Pale di San Martino e discesa in Val Gares

A fabulous route through the lunar landscape of the Pale (access via the Rosetta cable car); the trail descending into Val Gares is beautiful yet challenging; to bypass part of Passo Valles, take a second cable car; the return journey from Val Venegia to Baita Segantini also offers remarkable scenery.

Start at the Eden campground in Falcade, strategically located right across from the cable car we’ll be taking. It’s very peaceful, situated by a stream. It has upper campsites where you can get a great night’s sleep.

We take the cable car and then the chairlift, which take us for 12 euros (bike included) up to Laresei. From here, we descend to Passo Valles via shortcuts that shorten the dirt road. From the pass, a push section begins up to Forcella Venegia, with a brief stretch of pedaling in between.

We quickly reach Forcella Venegia, where the spectacular view of Val Venegia and the Pale di San Martino opens up before us.

We take a trail somewhat rutted by cows, which then leads into the woods and becomes more enjoyable.

It leads us out onto the Val Venegia dirt road, which we follow uphill to Baita Segantina. There are many hikers here, or people having a snack. That’s why we follow the dirt road to Passo Rolle, because the trails are crowded and, moreover, are off-limits to bikes (understandably, given the traffic).

From Passo Rolle, we initially follow the paved road, then take the bike trail that will cross the pass road several times until it brings us to San Martino di Castrozza. It’s time to take the second cable car—or rather, two cable cars—which, for 26 euros, takes us up to the Rosetta plateau, in the heart of the Pale.

Here, too, we’ll find many hikers, though they disappear entirely once we pass the Rosetta Refuge. From that point on, the peace is absolute. The trail is a military path with gentle slopes, but entirely composed of loose rocks and stones.

Apart from a few short sections, the rest is very easy and one-of-a-kind. There are a couple of ups and downs, which are also rideable, until we begin descending toward Val Gares. Here there are some exposed sections, but the trail is wide and can be ridden without any problems.

After several kilometers, we finally reach some dirt, and the trail becomes smoother, despite having collapsed in several places. In the photo below, you can see Val Gares all the way to the left, where we need to go.

Near the Campigat mountain hut, at 1,800 meters, there is a beautiful fountain. Here we keep to the left; now the trail enters the woods and becomes more challenging.

It’s very well maintained, though some wooden steps make it a bit difficult to ride through. The forest setting, however, is very beautiful.

The descent is really long, and you’ll be glad when you reach Gares, where we first follow a dirt road and then the paved road to Canale d’Agordo. From here, an uphill dirt road will take us back to the starting point after about 150 meters of elevation gain.

The elevation gain on the bike is 1,025 meters. The rest is done by cable car.