Le Marmitte del Borgo

Small AM ride in Borgo val di Taro.

Start from the parking lot of the Borgotaro train station; we cross the town where a sharp asphalt climb begins to take us up Via degli Abati.

The first section is steep and rocky compared to the second half that is definitely more pedalable. Back on the asphalt, we keep it until the locality Valesi. Here begins a dirt road that then becomes a path with some exposed sections in the woods and we reach the Marmitte dei Giganti, where the erosion of the rock of the Rio Termi has created a succession of waterfalls and natural pools.

We continue a bit of pedaling, a bit of pushing, before shooting a nice downhill section on trail set among rocky, water-created serpentines that will keep you entertained for a while. Then crossing an avenue of majestic chestnut trees we arrive at Isola di Caffaraccia where we find the asphalt road again, which we take uphill past the village.

We ascend between asphalt and dirt road until we reach Carghilla, where shortly after we turn left onto a path; we pass a ford and take an old MTB path that is no longer used that connects us to the PS "Grillo Tronco" (if you want, you can continue straight and avoid the little "ravanata" by going straight to the "Grillo Tronco" ignoring the sign that says mtb that points to the left).

The trail is very stony and bumpy with a few steps, a treat for the suspension!!!

When we get to the end we fall back to the RIGHT and then to the LEFT always downhill until we cross a stream; rip, and coming out of the woods a dirt road in the fields takes us to the asphalt. We keep it as long as it lasts...at Fornello it becomes forestal again and with some nice ramps we arrive at Pian del Lupo; here we take advantage of one of the PS that the Borgo offers. We choose "Macinarsi," fast and a bit rocky, which takes us back just above Borgo Val di Taro. Taking old routes, we return to the parking lot where we started.