Published on: 17 March 2013 | Last updated: 29 March 2017
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| Lago di Garda variant | |
|---|---|
| Tione di Trento - Lago d’Idro | 36 kms |
| Lago d’Idro - Lago di Ledro | 25 kms |
| Lago di Ledro - Riva del Garda | 14 kms |
| Riva del Garda - Molveno | 44 kms |
This is a variant of the route which goes via the Lago d’Idro, and Lago di Ledro before making a spectacular descent on the old Strada del Ponale into Riva del Garda. From Riva del Garda it then climbs through vineyards to the Lago di Tenno and then rejoins the main route on the road to Molveno.
The Strada del Ponale with the Lago di Garda in the background - click to enlarge
Note: the Strada del Ponale was cut by a landslide, and a new tunnel was built taking traffic down into Riva del Garda. Bikes are banned from the the tunnel. The lower section of the old road is a fairly gravelly footpath. This was rideable with panniers on an MTB-tourer, but if you have narrower tyres you may need to push your bike for a kilometre or so. I think the descent is worth making even if you do have to push for a bit.
The initial climb out of Tione di Trento is a bit dull, but the route gets more interesting. I think the plan is to extend the Giudicarie cycleway, which leads to the Lago d’Idro, northwards so it connects with the Val Rendena cycleway, but at the moment, there are a number of disconnected sections of the new part of the cycleway before you join the old cycleway which takes you the final kilometres from Condino down to the lake.
There’s a good scenic road up from the Lago d’Idro to the Lago di Ledro. At the Laghetto di Ampola the route turns off the road onto the Ledro ciclabile. The initial section is unsurfaced by you can avoid this by turning right after the laghetto and picking up the ciclabile there. The route then follows the ciclabile past sawmills and timberyards before it reaches the Lago di Ledro. There’s another unsurfaced section so so you may prefer to take the road on the other (northern) side of the lake.
The high point of this section is the descent into Riva del Garda for my money one of the most scenic rides around the lakes.
The Lago di Garda (76m) is the lowest of the Italian lakes and there’s a a biggish climb (700-metre altitude gain in 15kms) passing yet another lake (the Lago di Tenno) on the way.
Options
From the Riva del Garda you could head via Torbole to pick up the Valle dell’Adige cycleway near Rovereto. The cycleway heads south towards Verona and north towards Trento and Bozen (Bolzano). You could use this option to rejoin the route at Lavis and cut out quite a lot of climbing.
Alternatively you could head south and pick up the Lakes of Lombardia and Piemonte route.
More information
Places to stay
Articles in this series
- The Dolomites (West-East): Overview
- The Dolomites (West-East) Part 1
- The Dolomites (West-East) – Part 2
- The Dolomites (West-East) – Part 3
- Dolomites (West-East) – Lago di Garda variant
- The Dolomites (West-East) – Part 4
- The Dolomites (West-East) – Part 5
The Strada del Ponale with the Lago di Garda in the background
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