Valle del Lanza

The Lanza Valley Park, which stretches along the valley crossed by the stream of the same name and traversed by the Valmorea railroad (decommissioned many years ago), is known for the valley floor trails beaten by gravel bikes and for the permanent Granfondo dei Longobardi trail. Instead, here I propose a trail/enduro route that concatenates the most interesting descents in the area. The route includes frequent border crossings between Italy and Switzerland.

The area can be easily reached by train by getting off at Malnate or Cantello/Gaggiolo stations.

It starts from the large parking lot at the former Rodero train station (destroyed years ago by fire): after crossing the village you enter Swiss territory for the first time through a secondary pass, shortly after which the first descent begins:

- Sergio's Trail (difficulty S1): flow trail that takes us to the bottom of the valley at S. Margherita, where the old railroad tracks crossed the border between Italy and Switzerland near an iron gate.

The gate marking the border between Italy and Switzerland along the old Valmorea railway (locality of S. Margherita).

Re-enter Italy through a gap in the border fence and continue up a paved climb to the village of Bizzarone and then cobblestone to the little church of Assunta.

Uphill variant for emtb: after reaching the parking lot of the sports center, turn left and take a steep forest road that leads directly above the little church, avoiding the hill bypass. From here a steep and uneven section leads to the top of the S. Ambrogio hill where there is a panoramic terrace topped by a cross (view, however, not very interesting due to intrusive vegetation). The longest descent of the itinerary starts from here:

- Croce di Bizzarone (difficulty S2): a very varied trail that first presents curves on dirt and roots, then more rocky sections, jumps, a steep with compression etc. WARNING: In the second part of the descent, after a short toboggan, the trail crosses the small asphalt road traveled before uphill that is open to vehicular traffic, be careful when crossing! The trail ends at the bottom of the valley along the decommissioned railroad tracks.

S. Ambrogio hill summit (Bizzarone).

Retrace part of the climb made earlier to take the most technical descent in the area:

- Direct on S. Margherita (difficulty S3): short but challenging trail, which has many slow and steep turns on dirt and roots, some small artificial drops and other difficulties due to the clay soil and steep gradient. Absolutely not to be done in wet or damp terrain!

Location S. Margherita, in the background the S. Ambrogio hill.

You walk the previous climb again to enter the trail:

- To the woods (difficulty S1 with some S2 passages in the final): fun flow trail on earthy ground.

Now continue towards the S. Maffeo hill, from the top of which there is a beautiful view towards the Olgiatese and the Prealps of the Larian triangle. The first part of the descent presents no particular difficulty, then turn right and take the trail:

- 5 hops (difficulty from S2 upwards depending on the line chosen): this is a sort of mini-bikepark that presents at the entrance a bend with wooden support, then a few drops, a jump-line (doubles, table tops, etc.), and finally a steep section. There are more or less easy lines and all jumps are avoidable with chicken-line. Obviously, it is recommended to evaluate well all the obstacles you are going to face according to your technical skills and the state of maintenance of the structures themselves.

Trail 5 hops

Finally, we continue to the hill of Cagno from which the trail starts:

- Salamander (difficulty S2): a short natural trail with curves in quick succession.

From the end of the trail you return to the parking lot by walking along a section of the valley floor trail that runs alongside the railroad tracks.

Itinerary traveled on 12.04.2025 with mtb.