Switzerland · Ticino · Val Verzasca
Up from Tenero on Lake Maggiore to Sonogno at the head of the valley — once in 37°C heat, once four years earlier scouting the same road.
The Verzasca Valley runs north from Tenero, on the Swiss side of Lake Maggiore near Locarno, up to Sonogno at its head — one road, following the river the whole way. Two rides here, four years apart, both up-and-down the length of it.
Two rides, four years apart
Both rides follow the same road up the valley floor from Tenero to Sonogno and back — a gentler profile than the Cannobino Valley climbs on the Italian side of the border, since this route mostly follows the river rather than switchbacking up the sides.
Sonogno Loop, 2015
"Will be back there later this year for more." It took four years.
56.1km · 884m climbingTenero: Up the Valley in 37°C Heat
Stinking hot at the bottom, much cooler at the top.
51.4km · 758m climbingThe heat gradient from the 2019 ride is worth taking seriously if riding this in summer — the valley floor near Tenero sits low and sheltered by rock on both sides, and 37°C at the bottom with real relief higher up is a known feature of these lake-fed Ticino valleys, not a one-off.
There are coffee shops in Sonogno itself, the village at the head of the valley. And on a gravel bike, the tarmac isn't the end of it: a nice spot for a swim in the river just past Sonogno, and a separate path following the river further up to another village beyond — both past where either of the two rides above turns back.
What it actually looks like
📝 Kevin — needs your input
- Which waterfall is pictured above — roughly where along the valley?
- Which coffee shop(s) in Sonogno — worth naming one specifically?
- What's the village called further up the river path beyond Sonogno — worth its own future page once named?
- Roughly where's the swim spot — right at Sonogno, or a bit further along the path?