The first part of the report from the visit to the Italian city of Livigno is behind us, so it’s finally time to introduce you another place in the region and finish the story with the second part.
We had the pleasure to visit the local trails for the whole week and despite the rather unfavorable weather, we managed to ride almost all trails in the two most important mountainbike centers. In the second part, we introduce the resort located on the other side of the valley, which is Mottolino Fun Mountain.
Weather wasn’t very sunny & warm… …but we had one day without rain at the end.
Area Livigno
Livigno is a small town situated in the heart of the mountains of northern Lombardy, Italy. For most of the year, it can be cut off from the world due to snow, and the local ski runs are a real classic of European spots. But what it looks like with mountainbiking?
We have two main ski and bike centers at our disposal: Carosello 3000 and Mottolino Fun Mountain. The first is single flow and enduro center, while Mottolino is a typical Bike Park. In addition, it is worth noting that the Carosello 3000 complex also includes Sitas, i.e. the second lift directly from the center of Livigno. It is worth adding that one of the most atmospheric bicycle festivals takes place here, which we wrote about recently – Great Days.
Mottolino Fun Mountain
Mottolino is the first Bike Park in Lombardy and is located on the eastern side of the valley and offers 14 trails of varying difficulty. At the lower station of the cable car (1816m above sea level) you will find a free car park (it fills up quite quickly), a training airbag jump, bike service and a rental facility. During our stay there was construction going on around the station and access was quite limited.
We will get to the top by a gondola, which will take us to 2402m above sea level. At the top there is a restaurant and the start of all Bike Park trails. It is also a starting point for hikers who have vast tracts of land and lots of hiking trails at their disposal. Bike Park in high season is open every day from 9.00-17.00, but the mtb season is quite short. This year the opening took place on June 12, and the end of the ride is scheduled for September 19.
Trails
1 Flow Line
Blue/red flow line, length 2500m, slope 11.4%
The “Flow Line” is probably the most used trail in the entire Bike Park. From the very beginning, it shows that there will be a lot going on here and the trail makes us want to jump our bike more often. At the beginning, we overcome perfectly made berms and a large number of jumps. After reaching the training zone, it crosses the blue flow trail “Take It Easy” for a moment, and after crossing the road leading to the Eira Pass, the fun begins again. The trail then flows smoothly into the “First Ever” line…
2 First Ever
Red flow line, length 1700m, slope 14.6%
Unfortunately, during our stay we could not enjoy this very nice line. The entrance was under renovation, and the mud and soggy grass on the slope made it impossible to get into the forest – even by a detour marked by the builders. However, if we let go of the first few dozen meters of the route, we can get here via the red lines “Chemical Water” or “23”, which naturally connect with “First Ever”. Later we find a lot of flow, nice berms, interesting technical elements (e.g. a stone curve) or more demanding sections.
3 DH 2005
Black downhill trail, length 2200m, slope 15.4%
It is one of the first downhill lines built in Bike Park and was created for the Downhill World Championships in 2005. It was here that Fabien Barel won his third DH World Champion title, and the current DH World Champion Greg Minnaar won the bronze medal. The trail is built in an old style, very fast, narrow and very steep in many sections. When we add a huge amount of roots and technical sections to this, we get a really demanding route.
4 Black Eye
Black downhill trail, length 300m, slope 31.9%
“Black Eye” is only three hundred meters long section connecting the “First Ever” and “Take It Easy” trails. The over 30-degree slope means that even in such a short distance a lot is going on (stones + roots guaranteed), and the correct passing of this line after the rain is almost a miracle.
5 B.B.
Black downhill trail, length 180m, slope 29.9%
Like “Black Eye” it is the link between “First Ever” and “Take It Easy”. It is located literally several dozen meters away, so if you miss the exit to “Black Eye”, you still have a chance to use “B.B.”. Just 180 meters of trail on a 30-degree slope makes it very difficult to stay on bike on this steep and slippery section.
6 Chemical Water
Blue/red technical trail, length 450m, slope 21.6%
It is a fairly flat but challenging line that starts in the middle section of the Bike Park and ends at the “First Ever” line. We can find here some interesting sections with lots of roots and tight turns. It has a short alternative option in the form of the “23” trail, which is a lighter version of the “Panet” black trail.
7 Wild Sheep
Black technical trail, length 548m, slope 21.3%
This black trail starts in the middle section of the Bike Park and ends in the middle of the “First Ever” line. There are a lot of traverses and tight turns, and it is quite a narrow, natural path. If we add countless roots and a steep slope to it, we get one of the most technical trails in the entire complex.
8 23
Red technical trail, length 284m, slope 22%
This is a short alternative option of the “Chemical Water” trail and is intended to be a simpler version of the “Panet” black trail. And it was certainly built by the same people. There are some interesting sections with tight and technical berms, all on quite a steep slope.
9 Stoner
Red flow line, length 2000m, slope 13.4%
It is probably the only trail in the entire Bike Park which requires a short uphill (from the EAS23 route) or a fairly long ride via the car road. As soon as we get to the start of this natural flow trail, we have 2 kilometers of narrow single trail waiting for us, which provides a lot of fun from riding over natural obstacles.
10 Panet
Red/black flow line, length 586m, slope 21%
The black alternative option of the “EAS23” trail offers lots of fun. It is a natural flow trail that is very fast and narrow. All this means that the trail ends very quickly and takes us straight to the northshore zone.
11 Take It Easy
Blue flow line, length 4400m, slope 11.3%
“Take It Easy” is the easiest trail in the whole Bike Park and is perfect for the first trip of the day. In many places it naturally crosses the “Flow Line” line and we will reach the training zone or the northshore with it. It’s a smooth flow line with little jumps and lots of berms. In the lower part of the trail it takes on a stronger character, offering narrow traverses, a bit of roots and steeper slopes.
12 EAS23
Blue/red flow line, length 4200m, slope 9.4%
One of my two favorite routes in the whole Bike Park (the first is the “Flow Line”). From the very beginning it is very fast and offers a lot of flying, as well as very well profiled, wide berms. In the lower part it is more curvy and slower, but in its forest part you can also have a great time and enjoy the incredible smoothness of the route.
13 SIC58
Black flow line, length 3100m, slope 17.5%
In short, this trail can be characterized as a pro jump line. It consists of a large number of freeride elements, lots of jumps and profiled berms. However, most of the jumps is doubled and there is no way to take a detour. It includes elements of the trail used on the 2015 Suzuki Nine Knights MTB event.
14 Enduro Natural Trail
Blue/red enduro trail, length 5600m, slope 9.9%
Easy, fun and long – these three words describe the “Enduro Natural Trail” perfectly. At first it is quite flat and requires a bit of pedaling, but the further you go down, the cooler it gets. Here we find a lot of flow and pure riding fun. The trail is perfect for warming up or just for enjoying the ride.
Training & slopestyle zone
If you choose the “Flow Line” or “Take It Easy” trails, you will find a training zone in the Eira Pass area. It consists of the slopestyle line, which starts with drops (from 0.5m to 5m) and you will find a lot of large jumps on it. Right next to it, there are two lines of smaller jumps, which are perfect for learning to fly. Also, at the lower station of the cable car there is a airbag jump – you can watch acrobatics while standing in the line to the gondola.
Northshore zone
A few separate words should also be said about the wooden northshore zone. It is located several dozen meters above the lower station of the cable car and we can find it by riding along trails, among others “Take It Easy” or “EAS23”. It consists of several lines of classic woods, some are fully passable, others only for experts. If you like to ride the old-style Northshore, then you will surely find something for yourself.
Our impressions
Bike Park Mottolino is definitely a place worth visiting. In combination with the neighboring Bike Park Carosello 3000, it creates a complete offer for mountain bikers, regardless of their level of skill and advancement.
In Mottolino itself you will find a lot of trails, the smooth riding of them requires a lot of time & practice. Trails are long, and especially black lines – you have to think about how to overcome a given obstacle. Regardless of whether we choose straight paths or lines known e.g. from the World Downhill Championships in 2005, we will have fun and surely more adrenaline will flow in our veins.
The trails themselves are well-maintained and maintained on a regular basis, although you can fault the lack of nets on the wood (it is fun after rain). The lift is fast and the bandwidth is sufficient, so you do not wait too long in the queue even on the busiest day. Slopestyle or Northshore zones are a great idea, as they add variety to the ride from top to bottom.
Cons? In fact, only a fairly short biking season in Livigno, which in Bikepark Mottolino started in mid-June and will end in mid-September. It’s not much, but if you come here for a week, you will definitely not be bored!
– Tomasz Profic, 43RIDE
Mottolino is by far the best Bike Park I have ever visited. A large selection of trails and a very large variety of them definitely do not let you get bored. Unfortunately, I did not have enough strength and time to check each variant of the descent, but it was still fun. The “cheated” bands and hops made a good impression. Flow lines have a lot of fluidity, not only in the name. Right next to them there are also several lines in a natural style with roots and stones. Additionally, a very specific slope / dirt section. Black Eye, despite the fact that it is short, offers vertical walls and a lot of excitement, and on the Nortshore lines you can also find some nice obstacles.
All in all, there is a little bit of everything from easy and fun warm-up lines to pretty thick flights and technical steep descents. You can definitely have more fun here than in the neighboring Carosello. The variety and refinement of the routes is, in my opinion, the biggest advantage of the place. Mottolino and Livigno in general are one of the very few places I would like to return to for a few days of mountainbiking.
As a bonus, at the end of the last day, we took the E-bike route outside the Bike Park itself, towards Val Mine. The traverse may not have been outstanding, but the trail down the valley from the chalet back to Livigno on the other side of the river was great.
– Marek Chabros, 43RIDE
What apart from bike?
In Livigno, people do not live by bike alone, and we can find here a lot of various tourist attractions aimed at whole families. One of these things is the local Aquagranda aquapark. It may not be the largest resort I have been to, but it has everything you need. From the kids zone (with slides and many attractions), through the sports pool, to the Wellness & Spa zone (saunas, swimming pools, massages, relaxation). You can find more ideas for active recreation on the official website livigno.eu.
Photos: Aquagranda
Practical informations
- Road from Warsaw to Livigno, depends on variant, is around 1350km (~14h drive). We traveled through Czech Republic & Austria (remember about the vignettes) and last part via Switzerland
- When entering from the north through Switzerland, we go through the tunnel (extra charge 17CHF one way), which during our stay was under renovation and was open only from 7.00-20.00. Additionally, the tunnel has only one lane and there is a shuttle service every 15 minutes. If you do not get a ride, you will have to take a ~90km detour and enter Livigno from the south.
- The second option is to go through Italian villages (note that there’s a lot of speed cameras) and enter Livigno from the east via Mottolino. The advantage of this way is the chance to pass one of the most beautiful roads in Europe, called the Queen of the Alps, the Stelvio Pass, which is known, for example, from the Giro di Italia races.
- Livigno is a duty-free zone, which means better prices, incl. gasoline, alcohol, cigarettes or perfumes. Just be careful when you come back, we heard that the Swiss police like to check the limit of the purchased alcohol ;)Generally, the prices do not differ much from what can be found in other alpine towns. This means that we will eat lunch/dinner in the restaurant in the range of 5-20€ per person.
- The prices of bike passes differ from the scope of service. We can buy a day ticket for the Mottolino Fun Mountain resort only for 34€ or for the entire Livigno region for 40€. There are many different options on offer and you can find the full price list here.
- If you’re looking for a nice place to stay, we can strongly recommend Hotel Garni La Suisse 4****. If you take dinner option, you have a choice of several partner restaurants, which seems to be a very interesting option.
- Speaking of food, watch the hours! Very few restaurants have open kitchens all day long and if you want to eat something more substantial, aim for lunch until 3pm and from 7pm for a late dinner. Make sure to try the local dishes… and of course real Italian pizza!
- The restrictions related to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in early August were not too burdensome. Here and there they asked us about vaccinations / tests and indoor masks were required. It is always worth checking the current restrictions on the internet before leaving.
- Ograniczenia związane z pandemią koronawirusa COVID-19 na początku sierpnia nie były zbyt uciążliwe. Gdzieniegdzie zapytali nas o szczepienia/testy oraz wymagane były maski w pomieszczeniach. Aktualne ograniczenia zawsze warto sprawdzić przed wyjazdem na stronie polskiego MSZ.
- Similiar like in Carosello 3000, also Mottolino have their own Mottolino App. With the app you will always be up to date with the latest news from the world of Mottolino, you will receive discounts and amenities at all partner points, from mountain huts to après ski and some shops in Livigno.
- At the bottom of the gondola station, you can find the booth of the official Bike Park photographer, Dirty Bikes Photo. Every day from 2 p.m. on the trails you can meet photographers, from whom you can then buy a few photos for a small fee. The price of a single photo is 8 € (in a package of 3 € 20).
About Livigno Region
Official website: livigno.eu
Media: facebook, twitter, youtube, instagram
Bike Parks: Carosello 3000, Sitas, Mottolino Fun Mountain