Best hiking routes in Umbria

Have you just returned from your outdoor vacation and can’t wait to get your boots back for a new trek? Well why not go to Umbria? Almost 10% of this area is covered by natural parks: the Monti Sibillini National Park and seven regional natural parks set up to safeguard mountain, river and lake environments. We have chosen a path for each of these parks for you.

Monti Sibillini National Park

The park of the Sibillini Mountains is a protected area for the protection of the homonymous mountains. It covers two regions, Umbria and Marche, and four provinces, Ascoli, Fermo, Macerata and Perugia. Some areas of the park are not accessible due to the damage that the park has suffered as a result of the earthquake of 2016. The path that we recommend is composed of 9 stages and will allow you to complete the Great Ring of the Sibillini fully enjoying the naturalistic spectacle offered by these mountains. For more information we suggest you to buy the guide: the “Grande Anello dei Sibillini” published by the park and on sale at the shelters themselves.

Regional Park of Monte Cucco

The park of Monte Cucco is included in 5 Municipalities (Costacciaro, Fossato di Vico, Scheggia – Pascelupo and Sigillo) and has an area of ​​about 10 thousand hectares which includes the territory around the homonymous mountain and which is inhabited by just 7000 people. The tour of Monte Cucco is an itinerary of about 4 hours that starts from the South Take-off area. From here, after a first stretch, the real ring route will begin, which will allow us, covering a further stretch of 300 meters with 100 meters in altitude, to reach the top of the mountain, 1569 meters high.

Lake Trasimeno Regional Park

This park to protect the flora and fauna of the Lake covers an area of ​​13 thousand hectares and 5 Municipalities (Castiglione del Lago, Magione, Passignano, Tuoro and Panicale). Lake Trasimeno is the largest lake in peninsular Italy and has a strategic importance for the whole region as well as being a characteristic tourist destination for these areas. In this park we propose an unusual excursion: the tour of the island of Polvese. This island, the largest of the three in the Lake, will allow you to experience two souls: the naturalistic one, discovering the natural ecosystem, and the historical one, linked to the fascinating past of this islet in the middle of the lake.

River Nera regional park

It is one of the smallest parks in the Region with just over two thousand hectares of extension and 4 municipalities involved: Terni, Montefranco, Arrone and Ferentillo. It is nicknamed the park of the Waters thanks to the presence of the Velino and Nera rivers, the Piediluco lake and the Marmore waterfall. The area is particularly suitable for canoeing, rafting and canoeing, but it is also a natural gym for free climbing. The itinerary that we propose is the one that from Ferentillo leads to the Abbey of San Pietro in Valle along the ancient mule track that connects Spoleto and Monteleone. It is a route of about 8 km in length that will allow you to enjoy fascinating landscape views and to visit, at the end of the journey, the marvelous Abbey.

Colfiorito Regional Park

The Colfiorito Plateau is composed of seven floors or basins deriving from karst phenomena: Annifo, Arvello, Colle Croce, Cesi and Popola, Ricciano, Palude di Colfiorito and Colfiorito. The first six are found in the Umbrian territory while Colfiorito is in the Marche.

In this plateau is the Regional Park of Colfiorito, characterized by the homonymous marsh, World Heritage Site and Mount Orte. The excursion that we invite you to do is the tour of the small marshy basin that is nothing but the remnant of the ancient Lake Plestinus, on the banks of which stood the Roman city of Plestia (in the area there are archaeological traces of the ancient Roman city ). It is a simple path but it will allow you to appreciate the typical vegetation of the wetlands with the prevalence of reeds, rushes, white water lilies and various species of birds, resident and migratory: the true masters of the marsh.

Monte Subasio Regional Park

Mount Subasio is located in the center of the region and is the natural setting of Assisi, Spello and Nocera Umbra, the headquarters of the Franciscan order. The park is included in the neighboring municipalities of Assisi and covers an area of ​​about 7000 hectares. The path that we propose is the one that for long stretches has traveled San Francesco to return to Assisi from Nocera Umbra: the Franciscan Path. This is a path of about 25 kilometers, which requires over 9 hours of walking, so only suitable for very experienced trekkers and with a serious workout behind.

Tiber River Regional Park

The Tiber River regional park includes the middle and lower reaches of its course in the Umbrian territory. The territory of the park covers the Municipalities of Baschi, Orvieto, Montecchio, Guardea, Alviano, Todi and Monte Castello di Vibio covering an area of ​​7000 hectares. In this park there are the Lakes of Corbara and Titignano, the Gorges of the Forello and the Orvieto fortresses of Prodo and Titignano. To fully enjoy the views that this park offers, we recommend the Civitella del Lago Ring, which begins and ends precisely in Civitella del Lago. It is a journey of thirteen kilometers in total, during which you will be able to pass by the Wind Holes (cracks in the rock that, depending on the time of day, emit a strong jet of air or vice versa suck it), at the ditch of Elce Barile, and at the ditch of Valle Grande.

Territorial System of Naturalistic Environmental Interest (in Italian: S.T.I.N.A.)

This park with a “bureaucratic” name has a total area of ​​over 40,000 hectares and is included in the Municipalities of Allerona, Ficulle, Parrano, San Venanzo, Orvieto, Castelviscardo, Montegabbione, Fabro and Todi. The path we propose is the Elmo ring. A path that begins and ends at the Fruga mill in San Venanzo, about half an hour away from Orvieto. The path, quite challenging and requiring 6 hours of walking, winds through meadows and woods, following various waterways, of which this area is rich.

And you? Don’t you want to tell us about your last excursion? Write to media@bivo.it, your review will be published on the Bivo blog and, in addition, you will win a Bivo Mix package.