Limone sul Garda 69 m. – bicycle and pedestrian path –
(Italy western shore Lake Garda)
10 km of trekking between round trip, on the cycle-pedestrian track known as one of the most beautiful and scenic
in the world. Zero elevation gain and thrills galore: a fairy tale to be experienced!!!
Starting location: Limone sul Garda 69 m.
Departure altitude: 69 m.
Arrival location: Limone sul Garda 69 m.
Arrival altitude: 69 m.
Height difference: 0 m.
Location: on the western shore of Lake Garda, in the area of Limone sul Garda
Difficulty: T [difficulty level scale]
Signpost: n° 135
Hours: 1h 15 minutes
Period: all year round
Equipment required: none in particular
Waste: here’s what you need to know before abandoning it
Welcome or welcome back to the pages of abitarelestremo.it
Today we are going to tell you about our experience on the Limone sul Garda bike path/hiking trail.
We are talking about an engineering work of high value: the Limone sul Garda bike path is considered one of the
most beautiful and spectacular in the world, and has a length of about 2.5 km (but in reality the total length of the route
exceeds 5 km in the outward direction and obviously another 5 km in the return).
Artificially made by creating a long traverse on a slope, it is partly completely overlooking the waters of Lake Garda,
offering unique scenery and incredible views.
To make it clear what we are talking about, I made at dawn, video footage with my drone, which
can be seen on this page, or by clicking on this link.
But let’s go in order.
We are on a mid-April day, the sun is warm, but a still rather cold breeze is blowing, forcing us to keep our fleece
on at all times.
The starting point is the village of Limone sul Garda, a colorful and hospitable little town of about 1,100 inhabitants,
well-kept even in the details, clean and often very crowded with tourists, especially Germans who have absolute
dominance in these areas.
It is advisable to park the car in one of the paid parking lots that are located at the beginning of the village,
also because there are no other solutions and along the state road SS45 bis called Gardesana, (rather narrow and winding),
it is practically impossible to stop, because the few available parking spaces do not exceed 10 units.
We drive through the village of Limone sul Garda, going in the direction of Riva del Garda.
Among the narrow streets, we find many stores and many eateries, where everything is kept in order.
The trekking route begins by passing between the narrow and high walls of the town, walking first on cobblestone
ground and then on asphalt, immediately reserving enchanting glimpses of Lake Garda, the many olive trees that
surround it, and all the mountains on the shore opposite the one we are traveling.
The sunshine, clear skies, and blue water make the colors especially bright today.
The route number we are following is 135, about 5 kilometers long in total, of which the first 2.5 kilometers are in and out
of Limone sul Garda, while the remaining 2.5 kilometers will all be on the bike path.
We walk among houses with beautiful gardens abutting the waters of the lake, often passing under small bridges
that are used to cross from the houses to the gardens of the same property.
We tackle these first 2.5 km mostly between narrow streets bordered by walls on both our right and left.
The characteristic lampposts and olive trees, make this first passage particularly romantic and pleasant: an easy walk
with zero elevation gain that is overcome in just over 30 minutes.
After finishing this first path, we reach the beginning of the bike path that runs alongside the SS45 bis state road.
The bike and pedestrian path, the last 2 kilometers of which overhang the lake waters, is 2.5 meters wide,
and consists of concrete panels covered with a slatted finish that makes it look like a wood effect.
Construction work on this grandiose work began in 2016 and was completed two years later.
The total cost for the construction of these 2.5 kilometers was about 5 million euros, of which almost half of the
investment was used to secure the mountain, because the track (as you can see from the photographs taken by drone),
is a kind of “traverse on slope.”
But this bike and pedestrian path is only a small part of a much more ambitious project, namely to build all around
the perimeter of Lake Garda a bike and pedestrian path that will connect as many as three regions:
Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino.
Some parts of this grandiose undertaking have already been completed, others are under construction,
and others are still in the design phase.
la pista ciclabile di Limone sul Garda, vista dal drone: un lungo e spettacolare percorso a ridosso della parete rocciosa
But let us return to the most spectacular area” of our hike.
After traveling about 300 m., the bike path bypasses the mountain and the tunnels of the SS45 bis on the outside
and takes us into a wild environment formed on our left by the rocks of the wall, while on our right we will have the
immensity of Lake Garda, visible at 180° with dark blue waters and then the whole mountain range of the eastern part
descending directly into the water.
We are about 20 m. above sea level, our path glimpsing it like a snake clinging to the rock face.
It is a unique experience, where both looking forward and looking back, we never stop admiring the landscape
immersed at times among the vegetation and at other times among the rocks.
This exciting trail, is in some long stretches cantilevered into the void, where we literally find ourselves walking
above the waters of the lake with only the rock walls beside us, with the bike path supported by prominent steel beams.
Crazy, endless beauty, a pride of our country.
Partly in sun and partly in shade depending on the time of day, changing colors, shades, hues.
We travel these 2 km being incredibly amazed at how much has been accomplished and the many turns present,
often hiding from us the next steps, where behind each turn the landscape changes, the scenery changes,
the insolation changes.
In the straight stretches we see on the horizon ahead of us Riva del Garda, the village of Torbole, Mount Brione
and Cima Nanzone 1,134 m.
But then the route curves again, and once again the scenery changes, and other important peaks pop up, in some
areas covered with lush vegetation and in others with rock walls overhanging into the void.
We stop to photograph, to observe, to admire.
We continue until we arrive at the Alto Garda and Ledro Community, precisely at Capo Reamol where our route
ends next to the Monument to the fallen soldiers of World War I.
We have walked a total of 5 km taking a little over an hour and would have gladly continued, but it is here
at Capo Reamol that to date the bike/pedestrian path stops and ends.
The return route is obviously along the same route, but with a different view and facing Navene and Malcesine
on the eastern shore.
We encounter Punta di Vo (1.535 m.), Cima delle Pizzette (2.132 m.), Cima Valdritta (2.118 m.),
Punta Pettorina (2.192 m.)
One would have to spend months and months in the area to be able to admire at least some of the many
opportunities these places offer.
We return toward Limone sul Garda “enjoying” the walk in the opposite direction to the one we went.
An unforgettable day ends here, but with the promise that the next morning, I would get up at 5 a.m. to be here
on this trail at dawn, and shoot with the drone to capture this environment in a guise and with colors unknown to me.
And so it was!!!
The result in the video on this page.
Enjoy the viewing !!!
Report, photographs and video footage by: Michele Giordano and Andreina Baj
Notes: trekking route along the bike path considered among the most beautiful and spectacular in the world.
You will walk suspended in the void, above the waters of Lake Garda, with a view and scenery that is difficult
to describe.
10 km in total between round trip, zero elevation gain and thrills galore.
Our recommendation?
Definitely to be seen at least once in your life, it is really worth it.
