There’s something for every cyclist in Locarno

Professional snowboarder and cycling enthusiast Sina Candrian tested the mountain bike trails around our Locarno Youth Hostel. Keep reading for her trail tips for young and old.

Yippee, spring is return­ing! For out­door fans like me, this means dust­ing off the bike and get­ting out on the trail! My jour­ney takes me to Locarno, where the pos­si­bil­i­ties for bik­ing are almost lim­it­less. In addi­tion to trails on the moun­tain, there are also trails along turquoise-blue rivers. Let’s go!

Bike with a view!

Imme­di­ate­ly after arriv­ing in the pret­ty town of Locarno, I jump on my bike. Today, I’m going up high! Part of the Car­da­da Trail at 1340 m ASL is on the agen­da. After climb­ing the first few metres of alti­tude to the Car­da­da-Orseli­na base sta­tion with my own mus­cle pow­er (it’s not pos­si­ble to take my bike on the funic­u­lar rail­way from Locarno to Madon­na del Sas­so), I can take my bike into the gon­do­la. In just a few min­utes, I’m back on the moun­tain with a mag­nif­i­cent view of the bright blue Lake Mag­giore!

Sina Bike Cardada Trail

The Car­da­da Trail offers won­der­ful views dur­ing this bike adven­ture. © Corsin Näff

Just a few hun­dred metres from the moun­tain sta­tion is the Car­dara-Cimet­ta chair­lift, where I can also trans­port my bike. I don’t let this oppor­tu­ni­ty pass me by, and the high­lights include not only the friend­ly staff, but also beau­ti­ful nature – and, of course, the var­ied and superbly marked trails through grassy land­scapes and over hill and dale. This moun­tain bike route is not suit­able for begin­ners. How­ev­er, it is not a prob­lem for inter­me­di­ate rid­ers.

Action and fun are guar­an­teed when bik­ing around Locarno! © Corsin Näff

A well-earned breather

After this adven­tur­ous trip, I head for Locarno Youth Hostel. I enjoy a fine cof­fee on my bal­cony before head­ing towards the lake­side prom­e­nade. Even the path across the world-famous piaz­za is mag­nif­i­cent. Strolling along the shores of the lake makes me feel a bit like I’m in Italy. Back at the hos­tel, I final­ly fill my stom­ach with a deli­cious veg­an Youm­mi menu.

The bal­cony of Locarno Youth Hos­tel is the per­fect place to relax after a busy day. © Corsin Näff

Cycling for all!

The next day I absolute­ly want to bike close to the water! So I’m drawn to the Alta Verza­s­ca Bike Trail. I take the Post­Bus from Locarno train sta­tion to Brione. The cool thing is that pub­lic trans­port is includ­ed in the Tici­no Tick­et. This tick­et is pre­sent­ed to you when you check in at the youth hos­tel. Please make sure to reserve the bus in advance as space is lim­it­ed – and don’t for­get to buy a tick­et for your bike.

The easy and begin­ner-friend­ly trail starts at the «Ai Piéé» part of the vil­lage, wind­ing its way along the almost kitsch-blue Verza­s­ca. Along the way, you will pass var­i­ous vil­lages where you can mar­vel at the orig­i­nal stone hous­es. The tour is fam­i­ly-friend­ly and there are numer­ous pic­nic and bar­be­cue areas in addi­tion to restau­rants. The tour is also ide­al for grav­el bikes.

On the Verza­s­ca Trail, cyclists immerse them­selves in unspoilt Tici­no. © Corsin Näff

My bike tips

  • Always fol­low the sign­post­ed bike trails to keep nature intact
  • Take reg­u­lar breaks and shake out your hands
  • Wear a hel­met, knee pads and gloves
  • Be care­ful at cor­ners, as oth­er peo­ple are also out and about

More tips

Gravel instead of mountain bike

You are as enthu­si­as­tic about bikes as Sina and want to dis­cov­er the north of Switzer­land? But you don’t nec­es­sar­i­ly want to rush head­long down the trails? Sina has test­ed a grav­el bike tour for peo­ple like you. The route took her and her friend Anja from Buchs in the can­ton of Sankt Gallen to Kreu­zlin­gen, on to Schaffhausen and final­ly to Basel.

Off on the grav­el

On_the_Road

A different Interlaken

zwei Bikerinnen über dem Thunersee

Do you know the Grisons like the back of your hand? Cool bike trails are also wait­ing for you in Inter­lak­en. Sina is not only a pro on the grav­el bike and not a sin­gle one of the bike trails across Switzer­land is spared her enthu­si­asm.

Off to Inter­lak­en

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