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BIKEPACKING IN ITALY ·VICENZA
The Asiago Loop: a 196-kilometre circuit through high pastures and gravel
A City of Rocks, trails above 2,000 metres and Asiago cheese from the mountain dairies.
Vicenza’s Asiago Plateau deserves several days and a bike equipped for rough ground. The Asiago Loop connects forest gravel, singletrack and old military roads across the mountains of northern Italy, with limestone cliffs, summer pastures and mountain huts along the way. Start and finish in Asiago, planning your overnight stops around the climbs and the places you want time to explore.
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Know before you go
Plan each stage around your fitness, luggage and confirmed overnight stops. Check snow, weather and local access restrictions before departure, and download the route for offline navigation.
THE STORY ↓
Some of the most compelling riding on the Asiago Plateau follows roads built for the First World War. Military mule tracks link woodland, grazing slopes and exposed limestone country, with trenches, forts and memorials still visible along the journey.
At Monte Fior, the Città di Roccia, or City of Rocks, rises from the mountain pastures in distinctive limestone formations. Nearby trenches mark slopes fought over during the war. This is a landscape worth allowing time to explore on foot as well as by bike.
The terrain changes substantially around the circuit. The northern section reaches higher, rougher ground; the southern section travels through more woodland and farming country. For riders planning a bikepacking trip in northern Italy, that variety gives Vicenza’s plateau enough riding for a holiday of its own.
RIDE THE LOOP ↓
Approach the complete Asiago Loop as a mountain bikepacking route. A hardtail or full suspension mountain bike is the recommended choice, with climbing gears and luggage secured for uneven ground. Considering a gravel bike? Veneto Trail’s route collection includes a separate southern loop described as suitable for gravel. Choose that track deliberately: the complete circuit includes more demanding mountain terrain. Monte Ortigara adds an optional excursion from Bivio Italia. Expect more than half an hour of walking with the bike on the approach. The route notes explain how to omit this section if it does not suit your plans.
WHERE TO STOP ↓
A malga is a mountain dairy farm, and a cheese stop belongs on the itinerary. Look for Asiago DOP labelled Prodotto della Montagna: its milk comes from the mountains, and production and ageing take place above 600 metres. Ask which cheeses are made at the farm, and check whether it receives visitors before planning a meal there. For an overnight stop with facilities for the bike, Val Formica, in the Cima Larici area, offers rooms and a restaurant directly along the route. Secure bicycle storage and a bike wash make it a useful option between stages. Confirm opening dates and availability when arranging your trip. Plan water refills as carefully as overnight stops. Water sources are limited on the plateau, and mountain huts and farms are seasonal. Download the GPX and offline maps before leaving Asiago.