It is certainly the most important of all the cycle paths already built or projected in Trentino. It links, from north to south, the provinces of Bolzano, Trentino and Verona: the heart of the Alps to the Po Valley. Like it has been for thousands of years, the Valle dell'Adige is a transit route to Italy and remains the preferred route to southern European destinations, even for those who travel by bike. It is 90 kilometres long and represents the cornerstone of the whole cycle route project in Trentino. It runs almost completely along the river Adige, alternating between its right and left banks, using the old riverside roads which cross fields and orchards, skirting past hamlets, villages and the cities of Trento and Rovereto. It doesn't matter if you undertake it from the north or the south, the altitude shift between its highest and lowest points is insignificant and you don't even climb 100m. It never has demanding climbs, the steepest are those required for climbing the river's banks. Nearly the whole length of the path is along roads protected from motorised traffic and is reserved exclusively for cyclists, pedestrians and very infrequent agricultural vehicles which use it when moving from one farm to another.
      We will start describing it from its most northerly point, where cycle paths arriving from Bolzano join it. Keeping to the left bank, the first stretch runs down along the river Adige to the Rotaliano Plain near the village of Mezzocorona, which we don't reach. The area it crosses is agricultural, through orchards and vineyards, between the high rock faces which are a feature on both sides of this part of the valley. After 4½ kilometres, in the locality of Masetto, we are taken to the Adige's right bank and continue down the river, passing through the village of Grumo, separated from San Michele all'Adige by a grand arch bridge. In San Michele we can visit the interesting Museo degli usi e costumi della Gente trentina (Trentino People's Habits and Customs Museum), hosted in the ancient Augustine Monastery.
      Continuing our journey along the Adige, we now run alongside a section of the Brenner motorway, an important and busy communication artery, without feeling the slightest bit envious. After ten kilometres we reach the village of Nave San Rocco where we again cross the river for another stint on the left bank. The ride continues through the rural environment and the equipped rest areas invite us to stop for a break or to admire the surrounding views. Having completed sixteen kilometres, we move away temporarily from the Adige to be taken towards the centre of the valley for a short stretch up the Torrente Avisio stream. Consequently, we pass the mouth of the Avisio Biotope, a small protected area, an important rest place for some species of migratory birds and a field centre for bird ringing, whose objective is the study of migratory flight paths used in crossing the Alps. On the outskirts of the town of Lavis we cross the Avisio over a wooden footbridge and return towards the Adige by the Trento Nord motorway exit. For the next three kilometres the cycle path remains close to the river and the motorway, in view of the high, sheer rock-faces of the Soprasasso.
      After 27 kilometres we enter the city of Trento, initially along a busy pavement, then along the tree-lined bank which separates the river from the Adigetto canal. The cycle path does not pass through the heart of the city of Trento, it merely touches it, but a visit to the City of the Council is an absolute must. Carrying on southwards, after 31 kilometres we once again cross over to the right-hand side of the Adige, which over this section is accompanied by another branch of the cycle path on the left-hand bank. We reach the village of Mattarello, a southern suburb of Trento, where the two branches of the cycle path come together on the left bank. A further eight kilometres brings us to the village of Besenello, overlooked by the hill which houses Beseno Castle, summer home to interesting museum exhibitions and itself guardian of Trentino life from centuries past. We go past the village of Calliano on the right bank of the Adige and at Nomi we cross over next to another strip of land set up as a Biotope, a relic of the river environment which you could find along the Adige up until the end of the nineteenth century, before the river was completely banked. Right before the bridge of Nomi, we find the "Bicigrill", a restoration and information point for cyclist.
      We have now completed 46 kilometres and for a further four we continue along the left bank, skirting vineyards. We pass under the Sant'Ilario bridge, then the cycle path moves away from the river bank and using a lightly used road we are taken towards the outskirts of the town of Rovereto, Trento Province's second most important town. As in Trento, the cycle path does not head towards the city centre, easily reachable along a branch of the same path, which turns off by the River Leno crossing. Rovereto is a town worth visiting, full of unknown and interesting ideas and home of the artist Fortunato Depero, great exponent of the Futurist movement. We have now covered 55 kilometres and the path has again moved away from motorised traffic, another short section which once more carries us along the Adige until we cross it over the Mori Dam bridge, built to feed water into the Montedison Canal and the abandoned factory of the same name. At 60 kilometres, along the right bank of the Montedison Canal, we branch off from the cycle path which goes to Lake Garda via Mori and which we will describe later. At the former Montedison factory we pass over to the Adige's left bank across the bridge and continue along a section next to the motorway and then alongside the Verona-Brennero railway line as far as the village of Chizzola, accessible on the other side via a footbridge. For the next 6 kilometres the cycle path is still being built, alternating between finished and unfinished sections, and we reach the village of Pilcante. On leaving the village, the cycle path continues along the lightly used provincial road, the “destra Adige”, but nonetheless shared with other vehicles, as far as the Ala Dam. Having crossed the Biffis Canal, we bypass the Ala-Avio motorway exit, once again travelling along a section of protected path. We pass through Vo' Destro, near Sabbionara, dominated by the mass of Sabbionara d'Avio Castle, which is worth visiting, whether for its beauty or the view from the top of the keep. There are still 5 kilometres to go on the cycle path in the Valle dell'Adige, all along the riverbanks in the narrow space between the river and the motorway. Finally we reach the village of Borghetto all'Adige, where the path ends at the bridge by the boundary with Verona province.