Discover the Three Best Bike Routes in Fosciandora
Discover the Three Best Bike Routes in Fosciandora according to Villa Raffaelli
Today we are jumping on our beloved bike to discover the Three Best Bike Routes in Fosciandora! Bucolic Alpine pastures, centuries-old chestnut groves, ancient water mills and picturesque villages await us; in Fosciandora there are bike routes for all tastes and all difficulties, whether you are an experienced biker or a beginner you will have fun discovering fantastic landscapes. We have selected for you three bike routes in Fosciandora of different length and difficulty. The starting point for all three is Villa Raffaelli.
Route “Il Mulin del Cavallo”
- Length: short route, 8km round trip.
- Difficulty: the route is partially unpaved, yet easy, with some medium descents.

Vista panoramica sui paesaggi mozzafiato della Garfagnana, Toscana, con montagne e villaggio nell’idilliaco contesto naturale di Villa Raffaelli, storica casa vacanze del 1500.
From Villa Raffaelli we go down to the Casa Rosa at the entrance to the town where a dirt detour on the right is marked with a Saltello sign: a fun grassy road passes through the Grotte Alte, crosses a medieval bridge and reaches the town of La Villa. Alternatively, you can reach La Villa from the asphalted state road. Here an asphalted road climbs from the church towards Le Prade Garfagnine. At the first detour marked as Mulin Del Cavallo, take a dirt road that leads to an enchanting water mill. The road at the end bears the word “private”, but it is still possible to follow it to reach the stream (take a bath in the crystal clear frozen water!) And along its path you pass a small “Tibetan” bridge made of steel ropes that passes through; from here starts a walking path to reach via del Brigante Il Moro del Sillico (feared cutthroat at the time of Ludovico Ariosto in the 16th century)
Route “The pasture of the Prade Garfagnine”
- Length: medium route, 15km round trip.
- Difficulty: up to the crossroads of Trambicosa you will find paved road, easy, then a dirt road of easy/medium difficulty.

Veduta mozzafiato delle montagne della Garfagnana, vicino a Villa Raffaelli, casa vacanze storica toscana del 1500. Perfetto per trekking e vacanze in montagna.
We follow the previous path to the crossroads of Mulin del Cavallo where we will continue on the paved road up to a crossroads: on the left there is the village of Trambicosa while we will continue to the right up to a second crossroads where La Costia is signposted on the left (on the right instead La Rocchetta where we will pass on the way back). We will climb up to the first meadows of Le Prade and having fun in the middle of the flowery meadows dotted with the shepherds’ toll booths we will arrive on the dirt road that leads to the left to Lagoscello, where there is a very fresh spring and shortly after to the Customs, area of passage for the border with Modena. In fact, here starts a walking path that reaches the Saltello Pass and along the path 00 up to S. Pellegrino in Alpe, on the Via del Volto Santo, the route of ancient pilgrims. Instead on the right you reach the small church of the Prade where a sign indicates “Secular chestnut“. We continue downhill this time returning from La Rocchetta: here, a few meters from the road, there is the ruin of an ancient sighting post on the valley and from the overhanging stone you can see a fantastic panorama; if you haven’t done it before, a sandwich stop is recommended! Go down again to a junction on the left, signposted, which leads to Lupinaia (alternatively you can continue and return from the outward road). Dirt and a bit bumpy, the path arrives at Lavacchio, a panoramic area overlooking the town of Lupinaia, and, after passing the meadows, you can turn left into the wonderful chestnut wood that reaches the town of Lupinaia; cross the characteristic medieval town and return to Villa Raffaelli following the dirt road that descends from the Campi di Lupinaia from the arch of the South Gate or directly following the asphalted state road.
Route “From Prade to the Ciocco Bike Circle”
- Length: long route, round trip 28km.
- Difficulty: challenging, dirt road.

Paesaggio mozzafiato di Garfagnana con colline verdi e cieli azzurri presso Villa Raffaelli, casa vacanze storica in Toscana. Perfetto per rilassanti vacanze in montagna.
We follow the previous path up to the Prade and after the small church we turn left at the first junction marked Pruni-Colle. We continue on a dirt road to the highest area of the Ciocco estate, a tourist center, where the Ciocco Bike Circle starts. The route is a spectacular Enduro Trail, for a total of 8Km, with trail loop, flow trail, jump line, rock line etc. to then return from the village of Treppignana: from here we can return to Fosciandora from the asphalted road or, with a more fun route, from the dirt road that you take by climbing the road that leads to the cemetery and continuing in the woods towards Ponte della Penna.