unfinished sections until reaching the village of Pilcante. On leaving the village, the cycle path continues along the lightly used provincial road, the “destra Adige”, this road is shared with other vehicles as far as the Ala Dam. Having crossed the Biffis Canal, bypass the Ala-Avio motorway exit, once again travelling along a section of protected path. Pass through Vo' Destro, near Sabbionara, dominated by the mass of Sabbionara d'Avio Castle, which is worth visiting, whether for its beauty or the view from the top of the keep. There are still 5 kilometres to go on the cycle path in the Valle dell'Adige, all along the riverbanks in the narrow space between the river and the motorway. Finally we reach the village of Borghetto all'Adige, where the path ends at the bridge by the boundary with Verona province.
From this point you will use provincial roads to reach Verona. There is traffic on this road so be careful.