Monte Baldo: the Ridge Above Lake Garda, the Cable Car and the Walks From the Top

Peaks and the Shape of the Ridge

The range runs about 40 km beside the lake. To the north a valley joins Rovereto to Nago-Torbole, to the east lies the Vallagarina along the Adige, to the south the mountain fades into the plain at Caprino Veronese, and to the west Lake Garda follows it the whole way. It spreads over the provinces of Trento and Verona and nine municipalities, Malcesine among them.

Its highest point is Cima Valdritta at 2,218 m. For a day visitor the key fact is that the cable car stops at Tratto Spino, 1,760 m, so every summit is reached on foot. The nearest, Cima Pozzette, is a 3-hour walk out and back.

The figures differ by a few metres between sources, as the table shows.

The main peaks of the range, with the heights the cable car operator gives on its Monte Baldo page. Cima Valdritta and Cima Telegrafo are the ones the operator's longest walk reaches, Cima Pozzette the closest summit to the top station.

The Name and the Garden of Europe

The name comes from the German word Wald, forest, and appears for the first time on a German map in 1163, according to Wikipedia. The mountain's other name, the Garden of Europe, comes from its range of habitats. The lake moderates the climate, so Mediterranean scrub and olive groves at the bottom give way to beech and pine forest, then to alpine meadow and rock near the top, and more than 60 types of orchid bloom between March and August.

The Sentiero della Pace, the Peace Trail, one of the long-distance paths of northern Italy, crosses the range. The plants and animals are in the nature section.

Border Country at Bocca dei Forti

The ridge was once a frontier. Until 1915 the Guardia di Finanza used the barracks at Tratto Spino, at a spot called Bocca dei Forti, to guard the border between Italy and Austria, which ran a short distance away. Smugglers worked the area, which is why the post sat there.

You pass the former barracks on two of the operator's walks, the Malcesine Peak loop and the malga tour, on the way back to the cable car. The castle in the town below tells the same story from a different century: the Austrians who held Malcesine from 1798 to 1866 turned it into a garrison. See Malcesine castle.

Who It Is Worth It For

Anyone who wants the big view over Lake Garda. From the summit cross of Cima Pozzette, a 3-hour walk out and back from the top station, the operator says you see a large part of the lake from Riva to Sirmione, plus the Brenta Dolomites and the Lessini. The ride is part of it: about 20 minutes, the upper cabin rotating 360 degrees on the way up.

Walkers get six marked routes from easy to expert, and paragliders launch about 1 km from the top station all year. If you are based in Malcesine, the valley station is in town, so a morning on the mountain leaves the afternoon for the castle or the water. For a base on this shore, see where to stay.

When It Is Not

Skip it from 2 November to 25 December, when the cable car is closed for maintenance and there is no way up from Malcesine. Wind, faults or a power cut can stop the lift, and the ticket is valid for one day only with no refund for bad weather or a partial shutdown. An online booking slot does not guarantee a departure at that time either.

So on a day of strong wind or low cloud, keep the money and look at the lake from the shore instead. The weather at 1,760 m also changes fast, and the operator asks walkers to carry proper clothing, hiking shoes, a hat, water and snacks.

The Cable Car From Malcesine

The cable car climbs in two sections. Cabins for up to 42 people run from the valley station at Via Navene Vecchia 12 to San Michele, at about 562 m. There you change to the rotating cabin, up to 75 passengers, which turns 360 degrees on its way to Tratto Spino at 1,760 m.

The whole ride takes about 20 minutes. Wikipedia gives the lower section as 1,512 m long with 463 m of climb, and the upper as 2,813 m long with 1,187 m of climb. The adult return is $33.52 (€30) at the desk or $31.28 (€28) online.

The first ascent is 8:15 and departures run at least every 30 minutes from 8:30. Every other fare and the discounts are on Monte Baldo cable car tickets.

The Prà Alpesina Chairlift

On the Trentino side, in the municipality of Avio, the four-seat Prà Alpesina chairlift climbs from 1,450 m to 1,890 m on a 1,500 m line in about 10 minutes, to a viewpoint on the ridge called the Belvedere. Its base is on the provincial road about 15 km from Avio, with parking next to it and the Chalet Falco restaurant, owned by the cable car company. It runs mid-June to mid-September.

An adult return is $11.17 (€10), one way $7.82 (€7). From the top you can walk to Tratto Spino in about 30 minutes on a dirt road or 20 minutes over the rocks of the ridge. Check before you drive there: the operator's page shows the chairlift temporarily closed for scheduled maintenance.

Can You Drive to the Top?

Not to the summits. The highest peaks are reached only on foot. Cars do reach the high ground in places: there is parking at the San Michele intermediate station, so you can drive part of the way and ride only the upper section, and the Prà Alpesina chairlift base on the Trentino side is on the provincial road about 15 km from Avio.

The malga tour from the top station also meets a paved road at Bocca di Navene. The cable car operator notes that the Baldo provincial road number 3 opens in summer and is closed in winter. For the ridge walks themselves, the cable car from Malcesine is the direct way, and it puts you at 1,760 m in about 20 minutes.

By Bus to the Valley Station

The cable car operator lists two bus lines for Malcesine: line 483 runs Peschiera, Garda and Malcesine, and line 484 runs Garda, Malcesine and Riva del Garda, so the mountain is reachable from the south and the north of the lake without a car. Malcesine has no railway. The nearest stations are Rovereto from the north and Verona or Peschiera del Garda from the south.

Drivers on the A22 motorway leave at Affi coming from Verona or at Rovereto Sud coming from Trento. The valley station has an underground car park with 170 spaces, and Malcesine castle is about 5 minutes away on foot.

Every walk here has one hard rule: be back at the top station before the last ride down. The two official pages give different last-ride times, so check the day's timetable at the station when you arrive. The table compares the six routes the cable car operator describes, with its own length, time, climb and grade.

Times are for the whole walk unless marked each way.

Malcesine Peak Loop

The easiest walk on the mountain, 3.6 km and about 2 hours with 260 m of climb. Leave the cable car, bear left and left again at the wooden ski-rental hut, and a short climb brings you to the first viewpoint, looking south over most of the lake. Past the poles of the Paperino ski-school lift you follow the crest, with the Lessini mountains, the Brenta Dolomites and the Lagorai in view, to a wooden fence with a bench and the view north over the top of the lake.

From there a steep path drops to a dirt road that brings you back past Malga Zocchi di Sopra and the former Tratto Spino barracks. The steep descent is the one stretch to take slowly in wet weather.

The Ventrar Trail

The Ventrar trail is 5 km and about 2 hours, but it gains 500 m and the operator rates it challenging. It starts along the Malcesine Peak on trail 651, drops steeply to a dirt road, then enters the forest on a narrow path under high rock faces, with exposed stretches secured by a metal rope. The Italian Alpine Club grades it EE, for expert hikers, and the operator says plainly that it is not for anyone who suffers from vertigo.

If that is you, take the Malcesine Peak loop instead. Past the hard part the path turns the mountain and opens onto the lake, and trail 16 leads back uphill to the cable car by the Paperino ski lift. Wear proper hiking shoes, not trainers.

Cima Pozzette

Cima Pozzette is the day visitor's summit. From the top station turn right onto trail 651, pass the Baita dei Forti inn and walk a nearly level stretch before the climb up the ridge between stones and small rocks. You pass the top of the Prà Alpesina chairlift and a line of stone cairns, then the Lastoni Selva Pezzi nature reserve, and the steepest section comes near the end.

The operator gives about 1 hour 30 minutes to the cross at 2,125 m, and 7 km, 3 hours and 400 m of climb for the whole walk out and back. From the summit cross you see a large part of the lake from Riva to Sirmione. The return is by the same path, which makes it easy to turn back early if the weather changes.

The Malga Tour

A malga is an alpine dairy hut, and this 7.5 km loop of about 3 hours and 450 m of climb links several of them. Turn left out of the cable car onto dirt trail 651, past the former barracks, down to Malga Zocchi di Sopra at 1,650 m, where the operator says you can taste cheese and other food made at the malga and see the animals. Trail 651m then runs through the woods to Bocca di Navene and its view of the lake, and the signs for the malghe and flowers trek lead past Malga Zocchi di Sotto and Malga Tratto Spino di Sotto at 1,440 m.

Trail 14 climbs back through the forest to the cable car. Part of it follows the Prà Alpesina nature trail, with signs about the plants, animals and traditions of the mountain.

To Cima Valdritta and Cima Telegrafo

This is the full ridge walk, 9 km and about 4 hours each way, 800 m of climb and 400 m of descent, rated challenging and meant for experienced hikers. Trail 651 heads south past the Baita dei Forti to Cima Pozzette, then on to Cima del Longino, onto the eastern slope and a short equipped section near Cima Valdritta. A 15-minute detour off trail 651 reaches the highest point of Monte Baldo at 2,218 m.

Another hour beyond the Forcella Valdritta brings you to Cima Telegrafo at 2,200 m, with a mountain hut just below it. By our sum that is about 8 hours on foot before the ride down, so take the first ascent at 8:15 and check the day's last descent before you set off.

The Prà Alpesina Nature Trail

The gentlest named route, 3.6 km and about 1 hour 15 minutes, all of it downhill, 422 m, rated easy. It starts from the Prà Alpesina chairlift car park by the Chalet Falco on the Trentino side: ride to the top station, then follow the ridge on trail 651 towards the Malcesine cable car, with the south of the lake behind you and the Brenta Dolomites ahead. At the Bocca Tratto Spino plain you turn right into pasture and woods, steeper near the end, down to Malga Tratto Spino di Sotto and Malga Prà Alpesina, and back to the car park.

Signs along the way explain the flora, fauna and traditions of the mountain. It depends on the chairlift, which runs mid-June to mid-September and shows a maintenance closure on its page, so confirm it is running first.

The Flora

The cable car operator explains the name by the habitats stacked on one mountain: Mediterranean scrub and silver olive groves around Malcesine, then dense beech and pine forest, then meadows and rock on the high peaks. More than 60 types of orchid bloom on the slopes from March to August, at different times by altitude. The species the operator singles out are edelweiss, the red lily, the Monte Baldo anemone and the wild peony, along with arnica and buttercups in the hay meadows, flowers that it says also flavour the milk of the grazing herds.

For flowers, spring and early summer are the months to come. Stay on the marked paths: the operator's rules ask walkers to respect the plants and not to stray.

The Fauna

Birds on the list include the golden eagle, the kite, the tawny owl and the eagle owl, the woodpecker and the hoopoe. Among the mammals are the badger, rarely seen because it moves at night, the fox, the weasel and the beech marten, roe deer, the chamois on the highest rocks and the marmot, which the operator calls almost a symbol of Monte Baldo. The operator's rules exist for them: do not pester the animals, do not roll stones, and keep dogs on a leash so they do not scatter the grazing herds.

For more walking around the lake, see Lake Garda hiking.

Paragliding From Monte Baldo

The take-off area lies about 1 km from the cable car top station, laid out for solo and tandem flights, and the landing field is outside the centre of Malcesine to the north, run by the Paragliding Club Malcesine, with a raft rescue service in summer. A flight lasts about half an hour over a height difference of about 1,700 m, and the operator says you can fly all year, winter included. A pilot with a paraglider pays $23.46 (€21) for the ride up, $21.23 (€19) online, or a reduced $14.52 (€13), $12.29 (€11) online, from 8:15 to 9:30 and from 15:30 to 18:00 (16:00 from 5 October).

Online paragliding tickets are one way up only, valid for the slot bought, and not refunded for weather.

Mountain Bikes on the Cable Car

Bikes go up on set departures: 8:25, 8:55, 14:15 and 15:15, plus 16:15 and 17:15 until 4 October. There are 24 bike places an hour and the operator recommends booking ahead. A rider with a bike pays $33.52 (€30) for the ride up, $31.28 (€28) online, and the online ticket is one way up only.

The operator also reminds riders that mountain bikes are not allowed in meadows, pastures, forests, ski slopes or on footpaths, and that the bike routes are kept by third parties. For more riding around the lake, see Lake Garda cycling.

Skiing and Snowshoes

In winter the mountain runs a small ski area of about 10 km of slopes with a chairlift and ski lifts. There is no artificial snow, for lack of water at altitude, so everything depends on natural snowfall, and the operator updates the state of the slopes each morning. The cable car's winter season runs 26 December to 21 February, after the maintenance closure of 2 November to 25 December.

Snowshoes can be rented at the Baita dei Forti near the top station, and the operator suggests snowshoe walks for families. For the rest of the lake in the cold months, see Lake Garda in winter.

Restaurants on the Mountain

The highest food is inside the top station: the SkyWalk Monte Baldo Lounge Bar, with a panoramic terrace, serves breakfast, hot meals, focaccia, sandwiches and salads, and cakes such as tiramisu, Sacher and apple strudel. A short walk away are two family-run restaurants, the Baita dei Forti, which also has rooms and rents snowshoes in winter, and La Capannina. The Baita dei Forti sits on trail 651, so walkers heading for Cima Pozzette pass it.

Near the San Michele intermediate station, the Locanda Monte Baldo opened for the season on 22 April and closes on Tuesdays. On the Trentino side, the Chalet Falco by the Prà Alpesina chairlift is owned by the cable car company and has a playground beside it. No prices are published for any of them.

For eating down by the lake, see where to eat on Lake Garda.

Five details that change how people plan the day on the mountain, each with the source it comes from.

• The cable car stops at Tratto Spino, 1,760 m. The highest point, Cima Valdritta at 2,218 m, is 9 km and about 4 hours each way on foot (Funivie del Baldo).
• The name is German: Monte Baldo comes from Wald, forest, and first appears on a German map in 1163 (Wikipedia).
• Until 1915 the Guardia di Finanza guarded the Italy-Austria border from the barracks at Bocca dei Forti, a short walk from today's top station (Funivie del Baldo).
• Children up to 1.20 m ride free, but they still need a ticket from the station desk, because it serves as their insurance on the ride (Funivie del Baldo).
• The ski area has no artificial snow, for lack of water at altitude, so winter skiing depends on natural snowfall alone (Funivie del Baldo).

The Early Ride and the Castle

Take the first ascent at 8:15, or the 8:30 departure, and walk one of the shorter loops while the morning is clear. The Malcesine Peak loop takes about 2 hours, and so does the Ventrar trail for those without vertigo. Ride down, and the valley station is about 5 minutes on foot from Malcesine castle, rebuilt by the Scaliger family around 1300, which holds the Monte Baldo and Garda Natural History Museum.

Seeing the mountain's flowers on the trail and then in the museum makes a neat pair. Bring proper clothing for the top, because the operator warns that weather changes suddenly at altitude.

The Afternoon on the Water

To balance a morning on the ridge with an afternoon on the water, the harbour of Malcesine is close to the valley station. The Siora Veronica sailing cruise, on a boat about 100 years old, sails for 2 hours on the afternoon wind towards the west shore, past the waterfalls near Tremosine and the road of the Strada della Forra, and returns past the castle walls, at $45 per person with drinks on board. No last-ride time is printed here, because the two official pages disagree: check it at the station on the day.

Other boat days are on Lake Garda tours. For the whole lake, start with what to see in Lake Garda.