IMPRINT
Thanks to:
Albert Krementz, Matthias Neumann, Gabi Weber, Antje Leinhoß, Angelica and Alessandro Tonelli, Roland Schymik, Carsten Schymik, Thomas Hasse, Simone Philippeit, Tino Philippeit, Karsten Rulf, Stefan Stuntz, Stephan Hölger, Carlo and Marco Giovanazzi, Björn Hänssler (www.bopicture.de), Daniel Dziedzina, Kristina Jasiunaite, Martin Heim, Manfred Thaler, Tomasz Pawłusiewicz, Peter Beck, Jörg Fritsch, Mario Seyfarth, Katja Schlecht, Harald Trefflinger, Nadine Kirchner
German National Library bibliographic information:
The German National Library has recorded this publication; detailed bibliographic data can be found on the internet at: „www.dnb.de“
© 2009 Andreas Albrecht – 7th edition 2019
concept, text and ideas: Andreas Albrecht (www.gps-bikeguide.com, www.transalp.info)
layout design Franziska Hänel, Druckmedienzentrum Gotha GmbH
cover design: Franziska Hänel, Druckmedienzentrum Gotha GmbH
final production: Andreas Albrecht
Cartographic material:
digital vector maps of the Lake Garda region with kind permission from
Albert Krementz – www.garda-gps.de
design of overview map page →: Tomasz Pawłusiewicz (www.transalp.pl)
Height profiles:
created from GPS data with the help of the HRMProfil programme by Ralph Welz
www.hrmprofil.de
Photographs:
Dirk Kersken: pages →, → above, → above
Simone Philippeit: pages → above, → above, → above
Alexander Krzepinski: pages →, → above, → above, → above, →
Björn Hänssler (www.bopicture.de): pages → bottom, → bottom, → bottom, front and back cover
Matthias Neumann: pages → unten, → above
Karsten Rulf: page → above, → above
Andreas Albrecht: all other photos
Front cover: Trail near Sommavilla
Back cover: Lake Garda – San Vigilio near Garda
Rider: Daniel Dziedzina, Andreas Albrecht
Production and printing: BoD – Books on Demand GmbH, Norderstedt
Printed in Germany
ISBN: 978-3-7494-4118-1
Cycling and particularly mountain biking is booming on Lake Garda. Peak season is from the end of March through to October when dream tours can be ridden with a pretty safe good weather guarantee. Even January or February have enough sunny days to make it worth taking your bike along. Having finished your tour there's plenty to do, the tourist infrastructure is excellent, though you rarely get the feeling that you're sinking into the chaos of mass tourism. The way the towns have built up and been settled through the centuries have seen to that.
Lake Garda has always been a melting pot of peoples and cultures, which gives the region its own special flair. Over the millennia a thick network of paths and tracks has built up providing bike tours for every level of aspiration. The position of the lake on the one time border between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy lead to countless military roads being driven into the mountains, which after many quiet years have woken from their slumbers thanks to the arrival of mountain bikers, giving them a late blooming, and putting them to a deeply peaceful use.
Increasingly, families are coming to the Lago to bike. They need Tours
The tour suggestions are divided into the following categories.
| Nr. | Name | Synopsis |
| 100 – 199 | Bambini tours | Flat tours, up to approx. 10 km. Also feeder routes to Start/Finishing points |
| 200 – 299 | Taster tours – flat | Mostly flat, more than 10 km, little change in altitude |
| 300 – 499 | Taster tours – mountain | Up to approx. 500 m of ascent |
| 400 – 499 | Half day Tours | 500 to approx. 1200 m of ascent |
| 500 – 599 | Day tours | 1200 to approx. 2000 m of ascent |
| 600 – 699 | Extreme tours | Very long, extreme height differences and/or very difficult tracks from S3 on the single track scale (STS: see appendix) |
| 700 | round Trip Lake Garda | Garda Bike Challenge (see Gardasee GPS Bikeguide Südwest – only in german language) |
Within the categories the tours have been numbered from 00 to 99. That doesn't mean that within each chapter you'll find a hundred tours, but rather leaves space for a future expansion of the tours without having to alter the basic structure of the road book.
There is a further regional division between Northern Lake Garda and Lake Garda south as you can see in the summary. The tours in the northern region are numbered from *00 to *49 and those in the south from *50 to *99.
I have consciously chosen not to include timings for the tours, as in my experience they are too inaccurate being so heavily dependant upon your personal speed. It's better to orientate yourself by the simple rule of thumb for climbs: 500 metres of ascent per hour for the average rider with large deviations in either direction. The majority of the tours in the northern region are within the Riva – Arco – Torbole triangle. The towns are linked through an excellent cycle path network which contains almost no climbs. Transfers can be made so easily by bike and are a good chance to warm up before heading into the mountains. As a whole, the tours have been conceived in such a way that a car is not essential to get you to the starting points. Should a tour start or finish in Limone or Malcesine the transfer could be made by boat – a good excuse for an experience which shouldn't be missed out on. The coast roads, the Gardesana Orientale and Occidentale are usually very busy and not every biker's cup of tea. Some tours can be started and/or finished at the Lago di Ledro as an alternative to Riva.
Most tours in the southern region begin in Garda, though are just as easily reached from Bardolino, Affi or the Costermano plateau.
Up to now this south eastern part of Lake Garda, the area around Garda, Bardolino, Prada and Torri del Benaco was rather the overlooked when it came to available tour suggestions for mountain bikers. Quite unjustly, you only need to open your eyes to the landscape and study the maps to see that! The southern foothills of Monte Baldo and the mountains around Costermano offer numerous hidden lanes and tracks of all sorts just waiting to be woken up. The huge advantage of this area is that not every half way interesting tour involves a minimum of a thousand metre climb as is often the case in the northern region. The Lessinic Alps on the other side of the Adige are within easy reach, tours in these mountains can also be found in the southern Lake Garda section.
In summer a bus and bike service links Garda with San Zeno di Montagna or Prada which can save you a few metres of climb. The special charm of the tours in the south around Garda is that they can be combined much more easily than the tours on the northern end of Lake Garda. You can lengthened or shorten them at whim should you be left wanting more or start running out of time and energy.
As far as possible I've chosen small lanes for the climbs which as a rule have very little motor traffic on them. Putting it simply, on asphalt it's just easier to climb. The downhills are often on good logging roads or gravel tracks. For the average biker they shouldn't present any problem. However, for many mountainbikers tracks are the salt in the soup of interesting tours.
For this reason, particularly in the new tours in the south east region, I've made sure that the downhills have had as many interesting tracks as possible built into them whilst keeping the route logical. Expect some bumpy passages. If they are above your current ability, just get off and push a few meters.
The tracks have been classified in the route descriptions according to the single track scale (STS – see pages 156ff).
To sum things up, I have ridden all of the tours described in this book and they reflect my attitude towards cycling in general, and mountain biking specifically: it has to roll!
The book series was explicitly conceived in the form of a GPS bikeguide. The tour descriptions are not designed for a roadbook which gives every single way. From my point of view, that would not be helpful because there is a huge path network on Lake Garda.
From the colours used on the height profile and the overview maps you can read whether for example the downhill is on a track or gravel track meaning it's easier to find your perfect tour. Detailed descriptions are not needed for the tours in the 100 and 200 categories. The routes are simple and need no further explanation. It's practically impossible to get lost and even if you do manage to, if needs be you will be able to get your self back to your starting point.
Purchasers of this book can request the GPS tracks over the internet using this form:
All the tours within this book have GPS data in the form of gpx tracks. The tracks have been created by riding the routes and not artificially on the PC. The data was then edited with the help of digital maps in order to eliminate obvious glitches which can occur when the track runs along a rock face or through a tunnel.
The GPS tracks are provided with a time stamp according to international standards. This ensures that they function independently of devices and platforms. Unfortunately, with the large number of new players entering the market, it is not possible to test compatibility with every single GPS device. The GPS handsets need a PC in order to transfer the data which can be done with the help of the following programmes:
KOMPASS walker's maps
It's always a good idea to keep paper maps with you so you don't get stuck should your GPS handset stop working for some reason, or you have to deviate from the planned route. The newest edition of the following KOMPASS walker's maps are of excellent quality, GPS compatible and have many bike routes already marked.
| 1:50.000 scale | |
| WK 71: Adamello-La Presanella | ISBN: 978-3854910800 |
| WK 071: Alpi di Ledro, Valli Giudicarie | ISBN: 978-3854915607 |
| WK 73: Gruppo di Brenta | ISBN: 978-3854910824 |
| WK 100: Monti Lessini, Gruppo della Carega | ISBN: 978-3854914167 |
| WK 101: Rovereto-Monte Pasubio | ISBN: 978-3854911036 |
| WK 102: Lago di Garda-Monte Baldo | ISBN: 978-3854911043 |
| 1:35.000 scale (recommendation) | |
| WK 697: Gardasee and Umgebung (3-teilig) | ISBN: 978-3850263481 |
| 1:25.000 scale | |
| WK 096: Alto Garda, Ledro, Valle del Sarca | ISBN: 978-3850264921 |
| WK 647: Trento and Umgebung, Trento e dintorni | ISBN: 978-3854918929 |
| WK 649: Paganella - Dolomiti di Brenta | ISBN: 978-3850265362 |
| WK 687: M. Stivo, M. Bondone, Rovereto | ISBN: 978-3854916840 |
| WK 688: Gruppo di Brenta | ISBN: 978-3854917700 |
| WK 691: Monte Baldo North | ISBN: 978-3850265379 |
| WK 692: Monte Baldo South | ISBN: 978-3850264709 |
| WK 694: Parco Alto Garda Bresciano | ISBN: 978-3850264716 |
| WK 695: Gardasee South - Basso Garda | ISBN: 978-3850265386 |
| The following Digital maps are currently available from KOMPASS | |
| GPS 4102: Gardasee | ISBN: 978-3854913115 |
| GPS 4310: Über die Alpen | ISBN: 978-3850264303 |
These digital maps let you extract the map segments you require and print them with the GPS tracks. KOMPASS has integrated the required software. The KOMPASS digital maps with the latest PC software contain another special feature – maps and tracks can be directly uploaded onto the display smartphones.
Further providers
There is a huge number of maps that can be bought from different publishers on Lake Garda. Lagir Alpina and 4Land maps are high quality. There are various regional survey maps including many tour suggestions available at the local tourist informations. For example, in Limone you got a very good one from Tappeiner – Map 109 – for a great price of 1 euro.
As the name suggests these tours are designed with children in mind, perfect for the first bike trips with the whole family. The vast majority of the tours follow the cycle paths which are usually asphalted. The routes are basically flat, and contain no major climbs meaning that an altitude profile is superfluous. They are up to 10 km long. Some tours can serve as transfers to the start and end points of other longer tours.
Old Roman Bridge near Ceniga
Panorama to Riva, Monte Brione and Torbole
Synopsis » nice warm up route along the Sarca
The first part of this tour starts at Meckis Bar in Torbole following a frequented bike path to Arco. Past a sports area, we also pass a parking and then turn left. After the supermarket we take a right turn towards the city centre. The cycle track runs alongside a small park. We are guided by the church tower. Why not treat yourself with an ice cream? For the way back, instead of taking the same route, we can combine it with a bambini tour. Therefore, you can branch off to Giro di Brione (see also in tour 102)..
Synopsis » short circular route, a good introduction for children
This tour also starts at Meckis Bar towards Arco. At the bike snack bar we leave the cycle path and cross the street following Via Sabbloni. After approximately 400 m we sharply turn left onto a path that takes us back to Lake Garda. The trail runs trough olive groves and ends up back on the road. A cross is marking the way here. After crossing the street we take the first right-hand turn onto a country lane. After a few hundred meters we reach another road. At this point, we turn right, cross the street again and bend right. When reaching a chapel, turn right through the vineyards. At the finish we are on Lido di Arco. The municipal area of Arco stretches right from the Sarca to Lake Garda. Once more we cross the road and head towards Monte Brione and get back to Torbole on the riverside-path.
Synopsis » short circular route, a good introduction for children