Stage 5 · San Colombano → Borgo Val di Taro
- Distance
- 97 km
- Elevation gain
- 2,510 m D+
- Suggested days
- 2
- Difficulty
- Challenging
- Surface
- 95% asphalt, 5% gravel · 70% on cycle routes
- Terrain
- Trebbia Valley, Apennine ridge
- Hospitality
- Hotels
GPX 1.1 file with the track, elevation and the abbeys as waypoints. Tracks are calculated on real roads and cycle routes (OpenStreetMap): check them on the ground before you set off.
Stage map
Map of the stage San Colombano → Borgo Val di Taro: track, start, finish, places to stay and abbeys
Hover the profile to see the spot on the map
Tracks calculated on real roads and cycle paths (OpenStreetMap); elevations from SRTM data — to be checked on the ground
Main climb: 17.2 km at 5.6% (up to 1,225 m)
Other climb: 7.8 km at 6.5% (up to 942 m)
This stage on Komoot
The same track is on the project's Komoot profile: save it in the app and ride it with voice navigation.
Overview
A mountain journey deep into the Apennines between the Piacenza and Parma hills, climbing from the upper Val Trebbia through beech woods and ridgelines before dropping into the Val Taro.
Notes from the road
From Bobbio you climb mule tracks that the mountain Via Francigena has used for centuries. Beech woods open onto ridges without houses. Villages grow small and bars rare, almost seasonal. Here the bike goes by hand on a few steeper stretches, worth knowing in advance. Bardi remains a good midpoint for bearings, then the road drops toward the Val Taro through silent woods.
What to see
Upper Val Trebbia, Apennine passes and wooded ridges, high beech woods and pastures, Taro valley, Borgo Val di Taro with its arcaded centre
Where to sleep
Borgo Val di Taro: small hotels and B&Bs (50-80€); scattered valley agriturismo (45-75€)
Where to eat
Borgotaro IGP porcini mushrooms in every guise, mountain Parmigiano Reggiano, tortelli d'erbetta, herb pie, polenta with wild boar
Tips
Second mountain stage, seriously demanding. Narrow roads, barely wide enough for two cars, with possible gravel stretches. Almost no services between Bobbio and Borgotaro (~50 km): carry water, food and tools. On the real track it is 97 km and 2,510 m of climbing: better over two days, stopping at Bardi (around km 65).
Water & supplies
Last grocery run in Bobbio: on the ridges of the Piacenza-Parma Apennines the villages are tiny and the bars rare and seasonal. Expect 20-25 km without refreshments, fountains only in the hamlets and phone coverage absent in places. Borgo Val di Taro has shops and a pharmacy on arrival. The clearest hike-a-bike section is the rocky ridge after Passo del Borgallo, heading down toward Borgotaro: a few minutes pushing.
Places to stay on this stage
- Camping Europa (Pro Loco Borgotaro)campsite
Borgo Val di Taro (via Stradella 1)- Price:
- budget, run by the Pro Loco (0525 99363)
- Open:
- seasonal (summer), check with the Pro Loco
- Facilities:
- two-star campsite along the Taro, an official stage stop on the Via degli Abati (the "mountain Francigena" the route follows from Bobbio)
- Source:
- camminiemiliaromagna.it (Via degli Abati, tappa Bardi–Borgo Val di Taro, sez. dove dormire)
Borgotaro's only campsite, listed in the official Via degli Abati accommodation.
Abbeys on this stage
- Start abbey: Abbazia di San Colombano
An amateur, non-profit project. The tracks are indicative: everyone rides independently, at their own risk.