Lake Garda Western Shore and Strada della Forra (71 km)

Salo to Tremosine

Open this ride in the planner →

Why this ride

71 km one way from Salò - plan on about 1 h 13 of riding. The stops in between: Gardone Riviera, Limone sul Garda and Strada della Forra. The highest point is about 1,300 m. It suits an unhurried touring pace.

Roadbook

1. Salo start

   Salò is a lakeside town on the western shore of Lake Garda, tucked into a deep bay that protects it from the worst of the wind. It has a long, elegant promenade, a cathedral with a Gothic facade and the kind of old arcades that make you want to sit with a coffee. The town is known for the violin maker Gasparo da Salò, who worked here in the sixteenth century and is considered one of the founders of the modern violin. For a very different reason, it is also remembered as the seat of the Italian Social Republic, Mussolini's puppet state, from 1943 to 1945.

   With around eight thousand people, Salò has everything a rider needs: petrol stations, supermarkets, bakeries and plenty of places to eat by the water. The nearby town of Roè Volciano has more shopping and services. The Gardesana Occidentale, the road along the west shore, begins here and runs north, a famous route with tunnels carved into the cliffs and views over the water. Early in the day it is a joy; at weekends and in summer, it fills with cars, campervans and cyclists, and a leisurely pace is the only sensible one.

   Garda is Italy's largest lake, formed by a glacier, and its climate is mild enough that lemon trees, olives and oleander grow along the shore. The wind pattern is well known: the Peler blows from the north in the morning, and the Ora arrives from the south in the early afternoon, making the lake a favourite for sailors and windsurfers. Spring can bring surprising squalls, and storms in summer build quickly over the mountains at the north end, so keep an eye on the sky.

   The route that leaves Salò toward the hills behind the lake offers a quiet alternative. Narrow roads climb through olive groves and small villages, with a very different feel from the busy shore. The food is lake fish, such as lavarello and trout, with olive oil from the local groves, which is among the lightest in Italy. Start here early, have a proper breakfast on the front, and watch the first light turn the lake silver before the day's traffic begins.

2. Gardone Riviera scenic

   Gardone Riviera is where Lake Garda decided to be elegant. It sits on the western shore, a few kilometres from Salò, in a sheltered bay with a mild climate that made it a favourite winter resort for the Austro-Hungarian and German aristocracy in the late nineteenth century. Grand hotels with wrought-iron balconies still line the lakefront, and palms, cypress and magnolias grow in the gardens, giving the place a faintly Mediterranean look even though the Alps are close behind. The botanical garden, founded by Arturo Hruska in the early twentieth century, collects plants from many climates and is a pleasant shady escape on a hot day.

   The most extraordinary place in town is the Vittoriale degli Italiani, the house and estate of the poet and soldier Gabriele D'Annunzio, who lived here from 1921 until his death in 1938. It is part museum, part mausoleum and part fever dream, a collection of rooms, gardens and monuments that includes the prow of a warship set into the hillside. D'Annunzio was a poet, a war hero and an early supporter of Mussolini, and the place reflects his flamboyance and ego. Whatever you think of him, it is unforgettable.

   Riding on the western shore of Garda is a mixed pleasure. The Gardesana Occidentale, the main lakeside road, is spectacular, passing through tunnels cut into the cliffs with the blue water below, but it is also busy, particularly at weekends and in summer, with heavy traffic and slow-moving lorries. Overtaking is limited, and the tunnels can be loud and dark. Early morning is best, or late autumn and early spring, when the crowds have gone and the light is clear. In the afternoon, a wind called the Ora blows up the lake from the south and gives sailors their best sport.

   The services are excellent. Gardone has hotels, restaurants and cafes along the waterfront, with fresh lake fish, risotto and local olive oil on the menu. Salò, three and a half kilometres to the south, is a larger town with fuel, supermarkets and a handsome promenade, and was briefly the capital of Mussolini's puppet republic in the last years of the war.

   If you have time, take a short ride up into the hills behind the lake, where the roads are quiet and the views of the water are lovely. In the evening, the lakefront is a good spot to sit with a spritz and watch the lights come on.

3. Limone sul Garda scenic

   Limone sits on a ledge between the lake and the cliffs, at the northern end of Lake Garda's western shore, and for much of its history it was reachable only by boat. The mountains rise almost sheer behind it, and the old town is a tangle of narrow alleys that run down to a small harbour. It is famous for lemons, though the name may come from a word for boundary rather than from the fruit, and the terraced lemon houses, called limonaie, with their stone pillars and wooden frames covered in glass in winter, are still visible on the hillside. In the nineteenth century, Limone shipped lemons to the cold cities of northern Europe.

   The road to the village is a story in itself. The Gardesana Occidentale, which runs along the shore, was blasted through the rock in the early twentieth century, and the stretch near Limone passes through a long series of tunnels with windows cut into the cliff. The riding is dramatic, with the lake glittering below and the rocks above, but it is also slow, with heavy traffic in summer and few chances to overtake. The surface is generally good. Be careful in the tunnels, where the light changes abruptly, and watch for cyclists and pedestrians in the village.

   Limone is a place for a walk and an ice cream, rather than a long visit on the bike. The lanes are crowded in summer and the parking is limited, so it is best to leave the bike in the lot at the edge of town and wander. The shops sell lemon products, from soap to liqueur, and the waterfront has cafes where you can sit with a coffee and watch the ferries come and go. Fuel in the village is limited, so fill before arriving, or in Riva del Garda, about nine kilometres to the north, which is a larger town with stations, supermarkets and a pretty old centre.

   The climate is mild, with a Mediterranean feel, and olive and lemon trees grow here despite the proximity of the Alps. The best months to visit are April to June and September to October, when the weather is warm but the crowds are smaller.

   From Limone, the road to the Tremosine plateau begins, and it is one of the great detours of the lake. If you have a taste for narrow roads and big drops, that is where the day really gets interesting.

4. Strada della Forra scenic

   The Strada della Forra is the sort of road that makes people look at a map twice. It leaves the lake shore near Limone and climbs through the gorge of the Brasa stream to the Tremosine plateau, cut into the vertical rock, with the cliff wall on one side and a very long drop on the other. It was built in the early twentieth century to link the isolated villages of Tremosine, which until then were almost cut off from the rest of the world, and it is remarkable that anyone thought to build it at all. Narrow tunnels, overhanging rock and tight bends make it one of the most dramatic roads in Italy.

   For a rider, it is thrilling but demands attention. The road is narrow, in places barely wide enough for two cars to pass, with several short tunnels that are almost one lane. Blind corners and oncoming traffic, including buses, are normal. The surface is generally fair but there can be loose stone and damp patches, and the gorge is shaded and cool even in summer. Speeds should be low, partly because the road demands it, and partly because there is simply too much to look at. Sometimes the road is closed after rockfall or storms, so check before you commit.

   At the top, the plateau of Tremosine opens out into a quieter country of villages, meadows and sweeping views over the lake. The village of Pieve is the main centre, and at its edge is a terrace built out over the cliff, a glass platform nicknamed the Terrace of Thrills, which hangs more than three hundred metres above the water. It is not for those afraid of heights, but the view down the lake to the south is one of the finest anywhere.

   There is little in the way of services on the road itself. Pieve has cafes, a few restaurants and basic shops, and the lake terrace has a bar that serves coffee and light meals. Fuel is the main issue. There is none in the gorge, and the nearest large town in the data is Riva del Garda, about fourteen kilometres away, so fill there or in one of the shore villages before you climb.

   If the road is busy, take your time and enjoy it. It is best ridden early, on a weekday in spring or autumn, when the light is soft and the tourists are few. The ride down again is a different experience, with the lake spread out below like a blue floor.

5. Tremosine finish

   Tremosine is not so much a village as a plateau hung on the cliffs above the western shore of Lake Garda, a scattering of hamlets spread across a terrace roughly 400 metres above the water. The main settlement, Pieve, sits on the edge, with a terrace that overlooks the lake from a height that makes the stomach lurch. Across the water lies Malcesine, and in the evening the lights of the east shore twinkle. Nearby Gardola is the administrative centre of the commune. The area is tiny in population, with only a few hundred people in each village, so fuel is not something you can count on up here.

   The famous way up is the Strada della Forra, a road cut in the early twentieth century through a narrow ravine from Limone and the lakeshore. It was called by Winston Churchill, according to local lore, the eighth wonder of the world, though that attribution is hard to prove. The road is narrow, carved into the rock, with overhangs above and a drop to a gorge below, and a series of short tunnels. It is tight enough that large vehicles can struggle, and you may meet a bus coming the other way, so keep to your side and go slowly.

   The riding on the plateau itself is quieter and less dramatic, but rewarding: narrow lanes among pastures and woodland, small chapels and views on all sides. The surface is mostly good, though gravel appears in places, and the gradient is steady. It is the sort of place where the best thing to do is stop at a cafe terrace over the cliff and watch the paragliders drop from the edge. A few viewpoints, including the Terrazza del Brivido, a glass-floored platform, give a sense of the drop.

   Fuel and supplies are best taken in Salò or on the lakeshore before you climb, as the nearest big pumps are down at the lake. The local cooking is mountain-style: polenta, cured meats, game and cheese, with lake fish near the shore. Summer weekends are busy, spring and autumn are calm, and a clear morning in October, with fresh air and gentle light, is hard to beat.

Where this sits

Rides near here