Etschradweg (Adige cycle path)

Cycle path beside the Adige at the Salurn narrows, looking south towards Trentino

Photo: Falk2, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Distance
about 270–300 km (170–185 miles)
Country
Italy
Difficulty
Easy to moderate
Type of trip
Cycling route

The Etschradweg follows the Adige, the Etsch in German, from the Reschenpass on the Austrian border down to Verona. The pass is at 1,507 m and Verona at 59 m, so most of it is downhill. In South Tyrol it's the Etschradweg or Etschradroute, and it follows the line of the Via Claudia Augusta, the Roman road over the Alps. It runs down the Vinschgau to Meran, then past Bozen to Salurn. In Trentino it becomes the Ciclovia della Valle dell'Adige, which passes Trento and Rovereto and ends at Borghetto on the border with the province of Verona. The last stretch takes you on into Verona. You can start a few kilometres further north in Nauders, in Austria; Reschen is about 8 km on.

It's mostly asphalt. The Vinschgau section is tarmac or rolled gravel, with about 4 km of fine gravel between Laas and Schlanders, and Trentino's path is about 94% asphalt and mostly away from traffic. There's no single signage for the whole route. In South Tyrol, Reschen to Bozen is signed as Radroute 2 and Bozen to Salurn is part of Radroute 1, and in Trentino the same path carries EuroVelo 7. South Tyrol has one-way bike hire, so you can hand the bike back at another station and go home by train.

Highlights along the way

  1. Reschensee: Near the start you pass the tower that sticks out of the lake, then ride along the shore of the Haidersee. The Reschensee area is known for strong winds.
  2. Marienberg and Glurns: Above Burgeis is Marienberg Abbey, which the Vinschgau tourist board calls the highest Benedictine monastery in Europe. A little further down, Glurns is the smallest town in South Tyrol and still has its medieval walls.
  3. Meran: The Vinschgau descent ends here after a last stretch through the narrow Töll gorge. Reschen to Meran is 82.9 km, with 1,490 m of descent and 262 m of climbing.
  4. Trentino's bicigrills: The Trentino path has cyclists' rest stops at Cadino, Trento and Nomi. At Besenello you ride below Castel Beseno.
  5. Lake Garda detour: At about km 60 of the Trentino path, near Mori, a branch along the Montedison canal goes through Mori to Lake Garda, about 13 km away.

Distance

About 270 to 300 km (170 to 185 miles) from the Reschenpass to Verona, though no one gives a single official figure for the whole ride. That's what the regional figures add up to. South Tyrol's tourist board gives about 150 km (93 miles) from the Reschensee to Salurn. Visit Trentino gives about 98 km (61 miles) from the South Tyrol border to Borghetto, and Wikivoyage puts Verona about 100 km (62 miles) beyond Trento. German Wikipedia gives 345 km (214 miles) if you start in Landeck, in Austria.

Best time to go

The Vinschgau tourist board says March to late November is the season there. Wikivoyage suggests mid-April to mid-May, when the pass is still brown and Meran is in blossom; in high summer Meran can go over 30 °C. If you're counting on the bike shuttle from Meran back up to Mals, check its dates first: in 2025 it ran from 28 June to 25 October. Coming from Nauders, the Martinsbruck road on the Austrian side was closed to cyclists from 2 September 2025. Check the Vinschgau tourist board's route page for the latest.

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