The stages

The Alta Via dei Parchi trail starts in the village of Berceto (Parma Province), near the Cisa Pass and runs along the main ridge between Emilia and Tuscany, often approaching 2000 m of altitude inside the Tosco-Emiliano Apennine National Park, where the view extends from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Alps, until it reaches the High Modenese Apennine and Corno alle Scale Regional Parks. From here it starts descending to reach the Regional Park of the Suviana and Brasimone Lakes, and crosses the Bolognese mountains to reach the Regional Park of the Chalk Vein of Romagna, where it runs along the shining ridge of the "Moon Stone". From here, crossing the "Tuscanian Romagna", it goes back to the main ridge, until it reaches the ancient forests of the Foreste Casentinesi National Park and descend into Tuscany to touch important places of faith such as the monasteries of Camaldoli and La Verna. To finish, it then heads even further East and, crossing the Monte Fumaiolo, will reach the last park, the Interregional Sasso Simone and Simoncello Park, and ends its route at the Madonna del Faggio Hermitage in the municipality of Montecopiolo, Emilia-Romagna.

The route along the Apennines between Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Marche regionsis divided into 27 stages and touches 10 provinces (Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena, Rimini, Lucca, Massa Carrara e Pesaro-Urbino). The whole jurney is about 500 kilometers long (> 30'000 meters of elevation gain) and links together 2 National Parks, 5 Regional Parks, 1 Interregional Park.

Obviously, the itinerary can also be followed in the opposite direction, from East to West, and can be done in single stages or in groups, depending on your preferences.

 The stages

Below you can download the GPX files of the itinerary:

1. BERCETO - LAGO SANTO PARMENSE ( - 123,4 KB)
2. LAGO SANTO PARMENSE - PRATO SPILLA ( - 136,5 KB)
3. PRATO SPILLA - PASSO DEL CERRETO ( - 130,8 KB)
4. PASSO DEL CERRETO - PASSO PRADARENA ( - 81,9 KB)
5. PASSO PRADARENA - LAMA LITE ( - 98,9 KB)
6. LAMA LITE - SAN PELLEGRINO IN ALPE ( - 124,8 KB)
7. SAN PELLEGRINO IN ALPE - LAGO SANTO MODENESE ( - 109,6 KB)
8. LAGO SANTO MODENESE - ABETONE ( - 138,7 KB)
9. ABETONE - LAGO SCAFFAIOLO ( - 125,3 KB)
10. LAGO SCAFFAIOLO - RIF. MONTE CAVALLO ( - 77,5 KB)
11. RIF. MONTE CAVALLO - PORANCETO ( - 201,3 KB)
12. PORANCETO - BOCCADIRIO ( - 105,6 KB)
13. BOCCADIRIO - ALPE DI MONGHIDORO ( - 115,1 KB)
14. ALPE DI MONGHIDORO - LE SELVE ( - 108,5 KB)
15. LE SELVE - TOSSIGNANO ( - 126,4 KB)
16. TOSSIGNANO - CARNÈ ( - 138,4 KB)
17. CARNÈ - MARRADI ( - 160,7 KB)
18. MARRADI - LAGO DI PONTE ( - 105,4 KB)
19. LAGO DI PONTE - SAN BENEDETTO IN ALPE ( - 63,2 KB)
20. SAN BENEDETTO IN ALPE - CASTAGNO D'ANDREA ( - 147,0 KB)
21. CASTAGNO D'ANDREA - CAMPIGNA ( - 133,7 KB)
22. CAMPIGNA - CAMALDOLI ( - 79,7 KB)
23. CAMALDOLI - BADIA PRATAGLIA ( - 82,9 KB)
24. BADIA PRATAGLIA - LA VERNA ( - 165,7 KB)
25. LA VERNA - RIFUGIO BIANCANEVE AL FUMAIOLO ( - 124,9 KB)
26. RIFUGIO BIANCANEVE AL FUMAIOLO - BASCIO ( - 137,2 KB)
27. BASCIO - EREMO MADONNA DEL FAGGIO ( - 64,4 KB)