Peschiera → Salò → Gargnano → Campione → Strada della Forra → Pieve di Tremosine → Terrazza del Brivido → Limone → Riva → Varone → Lago di Tenno → Canale → Passo Ballino → Lago di Cavedine → Drena → Arco

Stage 1 leaves Peschiera del Garda on the softer southern edge of the lake and quickly settles into a classic western-shore rhythm: villages, tunnels, stone walls and sudden blue views opening between the bends. The first meaningful pause is Salò, worth a short walk along the waterfront before the route continues north through Gargnano, one of the most elegant small towns on the Brescian side. Beyond Campione del Garda, the landscape becomes more vertical and the ride turns into the signature moment of the day: the Strada della Forra. Ride it slowly. The road is narrow, cinematic and carved through the gorge, with rock walls, tight bends and short tunnels demanding patience rather than speed. At the top, Pieve di Tremosine and the Terrazza del Brivido give the route its most dramatic lake balcony. The descent towards Limone sul Garda and Riva del Garda changes the tone again, moving from cliffside riding to the broad northern basin. From Riva, the route climbs inland to the Cascate del Varone, where water has cut a deep gorge into the rock, then reaches the turquoise Lago di Tenno and the stone village of Canale di Tenno. The final section over Passo Ballino, past Lago di Cavedine and Drena, is quieter and more rural, finishing in Arco under its castle and limestone walls.

Arrival hotels — Arco

Arrival restaurants — Arco

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Arco → Nago → Mori → Brentonico → San Valentino → Bocca di Navene → Monte Baldo → Malcesine → Madonna della Corona → Caprino → Fumane → Pedemonte → Gargagnago → Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella → Bardolino → Lazise → Peschiera

Stage 2 starts beneath the limestone walls of Arco and immediately turns into a mountain-riding day. The road climbs towards Nago and Mori, then rises through Brentonico, San Valentino and Bocca di Navene. This is the high, open side of the loop: cooler air, sharper bends and long views towards the lake and the ridges of Monte Baldo. The descent towards Malcesine is one of the most scenic changes of altitude on Garda, dropping from alpine pastureland back towards olive trees, stone roofs and the eastern lakeshore. After Malcesine, the route turns away from the water to reach the extraordinary Santuario Madonna della Corona, suspended in the cliff above the Adige valley and worth a proper stop on foot. Instead of returning directly to the lake, the stage then lengthens into the wine hills: Caprino Veronese, Fumane, Pedemonte, Gargagnago and Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella. Here the rhythm softens into vineyard lanes, dry-stone walls, old villas and Amarone country before the loop swings back towards Bardolino, Lazise and the final lakeside return to Peschiera del Garda.

Valpolicella wine stops

Arrival hotels — Peschiera del Garda

Arrival restaurants — Peschiera del Garda

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