Gravel Cycling in Tuscany

Is there any gravel cycling in Tuscany?

The quick answer is yes, lots. One just has to think of the Eroica, the famous race across Tuscany's "strade bianche" on vintage bikes. Or the Tuscany Trail, the rising star of bikepacking routes that crosses the Tuscan hills in a wide 350km circle. But I'd like to tell you about some of my favourite places to cycle in Tuscany, the hidden tracks and bumpy sometimes unrideable paths leading to medieval castles, monasteries and little villages.

First, a confession: I'm more of a mountain biker than a gravel rider. But the principles are the same: a bike, any bike, as long as it's tough enough to bounce along through some off-road trails. I've been cycling and exploring Tuscany ever since my first Christmas here, when my sister and I were given new bicycles. It was my passport to freedom, exploring the hills around our wreck of a farmhouse with no running water or electricity.

I was always pushing my parents to be allowed to go further afield, and for my 11th birthday I asked to cycle to Colle Val d'Elsa, 30km away. Once I'd done that, I was away, pedalling my way across the hills to the seaside with 4:30am starts.

Strade Bianche in Tuscany

Tuscany still has plenty of roads that, while still public roads and used by everyday traffic, have not been tarmacked. These are well-maintained gravel roads known as "Strade Bianche" (white roads). Locally, we actually called them "Strade Sterrate" but strade bianche was made popular by the vintage bike ride (race) "L'Eroica".

Strictly speaking, this isn't 'off-road riding' - you're on public roads, but they're not tarmacked. But it is a wonderful way to explore Tuscany; the smells are different, the road feels like it's part of the landscape, and the views are fabulous. You will get cars comiing past you - and if you're cycling in the summer, you can get enveloped in a giant plume of dust as the cars go by. It's part of the experience, and when you get back everybody will know you've had an adventure!

When is the best time of year to cycle in Tuscany?

The shoulder seasons are the sweet spot - I love riding in April, May and June, with flowers in bloom, the landscape is a green as can be. September, October and November are also good, though November starts to get quite rainy. July and August are hot. With the heat comes dust, and the dust clouds raised by passing cars start to really be quite impressive.

I used to get up very early to ride in the summer, and this can work well if you're an early bird. I've had some wonderful rides going through the Tuscan landscape as the sun comes up, around 5 or 6 in the morning. Early morning is great for animal encounters; I've seen wild-boar, badgers, porcupine, foxes and deer all snuffling around unaware of the quiet bicycle arriving along the road. If you get back to your villa by 11am you'll miss the heat of the day.

Hunting season

One thing to be aware of in Tuscany is the hunting season, particularly of wild boar. It runs roughly from October to January and it's worth making sure hunters can hear and see you when you're out. Asking locally is helpful - and some areas, like Berignone, are protected, so you won't encounter hunters in there, but you will find them around the borders.

You can find more information on hunting here - but the italian website is far more useful than the english version. Wild boar hunting venues in Tuscany

Where are the best gravel roads in Tuscany?

Call me partisan, but the best area for gravel riding is around Siena - there's so much of it. Here are some of my favourite sections:

Montagnola

West of Siena there is an area called the Montagnola, with hills up to 600m (around 2000 feet). It's largely covered in a forest of evergreen oak, and dotted with monasteries, castles and old villas, as well as traversed by old gravel roads. You could do a 17k loop from Abbadia a Isola, a monastery founded over a thousand years ago, when the area around it was marshland, so it was called "the Abbey on an Island". Here's a link to a GPX:

17K gravel loop from Abbadia a Isola

Brenna Val di Merse

South west of here, there's a little village called Brenna on the river Merse - with some great wild swimming. A track leaves from here and goes all the way to Monticiano, so you could cycle to Monticiano for lunch, then cycle back a different way. Some of these tracks are quite rough, so a mountain bike might be preferable, but it's all rideable.

40k loop Brenna - Monticiano - Brenna

Gaiole in Chianti

Go west, north west from Siena and you're in Chianti. Here's a 32km loop from Gaiole that starts on some of the same roads as the Eroica, and then loops back past one of my favourite villas, Borgo Castello. The hills are steeper here, and the bends tighter.

32k mini Eroica (as I call it, not official)

There is an official short version of the Eroica and you can find it here: Eroica leisure ride

Val d'Orcia

The Val d'Orcia, south of Siena, has some beautiful routes. This is a loop starting from Siena - you could start from the centre but I've set the start from a parking lot just on the edge of town. There's a bit too much tarmac in this for my taste but it is a popular loop and the views are stunning.

68k Siena-Asciano loop

Grand Tour Via di Merse Gravel

For those who want a little more adventure and want to test themselves on longer routes, there is this 175km loop around the Val di Merse, on gravel roads. Even without doing the whole thing, this is a great base to look and discover where the good gravel sections are.

175k Grand Tour Via di Merse Gravel

Good links for Tuscan Gravel rides

Here is a selection of websites I find useful for finding routes and ideas for gravel rides in Tuscany:

1. Escursionista - a 145km gravel ride from Siena
2. Strade di Siena - a collection of cycling and walking routes around Siena

Mountain Biking in Tuscany

There is some excellent mountain biking in Tuscany, including some very long downhills in the Apuan Alps and in along the Apennines.

Downhill Trails

I'm not a downhiller, but I have heard that the Abetone Gravity Park is amazing. It's north of Florence, among peaks as high as 6000 feat, and has a series of great downhill tracks all served by a cablecar that will lift you back up by 700 metres.

Exploring by mountain bike

I'm just going to give you a few ideas based around central Tuscany, routes that it feels unfair to classify as gravel routes because the paths or tracks can get very round or even impassable (so there are sections of hike-a-bike). I have a tendency to go 'exploring' and sometimes end up in places where bikes really can't go, so take any of these routes with a pinch of salt. But this spirit of exploration will stand you in good stead all over Tuscany; wherever you're staying, if you head out and turn down the first gravel track or path you find, you'll end up having an adventure and discovering new and lesser known aspects of Tuscany.

Berignone

I grew up next to this enormous protected natural park and have explored it on foot, on my bike, and for a brief and illegal teenage period, on my motocross bike. Like the montagnola, it is hilly and covered in forests of evergreen oak, and you'll probably see hoopoes, deer, wild boar and even porcupine if you're lucky. There are castles, old mines and abandoned farmhouses in here, and not a place to go if you're not competent at being outdoors.

Casole d'Elsa is on the edge of Berignone and you can set out from Casole, go on a loop past an old castle ("La Torraccia"), into the river valley then up towards Monte Soldano and back to Casole. Most of this route is fine on a gravel bike, but there are sections that vary a lot from year to year. The ground gets dug up by wild boar, paths close up if not used, or can even be partly washed away. So go prepared, take a GPS unit, plenty of water, tools, and a willingness to walk.

30k loop Casole to Torraccia and Soldano

Cala Violina and Punta Ala

Cala Violina is a bay with singing sand - when you walk on it it emits a sliding, keening, sing-song sound. It's also not reachable by car, but you can cycle to it alond a good gravel track from Puntone di Scarlino, then return along some more interesting tracks in the hills nearby.

12k To Cala Violina

Inland from Cala Violina you'll find Punta Ala Trail Center, a mountain bike resort that hosted the first ever Enduro World Series race in 2013, and that today is surrounded by great trails, from singletrack to enduro. Well worth a visit.

Hiring Bikes

There are plenty of places to hire bikes in Tuscany and we can help you find bikes and have them delivered if you're renting one of our villas. Our favourite bike rental place is Gippo Bike in Colle val d'Elsa. I've known Adriano, Laura and Alessandro for over forty years now and they have grown in professionalism and scope over these years, but at the core the business is still the three of them and their love of bikes. They have a wide selection, including e-bikes and very good quality road and mountain bikes:

Bike Hire in Tuscany from Gippo Bike

E-bikes

E-bikes are a great idea in Tuscany; it's a hilly region and can come as a bit of a shock to the system if you normally cycle in the south-east of England, for example. I'm also a fan of e-bikes because they allow people who don't normally cycle to get out into the middle of nowhere without the worry about their legs giving out. I recently met a pair of German mountain-bikers in the middle of Berignone having the time of their lives. Neither of them was fit enough to get out there with an e-bikes, and I think it's wonderful that e-bikes open up these opportunities to so many.

My only caution is to go easy on the 'exploratory' routes - hike-a-bike with an e-bike is often not possible, they're just too heavy. So use them on roads, gravel routes and organised singletrack trails.

Author: Dan Wrightson

Dan Wrightson grew up in Tuscany, Italy and has been writing about, sketching and exploring Tuscany and Italy since 1983.

4th Sep 2026 5th Sep 2026

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