riding lake garda

who’s been , is it super steep and techy  or flowy stuff too ? thx

Ive been and its mostly super tech and steep!

There are a few threads on it – main ponts

Riva in the North is quite bikey and there are some good shops and organised tours from there

I’ve stayed in Malcesine with the family and managed to go from the hotel for a good loop (expect lots of climbing!) and also take the cable car up to Mt Baldo & ride a way marked trail (the 601) down

If you hire a bike remember that the brakes are the wrong way around!

Seen as for years it was an XC mecca for the Germans its not all steep an tech, but if you want that there is plenty.

I love the question flowy stuff when people ask,it all depends on how good a rider you are as ride the steep tech trail fast and it flows.

There is something for everyone and is a great place to holiday.

Great riding but you have to either pay lots of £s for uplift or face being passed by hundreds of Germans on their electric bikes going up hill. Michael Cycle will be along soon to offer advice and a holiday :-)

or face being passed by hundreds of Germans on their electric bikes going up hill.

Ha, I was there only 5 years ago and didn’t see one,  how times change.

OP we used a combo of tourist info and gardamtb.com. It was a great holiday, but in hind sight I think we should have used some guided days as the official TI/guidebook stuff we chose all got a bit samey ( we were a bit limited by one friend who is fit but has no skills so we had to choose accordingly). There are some good DH trails behind Torbole which needed an uplift (from friend who wasn’t up for it). We also didn’t get to use the Malcesine chairlift as the weather wasn’t great and Mt Baldo was in heavy cloud.

Flowy is not what springs to mind when you think of Garda; remorselessly rocky more like it. Get yourself uplift (Luca or the Liteville shop at Torbole) unless you enjoy 2000m ascents up roads in 35deg heat. Hire a guide so you don’t ride your descents down fireroads or tarmac. uplift used to cost 15 Euros and a share of a guide similar, not much for a great day out. Michael Shiels working from the Liteville shop is a great guide, is connected to the Liteville shop.

or face being passed by hundreds of Germans on their electric bikes going up hill

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Hired a eBike and rode up to around 1700m, up Altissimo/601 way.. Then came down bottom bit of 601 trail and the coast trail. I’d have gone higher but only had it for a half day.

Uplift would be better but was curious about eBikes, which are everywhere in Riva del Garda

From the top of Mt Baldo gondola there are some marked loops, which take you round to Torbole. I did one of them (purple? ) and it wasn’t great, stunning views but only a bit of good riding, but could see the potential.

Did some research and found some gpx files like

https://360gardalife.com/en/sport/402/enduro-bike-trail-monte-altissimo-lake-garda

http://www.gardamtb.com/tours-Downhill-The%20Skull%20(Val%20del%20Diaol)-1043-1024-0.html

And pieced together a way down to Torbole from the top of Mt Baldo.

This route had a bit of everything, some techy rocky climbs, beautiful views, flowing singletrack and ended up on the “Skull” DH track, which wasn’t steep or full of big jumps just very rocky.

Can send you the gpx if you fancy it.

Some trails in that area ^ are on the Trail Forks app

A few years ago I used to spend every weekend in summer at the lake…. Was guiding and /or transporting luggage across the alps.

As said above, the riding is mostly rocky. If you’ve got the skills then it can flow, but from my experience of guiding, most people haven’t.

You won’t find many “flow” trails down to the lake. Many of the paths are old mule tracks cut into the rock during WW1 in order to get supplies and ammunition up to the highest peaks.

There are some more flowy trails around  but then you’d be looking at beyond Lake Garda. Above Trentino, the either side of the Etsch Valley, the hills soften somewhat.

On the lake, 601 is a classic. Plenty of vids on the Tube. Tremalzo is a big day out, but worth it. 422 above Pregasina could be described as flowy if you hit it right. The trail behind Castel di Tenno is kinda flowy in a slow techy kinda way.

Have a look on Trailforks and take a look at the pictures people have posted for the trails  Should give you an idea of the riding.

Practice your endo-turns and your slow speed skills. Nice riding there, but in an old skool kinda way before all the lines were shaped and people started shouting braaap.

There’s some super flowy enduro trails around lake Terlago – a lovely small, warm, quiet lake about 30min drive from Torbole

We also loved Monte  Zugna (Rovereto) as a really flowy trail trail with a bit of rocky tech. (I think they may shuttle this one, though we e-biked it)

601 trail is apparently a classic, though the loose river-bed rocks definitely detract from the flow. It is hard work at the top, but really fun lower in the woods. If I did it again I would finish it with Val Del Diaol rather than coast trail (but if you are fine with exposure then coast trail is a good one).

We picked up MTB North Garda guidebook and mixed with trailforks to find our way around, but would definitely be worth getting a guide if you’re only there for a few days.

A great place for e-bikes – they have public charging stations dotted around, conveniently placed near bars for middle of the day top up charge after a morning’s 1200m climb.

though we e-biked it

You are dead to me.

Depends on what you want. If you only want to ride all day then the north part of the lake is where it’s at. The height of the mountains mean it takes a few hours before you even get to the  top.

If however you have a family and time is precious then further south of the lake is better. Around Garda to Lasize there are  waymarked trails that have the same characteristics as in the north but without the height difference , meaning you get more bang for your buck in a shorter time. Plus the area is more geared up for families.