Ride, eat pasta, grab a coffee, repeat: 3x bike rides around Lake Garda, Italy
We share three pre-made cycling routes, which electric bike to bring for the terrain, and recommend some places to eat and stay.
Lake Garda is a rider’s paradise. Breathtaking views, hundreds of accessible bike paths, and tastebud-tantalising food on every corner.
In this article, we share 3 pre-made cycling routes, which electric bike to bring for the terrain, and recommend some places to eat and stay. So bookmark this page and save it for later: we’ve got some real gems for you to discover.
About Lake Garda
The glacially formed lake is a joy to witness. It spans from the Alps to the Po Plain and is the biggest lake in Italy (a 154 km round trip, to be precise.) At the north part of the lake are rugged snowy peaks, pine forests, waterfalls, and gaping ravines. The southern part is nestled cosily in the shadows of the impressive Dolomites, peppered in vineyards. Bike paths span the whole lake, with humbling mountains towering over you as you ride. The vivid azure-blue lake matches the colour of the clear summer sky.
What to expect
Intoxicating wafts of ground coffee, warmth from the Mediterranean sun, scintillating colours of the lake and wildflowers whizzing past your vision: riding around Lake Garda is a true delight for the senses. You’ll weave in and out of stunning cobblestone towns and charming medieval villages made of old stone houses and narrow streets. Tip: make time for an espresso and a gelato.
We’ve got three pre-made routes planned for you, which we created with Komoot. Download the app to discover ready-made routes like these, or create your own and share them*.
*(If you want to use Komoot for more than one region, you need to pay a small fee – but it’s worth it.)
There’s one 27 km trip to a waterfall, a 34 km-er, and, if you’re up for it, a 154 km loop around the lake. Click on each route below to read them right away.
Route 1: Riva Del Garda to Cascata D’Ampola waterfall (27 km)
Route 2: Riva del Garda to Strada del Ponale (34 km)
Route 3: Lake Garda loop (154 km)
Depending on the route you choose, you’ll get mainly doubletrack and secondary paved roads around the lake, smattered with some rocky sections, some technical singletrack bits, and a few kilometres of rocky trails. For the steep climbs, switch to a low gearing and flick motor support up high, and it’s a breeze. The Pathlite:ON 9 LTD SUV’s stable geometry is perfect for the gravel and tarmac, and the chunky tyres roll nice and fast on any rocky sections.
Finally, we recommend that you keep your eyes open for Garda’s traditional meal, Bigoli con le Sarde del Garda as you’re whizzing around: it’s a deliciously happy marriage of sardine from the lake, and bigoli (a Veneto homemade egg pasta.) Perfect.
ADVENTURE UNLTD
The feature-rich Pathlite:ON 9 LTD SUV was designed for exploring places like Lake Garda. This is because it’s chock-full of features:
An integrated battery capacity of 750 Wh makes those mega-long adventures possible. No charging complications, either: you can charge the battery directly on the bike.
The ingenious Bosch eBike ABS (anti-lock braking system) is auto enabled when you cycle above 6 km/h. It regulates braking performance on any terrain or slippery surface, which lowers the risk of the rear wheel freakily lifting or the front wheel sliding out from underneath you if you suddenly slam on the brakes.
The dropper suspension seat post takes the sting out of jarring surprises in dips and dives off-road. Thanks to stiffness and grip from the suspension fork and Speed Lockout function, vibrations and bumps are smoothed out.
For free additional protection against theft, you can link your choice of display with the Bosch eBike Flow app to get additional anti-theft technology. Your smartphone acts as your digital key to turn off motor support after the ride.
Navigate without stress
You can take out the stopping and starting and the reach-arounds for the map every 10 minutes of the ride. The Pathlite:ON 9 LTD SUV gives not one, but two choices of display options on the handlebars: the Bosch Kiox 300, or the SmartphoneGrip smartphone holder. Navigation is included in both options – so go ahead and download Komoot or Strava: all your routes and riding data will only be a glance away.
To quickly sum up the two choices: the Bosch Kiox 300 shows you your route and the battery charge level on a colour display. The SmartphoneGrip is a mount for you to securely clip your phone into. You then just download Bosch’s eBike Flow App to your smartphone. For the SmartphoneGrip, navigation works through the eBike Flow app.
With the eBike Flow app, you also get additional theft protection with the eBike Lock function, as well as having your current speed, battery charge, ride time and distance right under your nose.
Let’s get down to the business. Here are the routes.
The three routes
We start at the all-important Gelateria Flora in Riva del Garda. Whoever made up the rule that gelato should be enjoyed at the end of a ride can stand aside, as we say there’s nothing that sets you up for a great trip than locally crafted gelato.
You’ll need the sugar high, because the first 10 km make up a 600 m ascent. But the Pathlite:ON 9 LTD SUV’s powerful Bosch motor makes light work of it. Once the ascent peters out, you’ll see Lake Ampola, a stunning emerald-green paradise. Heart-shaped lilypads scatter themselves across the lake. The elevated walkways ask that you slow down and walk, to leave nature undisturbed. This is a moment for you to observe the names of the species growing along the trail. Stunning meadows full of wildflowers, and incredible mountain vistas stretch out in front of you.
The route ends by one of the most photogenic waterfalls in Italy. The river Palvico plunges down from about 12 meters into an iridescent pool. Pack your swimming gear into the panniers: this is the perfect place for a well-deserved dip.
Riva del Garda sits at the foot of the towering mountains, and gently slopes into the pristine waters of the lake. It’s a starting point for many bike tours around the area. After 10 km of riding you get to Lake Ledro, a beautifully situated mountain lake in Trentino that reaches a lush 24 degrees in summer, so make sure you pack your swimming gear in the panniers. Things switch up a bit later with some steep gravel hills, but you’re completely covered with the chunky mountainbike tyres.
A bit later, it’ll be time to lock up your bike on the path (tip: enable the eBike Lock function in Bosch’s eBike Flow app for extra peace of mind.) Walk the 100 m climb to get to the Dos de Cala viewpoint for an epic view over the lake with the Cima della Nara mountain towering behind you. Nip back down to your bike and you’ll be on the home stretch: the trees soon clear, and you find yourself in the beautiful town of Pregasina. Take a rest at Hotel RosAlpina for regional dishes like polenta and lemon tiramisu, or just enjoy a coffee with an unforgettable view.
A 140 km cycle path around Lake Garda called ‘Garda by Bike’ is planned for completion in 2026. But for now, we’ve made this 154 km-long one for you in Komoot. So pack your camping gear, slather yourself in sunscreen, and make a real adventure out of it. This is what life is about, and this is what the Pathlite:ON 9 LTD SUV is built for: there’s plenty of storage room on the rear rack to tuck your tent and overnight gear away (if you’re clever about it), and the big-time battery capacity will get you further, faster, for longer without any range anxiety. And if you ask kindly, you can even charge up your battery for an hour or two while you sit down at a restaurant.
There are plenty of brilliant campsites along the way. Check out the eco-friendly Camping LaQuercia in Lazise, or the family-friendly Campsite Fornella in San Felice del Benaco. Or just type ‘Campsites around Lake Garda’ into your search engine.
You can find the limited-edition Pathlite:ON 9 LTD SUV and the rest of the Pathlite:ON range at canyon.com.
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