Alta Via dei Parchi
Key figures
Length
- Stated
- About 500 km, the stated length (Regione Emilia-Romagna)
- Map line
- 491.3 km, OpenStreetMap along the official track
- Used for
- The charts on this page, and comparing trails in the search
- about500km
Ascent · descent
- This trail
- Estimated from the terrain model (≈): no source states them
- How
- Every main stage's climbs and drops between samples 100 m apart
- Keep in mind
- In forests the model reads the treetops, so it reads high there
- estimated: 25,150m ↑24,700m ↓
Difficulty
- What
- How hard the trail is, in three ways: the terrain, the climate in season and the length of the days
- Scale
- Easy to Hard, with the same thresholds for every trail; each takes its hardest measure
- Keep in mind
- It describes the trail, not how it will feel to you: that depends on your fitness, experience, pack and the weather you get
- Terrain: HardClimbing: ≈ 51 m per km
- Climate: Demanding in May–OctHeat: 31 °C by day (July)
- Effort: HardLongest day: ≈ 12 h 30 (stage 11)
- Terrain: Hard; Climate: Demanding in May–Oct; Effort: Hard
Days
- This trail
- 27 days, one per main stage
- Why
- No source suggests a number of days
- 27days
Per stage
- How
- The 27 main stages' totals over their number
- Source
- huckepack, so the averages come from one source
- Ascent
- The terrain model's estimate per stage (≈): the stages state no climbs
- 18.2km· about 930 m ↑
Landscape
- Source
- ESA WorldCover satellite land cover, along the main route
- Forest: 76%
- Grassland and shrubs: 21%
- Farmland and villages: 3%
- Mostly Forest
Location
- Country
- Italy
- Regions
- Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Marche
- Start
- Berceto
- Finish
- Eremo Madonna del Faggio
- Route type
- Point to point
- Travel hubs
- Parma63 km by road · 52 min
- Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ)154.7 km by road · 106 min
- Protected areas
- Tuscan-Emilian Apennine National Park; Foreste Casentinesi National Park; Sasso Simone and Simoncello Interregional Park
- Managed by
- Regione Emilia-Romagna, with the parks' managing bodiesOfficial website
- Trail
- Start
- Stage start
- Finish
- Contour lines
Difficulty
Terrain
- Rates
- How hard is the ground to walk: the path, the climbing, the steep bits, the ground underfoot?
- How
- Rated over the whole main route.
- Level
- The hardest measure sets it
- Path grade
- the trail's SAC grade, stated, converted or estimated
- EasyT1
- ModerateT2
- DemandingT3
- HardT4 to T6
- Climbing
- ascent of the main stages over their length
- Easyunder 15 m per km
- Moderate15–30 m
- Demanding30–50 m
- Hard50 m or more
- Steep stretches
- share of the route steeper than 15 %, up or down (terrain model)
- Easyunder 5 %
- Moderate5–15 %
- Demanding15–30 %
- Hard30 % or more
- Natural ground
- share on footpaths and trails (OpenStreetMap); never Hard on its own
- Easyunder a third
- Moderatea third to two thirds
- Demandingtwo thirds or more
Hard
- estimated T2
SAC hiking scale
- This trail
- T2 (our estimate)
- Basis
- The trail runs along the main Apennine ridge between Emilia and Tuscany, "often approaching 2000 m of altitude" in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennine National Park, then descends through the Bolognese mountains and the forests of the Casentino; more than 30,000 m of climbing over about 500 km. Mountain hiking on marked paths (T2).
- Scale
- The Swiss Alpine Club's hiking scale, from T1 (easy) to T6 (very hard)
- Why
- Trails rate difficulty in many local scales, or only in words; we translate each into this one so trails compare
- Keep in mind
- An estimate: how hard a trail feels depends on your fitness, experience, pack and the weather
- T1 · Hiking
- Well-made paths, mostly flat or gently sloping. No risk of falling; trainers are enough.
- T2 · Mountain hiking
- A continuous path, steep in places, where a fall can't be ruled out. Be sure-footed; wear hiking boots.
- T3 · Demanding mountain hiking
- The path is not always visible; exposed spots may have chains or ropes, and you may need your hands for balance.
- T4 · Alpine hiking
- Often no path. Hands are needed in places, terrain is exposed, and there can be easy snowfields.
- T5 · Demanding alpine hiking
- Mostly pathless, with easy climbing and exposed, demanding terrain. Needs alpine experience.
- T6 · Difficult alpine hiking
- Pathless, very exposed, with climbing and glaciers. For experienced mountaineers only.
- Climbingestimated 51 m per km
- Steep stretches21 % of the way
- Natural ground63 %
Climate
- Rates
- How hot, cold, wet and windy does it get?
- How
- From 30 years of daily weather (ERA5), rated per month. Without months picked: the trail's best run of at least two season months, each measure at its hardest month. Pick months in the search to rate it for yours.
- Level
- The hardest measure sets it
- Heat
- mean daily high at the lowest point
- Easyunder 22 °C
- Moderate22–27 °C
- Demanding27–32 °C
- Hard32 °C or more
- Cold
- mean nightly low at the highest point
- Easy8 °C or more
- Moderate3–8 °C
- Demanding−2 to 3 °C
- Hardbelow −2 °C
- Wet days
- days a month with 1 mm of rain or more, the wetter of both points
- Easyunder 10
- Moderate10–14
- Demanding14–18
- Hard18 or more
- Snow
- days a month with 1 cm of snow or more at the highest point
- Easyunder 1 day
- Moderate1–3 days
- Demanding3–6 days
- Hard6 days or more
- Wind
- mean of the day's strongest wind (hourly mean, 10 m above ground), the windier of both points; over land: a point whose 25 km weather cell is mostly sea takes the nearest mostly-land cell's
- Easyunder 15 km/h
- Moderate15–20 km/h
- Demanding20–25 km/h
- Hard25 km/h or more
Demanding in May–Oct
Outside the season (all year): facilities may be closed, and the weather is harder to plan for.
- Heat · July31 °C by day
- Cold · October2 °C at night
- Wet days · May15 days
- Snow · October2 days
- Wind · May14 km/h
Effort
- Rates
- How long are the days?
- How
- Rated by the longest main stage; a time range counts its upper end.
- Level
- The hardest measure sets it
- Longest day
- walking time of the longest main stage, stated or by DIN 33466
- Easyup to 4 h
- Moderate4–6 h
- Demanding6–8 h
- Hardmore than 8 h
Hard
- Longest day · stage 11estimated 12 h 30
Climate
- Days · lowest point
- 9–31°C
- Nights · highest point
- −7 to 9°C
- Wet days a month
- 10–15
- Daylight
- 8.9–15.5h
| Month | Lowest point, day high / night low (°C) | Highest point, day high / night low (°C) | Wet days | Snow days | Frost nights at the highest point | Daylight (h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.6 / 1 | -1.4 / -7.5 | 9.9 | 8.9 | 30.7 | 9.2 |
| February | 10.6 / 1.6 | -0.2 / -7.3 | 9.8 | 8.7 | 28.1 | 10.4 |
| March | 14.1 / 4.3 | 2.8 / -5.3 | 11.6 | 8.8 | 30.2 | 11.8 |
| April | 17.9 / 7.9 | 6.6 / -2.1 | 15.3 | 6.3 | 22.2 | 13.4 |
| May | 22.5 / 12.4 | 10.7 / 2.2 | 15.4 | 1.4 | 6 | 14.8 |
| June | 27.7 / 16.8 | 15.2 / 6.4 | 12.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 15.5 |
| July | 30.5 / 19.3 | 17.8 / 8.7 | 10.4 | 0 | 0 | 15.2 |
| August | 29.9 / 19.1 | 17.6 / 8.8 | 11.6 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| September | 24.5 / 14.9 | 12.9 / 4.9 | 12.4 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 12.4 |
| October | 19.6 / 11.2 | 8.8 / 1.9 | 11.8 | 2 | 7.9 | 10.9 |
| November | 13.6 / 6.4 | 3.1 / -2.9 | 13.2 | 7.7 | 22.2 | 9.5 |
| December | 9.3 / 2.1 | -0.6 / -6.4 | 11.5 | 9.6 | 30.2 | 8.9 |
Climate by month
- Source
- ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, averages for 1995–2024
- Places
- The trail's lowest and highest point, adjusted to their height
- Bars
- From the mean night low to the mean day high
- Wet days
- At least 1 mm of rain; snow days at least 1 cm of snow
- Daylight
- Sunrise to sunset in the middle of the month
- Shading
- The trail's season
Stages
| Stage | Route | Distance | Ascent | Descent | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berceto Lago Santo Parmense | 21.0 km | estimated 1,330 m ↑ | estimated 630 m ↓ | estimated 810 → 1,510 m |
| 2 | Lago Santo Parmense Prato Spilla | 15.7 km | estimated 760 m ↑ | estimated 920 m ↓ | estimated 1,520 → 1,350 m |
| 3 | Prato Spilla Passo del Cerreto | 15.8 km | estimated 1,110 m ↑ | estimated 1,210 m ↓ | estimated 1,350 → 1,260 m |
| 4 | Passo del Cerreto Passo Pradarena | 10.7 km | estimated 810 m ↑ | estimated 490 m ↓ | estimated 1,250 → 1,580 m |
| 5 | Passo Pradarena Lama Lite | 12.8 km | estimated 660 m ↑ | estimated 470 m ↓ | estimated 1,570 → 1,760 m |
| 6 | Lama Lite San Pellegrino in Alpe | 16.6 km | estimated 550 m ↑ | estimated 780 m ↓ | estimated 1,750 → 1,520 m |
| 7 | San Pellegrino in Alpe Lago Santo Modenese | 14.2 km | estimated 650 m ↑ | estimated 680 m ↓ | estimated 1,540 → 1,510 m |
| 8 | Lago Santo Modenese Abetone | 12.7 km | estimated 920 m ↑ | estimated 1,050 m ↓ | estimated 1,510 → 1,380 m |
| 9 | Abetone Lago Scaffaiolo | 15.8 km | estimated 1,130 m ↑ | estimated 730 m ↓ | estimated 1,390 → 1,790 m |
| 10 | Lago Scaffaiolo Rifugio Monte Cavallo | 13.4 km | estimated 350 m ↑ | estimated 840 m ↓ | estimated 1,790 → 1,300 m |
| 11 | Rifugio Monte Cavallo Poranceto | 30.2 km | estimated 1,510 m ↑ | estimated 1,890 m ↓ | estimated 1,280 → 900 m |
| 12 | Poranceto Boccadirio | 17.4 km | estimated 680 m ↑ | estimated 870 m ↓ | estimated 920 → 730 m |
| 13 | Boccadirio Alpe di Monghidoro | 19.4 km | estimated 1,060 m ↑ | estimated 750 m ↓ | estimated 720 → 1,040 m |
| 14 | Alpe di Monghidoro Le Selve | 23.5 km | estimated 740 m ↑ | estimated 1,280 m ↓ | estimated 1,040 → 500 m |
| 15 | Le Selve Tossignano | 21.2 km | estimated 750 m ↑ | estimated 980 m ↓ | estimated 500 → 260 m |
| 16 | Tossignano Carnè | 19.8 km | estimated 1,370 m ↑ | estimated 1,250 m ↓ | estimated 260 → 380 m |
| 17 | Carnè Marradi | 28.8 km | estimated 1,180 m ↑ | estimated 1,250 m ↓ | estimated 390 → 330 m |
| 18 | Marradi Lago di Ponte | 16.0 km | estimated 980 m ↑ | estimated 670 m ↓ | estimated 330 → 640 m |
| 19 | Lago di Ponte San Benedetto in Alpe | 8.3 km | estimated 470 m ↑ | estimated 600 m ↓ | estimated 640 → 510 m |
| 20 | San Benedetto in Alpe Castagno d'Andrea | 21.1 km | estimated 1,120 m ↑ | estimated 900 m ↓ | estimated 500 → 730 m |
| 21 | Castagno d'Andrea Campigna | 16.9 km | estimated 1,090 m ↑ | estimated 710 m ↓ | estimated 740 → 1,120 m |
| 22 | Campigna Camaldoli | 13.5 km | estimated 570 m ↑ | estimated 830 m ↓ | estimated 1,110 → 840 m |
| 23 | Camaldoli Badia Prataglia | 14.8 km | estimated 840 m ↑ | estimated 690 m ↓ | estimated 820 → 970 m |
| 24 | Badia Prataglia La Verna | 28.2 km | estimated 1,620 m ↑ | estimated 1,470 m ↓ | estimated 980 → 1,130 m |
| 25 | La Verna Rifugio Biancaneve al Fumaiolo | 21.8 km | estimated 1,110 m ↑ | estimated 870 m ↓ | estimated 1,140 → 1,380 m |
| 26 | Rifugio Biancaneve al Fumaiolo Bascio | 21.8 km | estimated 460 m ↑ | estimated 1,400 m ↓ | estimated 1,380 → 440 m |
| 27 | Bascio Eremo Madonna del Faggio | 19.8 km | estimated 1,330 m ↑ | estimated 490 m ↓ | estimated 430 → 1,280 m |
Totals and averages count the main stages only. Distances are ours, measured on the OpenStreetMap map line between the stage ends: no source publishes them. ≈ marks our estimates where the source gives no figure: ascent and descent and heights from the terrain model (Copernicus DEM, 30 m grid, sampled every 100 m), to the nearest 10 m.
Terrain
- Highest · lowest point
- 1,940m high94m low
Gradient
- Steepest climb
- 43 % (23°), 214 m up over 500 m, stage 4
- Steepest descent
- −34 % (19°), 171 m down over 500 m, stage 3
- Gradient
- Height per distance: 20 % is 20 m up per 100 m forward; 100 % is 45°, not 90°
- Keep in mind
- Averages over 500 m from a 30 m terrain model: steps and ladders within them are steeper
Gradient Angle Feels like 10 % 6° Noticeable on a road 20 % 11° A steep path, slow going 30 % 17° Very steep, often steps 100 % 45° Scrambling - 43% ↑−34% ↓
Steep stretches
- This trail
- 53.7 km up, 48.6 km down: the darkest parts of the profile
- Steep
- 15 % or more (9°, 15 m of height per 100 m), in 200 m stretches
- Why it matters
- Slow going uphill, hard on the knees downhill
- 102.3km
Surfaces
- Natural ground: 63%, 302.9 km. Earth, grass, rock and roots: footpaths and forest trails. Can be muddy after rain.
- Gravel: 25%, 120.3 km. Gravel, compacted and stony surfaces: mostly forest roads and farm tracks.
- Paved: 12%, 58.7 km. Asphalt, concrete and cobbles: roads and village streets.
Terrain along the route
- Heights
- Copernicus terrain model, 30 m grid, every 100 m along the main route; in forests it reads the treetops
- Colours
- Each 200 m by its gradient in walking direction: climbs warm, descents violet, darker when steeper (to ±30 %)
- Ground
- The strip below, from OpenStreetMap; the 38% without a surface tag is read from the way type (footpaths natural, tracks gravel)
- Tree line
- 1,700–1,800 m, depending on the slope (Silvia Magnani): above it, open ground without trees. Pasture and clearing can keep the forest lower
Landscape
Landscape along the route
- Source
- ESA WorldCover 2021, a 10 m satellite map
- Points
- Every 100 m along the main route; each takes the most common class within 30 m, so the path itself doesn't count as bare ground
- Groups
- Its eleven classes, folded into the six shown
- Keep in mind
- What the landscape looks like, not which plants grow there
Sleeping
Wild camping
- What
- Pitching a tent outside campsites. Whether it is allowed, restricted or prohibited depends on the land and the country; the rule for this trail is below the cards.
Restricted
Camping
- What
- Official campsites along the trail. Bring your own tent.
- Available
- Where the trail's own source lists it, or where OpenStreetMap maps 3 or more within 1 km of the trail or 3 km of a stage's end
Available
17 in OpenStreetMap
Huts
- What
- Mountain huts (often staffed, with meals) and unstaffed bivouac shelters, usually on the trail itself.
- Available
- Where the trail's own source lists it, or where OpenStreetMap maps 3 or more within 1 km of the trail or 3 km of a stage's end
Available
80 in OpenStreetMap
Hostels
- What
- Dormitory beds for walkers: hostels, hiker lodges and pilgrim hostels.
- Available
- Where the trail's own source lists it, or where OpenStreetMap maps 3 or more within 1 km of the trail or 3 km of a stage's end
Available
15 in OpenStreetMap
Rooms
- What
- Private rooms, usually in villages near the trail: B&Bs, guesthouses, hotels, farm stays and monastery guesthouses.
- Available
- Where the trail's own source lists it, or where OpenStreetMap maps 3 or more within 1 km of the trail or 3 km of a stage's end
Available
42 in OpenStreetMap
Wild camping is restricted. Tents only at campsites, authorised places or the temporary rest areas municipalities may set up along the route; ask the park authorities and municipalities, each has its own rules.
Places to sleep along the route
- Ticks
- One per place to sleep: 17 campsites, 80 huts, 15 hostels, 42 guest houses
- Counted
- Within 1 km of the trail or 3 km of a stage's end (stage towns often lie off the trail); no hotels or day shelters
- Shaded
- The longest stretch without any, km 182.7–211.2
- Source
- OpenStreetMap: it may miss places or list closed ones, so book or check locally
Water & Supply
Clean water
- This trail
- 17.8 km without clean water, km 446.2–464, stages 26–27
- Rating
- Frequentup to 10 km
- Regularup to 20 km
- Scarcebeyond
- Counted
- Within 500 m: 228 taps, fountains and drinking springs, 7 places to sleep with drinking water, 76 refills at huts, hostels, guest houses and campsites
- Refills
- Guests come first and many close out of season: ask, and carry a little extra. Places marked without drinking water are left out
- Source
- OpenStreetMap; the counts include the approach and variant, the chart shows the main route
- 17.8kmRegular
Any water
- This trail
- 17.8 km without any water, km 446.2–464
- Rating
- Frequentup to 10 km
- Regularup to 20 km
- Scarcebeyond
- Counted
- Clean water, plus the 55 springs within 500 m
- Keep in mind
- Spring water's quality is unknown: filter, boil or treat it, and expect some springs to run dry in late summer
- 17.8kmRegular
Shops
- This trail
- 44.1 km without a shop, km 211.2–255.3
- Counted
- 35 supermarkets, convenience and general stores and petrol station shops, within 1 km of the trail or 3 km of a stage's end
- Keep in mind
- Small village shops are often missing in OpenStreetMap, and opening hours vary: check before relying on one
- 44.1km
Water and shops along the route
- Ticks
- One per place along the main route
- Counted
- Drinking water and springs within 500 m; refills at huts, hostels, guest houses and campsites within 500 m; shops within 1 km, or 3 km of a stage's end
- Shaded
- Each lane's longest stretch without. "Water" counts every kind and opens into one lane per kind, each with its own
- Source
- OpenStreetMap: it may miss places or list ones that have closed or run dry, so check locally