Cycling from Riva del Garda: the routes that start at the door
Ponale, Monte Brione, Val di Ledro, the Sarca cycle path: gradient, surface, how long they take and which ones suit an e-bike. And the e-bikes you can hire at the hotel, if you arrived without one.
Four routes leave the centre of Riva del Garda with no need to put the bike on a car, and between them they cover most of what anyone wants: the road carved into the rock, the hill with the forts, the mountain lake, and the flat valley.
The famous one is the Ponale path: unpaved, steadily uphill, six kilometres to Pregasina. The easiest is the cycle route along the Sarca towards Arco — flat, and open to anyone.
The Ponale path.
This is the old road that linked Riva to the Val di Ledro, cut into the wall above the lake and now closed to cars. It begins in Riva, at the start of the Gardesana Occidentale, near the hydroelectric station.
Six kilometres of steady climbing to Pregasina, from eighty metres up to around four hundred and fifty. Gravel surface, tunnels, narrow exposed sections with the lake below: you keep a hand on the brake and look ahead into the blind bends. Waymark D01, rated easy — no technical moves, but it is a mountain path.
Bring a mountain bike or an e-bike. A road bike makes no sense here. Riders with legs carry on past Pregasina and drop into the Val di Ledro; anyone who came for the view turns around and is back within two hours.
Monte Brione.
The hill between Riva and Torbole, under four hundred metres, olive terraces on its flanks and Austro-Hungarian forts from the Great War on top.
The climb is short and unkind, the reward out of proportion: from up there the whole upper lake reads in a single glance, the Sarca plain on one side and the water on the other. It is the ride to do on the first evening, to understand where you have arrived.
Val di Ledro.
The mountain lake at six hundred and fifty metres, above Riva. You reach it by the hairpins of the Gardesana, or more sweetly by way of the Ponale.
The full circuit of Lake Ledro is flat and works as a family ride; the climb to get there is what decides the day. On an e-bike it becomes a half-day outing instead of a test of strength.
The Sarca cycle route.
The flat run along the river, from Riva towards Arco and on up into the Valle dei Laghi. Tarmac and packed gravel, away from cars, with the walls of Arco rising on either side.
It is the right choice for the rest day, for riding with children, or for anyone who wants to reach Arco, drink a coffee in the square and come back without having worked for it.
When to ride.
March to November. The best months are April, May, September and October: right temperatures, long light, few people on the trails. In July and August you go out early, with the Pelér, and come back before the sun swings onto the walls.
If you arrived without one.
None of these routes requires putting a bike on the car. The hotel keeps city e-bikes and mountain e-bikes for hire: you book them at reception, you find them ready on the ground floor, and you set off from via Negrelli.
The two suit two different days. The city e-bike is the one for the Sarca cycle route, the ride to Arco, the old town and dinner in Torbole. The mountain e-bike is the one for the Ponale, Monte Brione and the climb into the Val di Ledro.
Helmets are available to hire too, if you did not bring one.
You leave and return through the same door: no collection to arrange on the other side of town, no drop-off time deciding when your day ends.
In the evening, the bike needs somewhere.
Anyone who rides knows the problem starts on the way back: where the bike goes, where the wet kit hangs, where to find a five millimetre key.
Here there is a closed, dry room on the ground floor, with a stand for small repairs and a place to charge batteries. You leave it all there and go up for a shower.
Common questions.
Can you hire a bike at the hotel in Riva del Garda?
Yes. The hotel has city e-bikes and mountain e-bikes for hire, booked at reception, and helmets are available to hire too. You set off and return from via Negrelli, with no need to have brought your own bike.
Can you cycle the Ponale path?
Yes, the Ponale is open to bikes. The surface is gravel and the climb is constant, with tunnels and narrow sections above the lake: bring a mountain bike or an e-bike and take care on blind bends. A road bike is not suitable.
How long is the Ponale path?
From Riva del Garda to Pregasina it is about six kilometres uphill, from eighty metres to roughly four hundred and fifty. There and back takes a little over two hours by bike.
Are there easy bike routes around Riva del Garda?
Yes: the cycle route along the river Sarca towards Arco is flat, separated from traffic and fine for children. The circuit of Lake Ledro, once you are up there, is also almost entirely level.
When is the best time to cycle in Garda Trentino?
March to November, with April, May, September and October the ideal months. In high summer it is better to set off at dawn, while the Pelér blows and the walls are still in shade.
