6747 Lovely day and halfday walks from Trento

Over the year I've lived here, I've had difficulty finding online suggestions for hikes (no shortage from speaking to people or in books in Trento library!). So here goes with my own suggestions! Most are accessible by public transport, but this always requires checking beforehand as the buses are sporadic at best!

[B]Val di Genova[/B] - enchantingly lovely wooded valley with at least three waterfalls, most famous of which is the Cascata di Nardis. You arrive from Pinzolo, a town very close to Madonna di Campiglio, and the turnoff is off the road between Pinzolo and M di C; it runs westward. You can drive at least 20 mins down this tiny road in stunning scenery. When you can drive no longer (there's a gate for residents only to continue using the road), a sentiero/track forks off down the valley on the right side of the river. There's a bit of climbing but nothing too hard. Good clear track, no difficulty. The walk is about an hour to some picnic tables and rejoining the road. It's almost all in deciduous forest, making it an ideal choice for summer, when the sun can be really dehydrating! There are still some nice views though!

[B]Sardagna chestnut trail[/B] - 45 minute loop easily accessible from Trento city centre. Get the cable car (90 cents) from Ponte San Lorenzo in Trento (runs every 15 mins). Walk to the village of Sardagna. Continue up the main road, not turning left into the village. You'll climb up to exit the village by a disused water tower (?). The path follows a river bed, eventually crossing over the river bed to return through chestnut forest. The first bit is a bit painfully steep, but hang on in there, it doesn't take too long. After crossing the small bridge over the river bed, you'll follow the path back down (there's a turn-off to the right at a cross, never tried to see what's down there...). If you want to make it a bit longer, follow signs from the village to the Chiesa on the cliffside (another 20 mins or so). Nice, very old frescoes. If you need a drink after all that, the village bar is friendly and does great apperitivos.

[B]Lago di Erdemolo[/B] (pronounced with the stress on the "dem") - uphill walk in gorgeous remote mountain setting to tranquil lake. Not far to the east of Trento in Val dei Mocheni. This is a good 2-3 hours to reach the lake, so probably enough for a day there and back (factoring in picnic time at the lake!). The trail starts at Palu' del Fersina. There are 2 buses a day from Trento (you need to leave around 7.30am if I remember right). You may need a map to get the right trail starting off, after that we found it pretty easy. Path follows a valley up through gorgeous scenery, mostly open. The lake is rocky and very pretty, quite small, and there's a malga - was shut when we arrived end of Sept. You could turn back from here, or do a longer loop back to Palu'. We continued along the ridge going all the way to Levico in the Valsugana - but this took days.

[B]Malga Kraun from Mezzocorona cable car[/B] - stunning clifftop walk above Val D'Adige north of Trento, about 3-4 hours round trip. Best on a clear, not too wet day, to take advantage of the views. Path might get slippery when wet. From Mezzocorona, head to the highest part of the village - the cablecar is up a steep rough street that starts under an old arch under a Renaissance (?) building. If driving, drive up here even though it's narrow! There's a car park at the top. The cablecar is E5 return and goes every 15 mins (except for a break from 3-5pm). Turn right along the path, which is fairly level at the start. (Don't take the path going down the cliff, or the "didactic forest path" which forks left after the first 5 mins.) It's signposted Malga Kraun. The path heads gradually down in pleasantly varied forest until it does a horseshoe to the left around a gorge. Wonderful views out over the Val D'Adige. The path joins a small road, but don't worry, it's closed to traffic. It then climbs up to the Malga, in it's wonderfully idyllic setting. We loved the Malga, which is also a refuge. Friendly service, and lots of animals! Cowbells rang out, there were horses, donkeys, turkeys, goats, and a dog. There is no alternative path back to make this a loop, so you have to turn back, unless you want to climb even more and have a much longer way back.