Gran Tour della Paganella — giro ad anello

Info, details and updates here: https://nest.bike/itineraries-mountainbike-routes/itinerary/traversata-del-monte-gazza/

Majestic tour around the Paganella group, with views a little covered by clouds but still amazing. Climb from Margone to Mount Gazza, then Canfedin and Paganella. Descent to the bike park and then return to Ranzo from the panoramic road of Bael. Last kilometer and a half terrible to reach the starting point in Margone

Beautiful challenging tour with a climb of over 10 km with significant gradients. The track that connects Andalo to Molveno is wonderful, watch out for pedestrians, in any case it is wide enough. There are alternating ups and downs of modest difficulty. Once you arrive in Andalo, continue along the side of the lake until the deviation where the real climb begins. The worst part of the climb is on an asphalt road immersed in the woods with almost no traffic (about 10 km). The last km of climb, when you are at the top and the slope drops, the surface becomes stony, similar to a cycleable cart track. However, there are still a couple of deadly climbs where it will be necessary to push the mountain bike for a few hundred metres. Once I reached the top, the GARMIN suddenly turned off, so once it was turned back on, I did the two descents of the Andalo bike park which you will find recorded in the next step.

Spectacular loop, one of the most beautiful MTB tours I know! For the descent, we chose the Paganella Bike trails (currently closed).

The tour's title is inspired by the name of the "blackest" route in the Dolomiti Paganella Bike trail area, which climbs up to Cima Paganella (but then involves portaging). I modified it by copying what @Blondiebike described and adding only the pedaled ascent instead of the cable car. After 800m of easy forestry climbing, with the Brenta Dolomites and Campanil Basso within reach, you reach Dos Pellà and quickly arrive at the Baita del Germano, where ear-splitting music, unbelievable even at Cocoricò, immediately makes me wonder whether I should eat something. The view from a nearby hotspot is stunning, with Lake Toblino, Lake Cavedine, and his majesty Lake Garda, which, thanks to the clear day, is visible all the way to its southern shores...truly spectacular. A few sections of the famous 805 Secret Trail of the Bear Trail, then an up-and-down begins, culminating in endless meadows on Monte Ranzo, always with the lakes in the background. At a certain point, a bad trail entrance makes you realize the "spicy" part of the ride begins, a long S3 that leads to the village of Margone, which puts brakes and wrists to the test! I take a five-minute break to write a thank you to "my" Saint Anthony in the guestbook, and while I'm standing still, trail runners come charging up (maybe if I hadn't stopped, I would have hit them around a bend... thanks again, Antò!). From here, it's asphalt to the village of Ranzo (with a beautiful view overlooking Castel Toblino) where the only bar I was longing for for a sandwich is closed! We then continue along the Strada Forestale Bael to the Laghetto di Nembia, which elicits yet another ooh of amazement at its colors and transparency. We quickly reach Lake Molveno, which we skirt along the beautiful sheer path. Today, it was perfectly passable due to the lack of pedestrians, but I absolutely wouldn't recommend it in high season. The same goes for the beautiful forest path that completes the loop in Andalo, which is very narrow in places and could be unnerving with many people. In conclusion, a ride that, if we exclude the Margone S3 (which is avoidable, anyway), risks being an "almost" gravel ride, but it offers a series of views that make up for even the lack of technical riding. PS: A reminder for me for next time: park at the Valle Bianca cable car (free in summer) instead of in town (€2/hour, it would have been better to drink it in beers at the end!)

Unfortunately today is the last day, great bike region, can only be recommended 😜

Super scenic ride, tough but very fun. Easy route and delightful Trentino woods, well kept! If you pass by, take a ride in Paganella. They have set up a very fun bike park. You can also go up by cable car (inquire about the lifts).

Excellent challenge, the first part of the lap is quiet then the climb (luckily most of it is paved) is felt. Spectacular landscape and then deserved and fun descent.