The best running trails around Gornate Olona

Parco Rile Tenore Olona (RTO), located between the provinces of Varese and Como, is famous for its dense network of woodland paths, vicinal roads, and historic winding connections that skirt the streams and climb the terraces of the Olona Valley. Among the most iconic road sections and routes that fit this description, the renowned "Piccolo Stelvio" in Gornate Olona stands out, an asphalted road within the park known to all cyclists for its close hairpin bends that recall the famous alpine pass in miniature.

Old pedal-powered railway cart on the disused railway line.

Beautiful cycle path along the Olona River. Several points of interest: the Torba Monastery (FAI) and, with a short detour, the Castelseprio Archaeological Park with the beautiful church of Santa Maria Foris Portas.

e-bike charging station and stand with repair tools

A very short climb but with many hairpin bends that are reminiscent of the Stelvio.

beautiful climb and beautiful descent to be done with caution due to traffic but very nice and convenient from the north west of Milan

A smooth route with no significant elevation changes, suitable for everyone. The connection with the Lanza Valley cycle path is under construction, but unfortunately, there is a lot of asphalt.

You approach the route of the former Valmorea Railway, with its disused station and enter the cycle path that heads towards the real Gurone Dam, a structure 12 metres high above the river level and 156 metres long, built between 2004 and 2009 and capable of generating a reservoir of more than a million cubic metres. The construction was necessary because this stretch of the valley has always been subject to flooding from the Olona (around 70 have been recorded since the 15th century), such as the most recent ones in 1995 and 2002. The cycle path now climbs along its embankments with an almost linear route and a gradient of almost 12%, built in this way so as not to interfere with the structure of the dam and its hydraulic characteristics. Once you reach the top, be careful on the descent. After reaching the closest point to the river, you start following the railway again, of which you can see sections of tracks in the woods. Now on the right we have the Pedemontana motorway and you cycle in one of the tunnels created during its construction. You can now reach the small public garden equipped with a rack with e-bike charging and a self-repair kit or, keeping to the left at the roundabout and crossing the provincial road, you head south. We are in the Lozza plain, which you cross on the side of the railway embankment with a long straight stretch before arriving at a narrow peninsula formed on the left by the Olona and on the right by the Selvagna stream. After crossing the stream, the path goes to the side of the provincial road to enter Castiglione Olona. On the right, the railway system of the former station opens up, where you can still see some carriages. At the crossing, keep left to continue on the cycle path, while instead you will go to the right to reach the historic village.