303a Trail Arena Tour

Flow lovers will love this tour. The Trail Arena Val Gardena is probably the most panorama-rich trail park in the Alps and impresses not only with its wonderful views, but also with its 4 flow trails and the challenging freeride trail. All in all, a circuit around the tourist stronghold of Wolkenstein, with bends, jumps and lots of speed. Those who like it really technical will love to ride the Ciampinoi trail. Thanks to the 5 lifts of the Trail Arena (Dantercepies, Cir, Piz Seteur, Gran Paradiso, Ciampinoi), which can be used with the Trail Arena Ticket or with the Super Summer Card, there are hardly any metres in altitude that have to be pedalled uphill and the trails can be repeated as many times you want.

We take the Dantercepies cable car to the top station. To warm up, we can ride the 1.5 km long Cir Tiera with 140 metres of depth to the middle station: the first part is flowy on gravel and leads into a beautiful earth-soil trail. From the middle station we get back on the cable car and reach the top station again. Warmed up, we briefly follow the gravel road to the right from the mountain station and then directly into the Cir Giara. Giara is the Ladin word for gravel, because it's a flowing 1.8 km and 180 metres downhill over solid gravel to the Gardena Pass. If you want to continue, you have to go in the direction of Val Gardena, so turn right and immediately after the first left-hand bend, turn right onto the trail. Attention: this great trail, which runs partly steeply and partly comfortably through the meadows, is not just for biking. After a short section on a steeper path and a section on a dirt road, you come to a junction. Be sure to turn left here, as it is too dangerous for bikers to turn right. The path continues on dolomite gravel and it is highly recommended to look up to the left from time to time, because the path runs directly underneath the impressive rock faces of the Sella massif. After this beautiful up and down, you briefly reach the pass road and then continue straight along a path to Chalet Gérard. Here you have to cross the road and please be careful, because this straight invites car and motorbike drivers to drive fast. On the other side of the road, simply follow the signs and follow the ski slope (there is a short steep section in the first part) until you reach a large gravel parking area. On the left-hand side, you come back to the road, which you have to cross again. Then continue straight on over the famous Dolomite gravel until you can turn right into the last section of the Family Trail, which leads to the Piz Seteur cable car. Off you go into the new cable car and after a short pedalling passage onto the most modern chairlift in the Dolomites, the Gran Paradiso, which takes you to the highest point of the City of Stones. And now it gets really fun, because the Paravis Trail that starts here lives up to its paradisiacal name. This trail is so unbelievably flowing that it makes you whoop and it is framed by one of the most beautiful panoramas in the Alpine region. 1.8 km long and 187 metres deep, it is not only suitable for experienced bikers, but also for those who are a little less saddle-fast. The difficulty of the trail is determined by the speed of the biker. The trail runs to the valley station of the Gran Paradiso chairlift, which of course invites you to do a second lap. Afterwards, to get to Plan de Gralba, the biker has the choice between the Family Trail with a length of 3.4 km and 191 metres of depth, which meanders leisurely and smoothly through the forest, or the somewhat adrenaline-charged Jump Line, which, as the name suggests, has quite a bit of jumping potential on its 2.2 km and 191 metres of depth.

From Plan de Gralba, you first continue briefly on the asphalt road and then, before it joins the pass road, turn left over a short wooden bridge and immediately right again over a meadow to the nearby forest. The trail now briefly flows through the forest. As soon as you leave the forest, the trail descends somewhat steeper over the ski slope to Selva Gardena. A short section on the main road takes you to the Ciampinoi cable car and up into the mountains again.

A short section on gravel leads to the entrance of the freeride trail: this trail is really only for experienced bikers and especially after rain this trail is to be enjoyed with caution. However, bikers who enjoy challenging freeride routes will have a lot of fun here. The trail winds through the forest: steep curves, bridges, steep passages with roots and stones (protectors are mandatory). Exactly what an adrenaline biker is looking for.

The Trail Arena really promises pure trail fun!