During our trip to Livigno for the Great Days 2022 festival, we had a few days more to discover the area. In addition to a trips in Livigno area, we decided to take a day trip to Bormio. Our main goal was to ride Bormio 3000 Single trail from the summit of Cima Bianca which is over 3000 meters high. We extended our visit there with ride in Bormio bike park and after the enduro tour with a dive in the wild thermal baths. Below You can find the report from this beautiful day in the Alps.
Trip from Livigno to Bormio
In the morning, we pack with the bikes to our bus. We have about 50 minutes of drive to Bormio. The asphalt winds its way through beautiful alpine valleys and crosses several mountain passes. We have great views of the mountains practically all the time. What you should remember is that Livigno and its closest towns are in duty free zone. Driving through the “Passo di Foscagno” pass, You can expect customs inspections. However, no one stopped us and with no problems we reached the parking lot at the bottom station of the Bormio Ski gondola.
Bormio – Bormio 2000 – Bormio 3000
Our main goal in the Bormio area was the descent from the Cima Bianca peak. It is one of the most recommended “classics” in this area. Main reason for this is fact that by the lifts You can easily reach altitude of 3020 m above sea level straight from the city. More precisely, there is a gondola lift which first takes us from 1200 to nearly 2000 meters at Bormio 2000 station. Here is the true center of the winter resort and the Bormio Bike Park. In summer, there is a chairlift that covers most trails of the bikepark and also the Bormio 3000 cable car that takes tourists and cyclists to the very top of Cima Bianca. Having the whole day at our disposal, we decided that before the planned main descent, we would go for a warm up ride on the trails of the Bormio Bike Park. We didn’t want to ride there too long especially that some storms were forecasted for the afternoon. So we decided to take a 4-hour bike park pass.
Bike park Bormio
Paul Newman – Viper – Hell Rocks – Autobahn – Zombie
The Bormio bike park map shows several variants of descents, which extend mainly between the Bormio 3000 and Bormio 2000 stations. At the beginning we went by cable car to the very top from where the “Paul Newman” trail starts. The high mountain and rocky variant has some nice profiled berms. The trail is not very difficult. It is quite steep in few places, but the greatest impression makes the amount of amazing open views and drops on the side. However, it is quite a short section and after it there is a an ordinary ski slope gravel road that leads us to the beginning of the next trail. The “Viper” begins next to the top station of chairlift. It is definitely better shaped and more interesting. After a few hundred meters of fun in the rocky berms, we decided to take a short black variant “Hell Rocks”. In fact, it’s hard to call it a trail because it is so rarely ridden that the only thing that can be seen is a very steep path betwen a lot of rocks. The last part is so steep and full of stones that when we started riding, we can stop only at the start of the next trail, the “Autobahn”. As the name suggests, it is more smooth and you can actually speed up on it. It has well shaped berms, a few rollers that can be combined into pleasant jumps. After a while we enter the forest, where the “Zombie” trail awaits us. This is our favorite part of the entire bikepark, which winds between the trees. Even at the first descent, we had great fun in nicely profiled berms, several jumps and few wallrides. Although it may not look very impressive at first glance, but it has a great flow. All in all, this was one long downhill ride from Bormio 3000 to Bormio 2000 with several interesting and varied variants. It encouraged us to take another one.
Viper – Panther – Zombie
This time we went up using the chairlift, which quickly took us straight to the beginning of the “Viper” trail. We decided to ride with it a bit further than last time and go to another black variant, the “Panther”. This time, before we started, we checked more carefully what we were going to deal with. The relatively short and very steep descent was less rocky, but also interesting, with some big stones to drop off. Later we rejoined the winding Viper route, which took us again to the fun “Zombie” trail. The descents were interesting and very long, but storm clouds began to appear on the horizon, so we decided that it was time to go for our main planned descent from the Cima Bianca peak, more on that in a moment.
Bike park Bormio – Our thoughts
Bormio bike park is an interesting place, although it seems to be completely abandoned. We were there at the end of July, in the middle of the week, but we were surprised that apart from our group there was absolutely nobody there. The condition of the trails showed that they are very rarely ridden. For us, it was interesting because while riding the bike park, we had more natural feel of trails. The berms were quite loose but without any brake bumps. The “Hell Rocks” variant was an absolute freeride and it was hard to even call it a trail. On the other hand, the first and last section of the “Viper” trail, and the whole “Zombie” trail, offered great flow and gave us a lot of fun. In the end, I am very happy that we decided to check trails of Bormio bike park. It was a very interesting ride, but it is not a typical bike park and I certainly would not recommend it to beginners. But if You like to discover new places and ride less crowded and more wild kind of a trails, You can have a lot of fun here. An interesting fact is that Trailforks shows completely different trails than the official map of the bikepark and I think that this side of the mountain has much more to offer than what we rode. A 4-hour ticket costs 22 euros and includes trips by gondola, chairlift and also cable car to the very top of Cima Bianca. In the city, at the lowest station bikers have all needed facilities like service, rental, bike washes, etc. More information about the lifts and the bike park itself can be found at official website: bormiobike.eu
Bormio 3000 Single – Cima Bianca
After a good warm-up in the Bormio bike park, we went to the summit of Cima Bianca by cable car. The top station is at an altitude of 3,020 meters and offers spectacular views of the entire area. From the terrace, we can admire our trail that goes down to the valley to the other side of the mountain than the bikepark trails and ski lifts. It is the territory of the Stelvio National Park and it is a hiking trail where biking is also officially allowed. There are actually two options that go around the mountain from different sides and with beautiful long descents return to the city of Bormio, which is located about 1800 meters of elevation lower. We chose the ride towards Santa Caterina, where a dozen kilometers long natural enduro descent awaited us.
Cima Bianca – Bocca di Profa
From the top of Cima Bianca and the Bormio 3000 station, we set off on a trail that is marked on Trailforks as “Bormio 3000 single”. It traverses quite gently the very scenic descent to the Sobretta Valley. Despite the gentle slope, it is not easy from the very beginning because the high mountain loose rocks are literally everywhere. It is definitely a different ride than on the easy and flowy singletrails around Livigno. After several hundred meters of descent on the stones, there was a short climb with bikes. After a short part of the trail on which we were not able to ride, we get back on the bikes and continue our descent on loose, sharp rocks. At one point, all I heard was a snap and some metal piece that falls somewhere between the rocks. It was part of my rear derailleur cage that the stone literally cut in half. Neither the hanger in the frame nor the body of shifter even had time to bend, it was just simply cut off. Without much thinking, I took off the rest parts of the derailleur and chain and continue to ride without a drive. Fortunately, there is mainly a downhill ride ahead of us. After a while we reach picturesque mountain lakes, which are described on Google maps as “Maldive a 3000 m”. Indeed, the color of the water is reminiscent of the Maldives. A moment of rest, then a short scenic walk on the flat parts for me and we continue to ride down to the Bocca di Profa pass.
Bocca Di Profa – Sant Antonio – Bormio
On that pass, you can choose whether you will circle the mountain from the south or from the north. We stick to the Bormio 3000 Single variant so we head north towards Santa Caterina. Since then, the trail follows an alpine valley. We are at an altitude of about 2650 meters, so there are still plenty of rocks, but here they are much better “built up” into the landscape. The descent thru most of the time is not very hard, but it has few technical parts. It is a path with a typical high mountain character and beautiful views around. Finally, we reach a point where the Bormio 3000 Single trail turns more towards Santa Caterina. Unfortunately, we see that we are chased by a storm, and this part requires a gentle uphill ride, which without a drive I couldn’t do on a bike. We decide to go down to the valley by some easy trail which turned later into gravel road. On the way down, we were caught by rain, but it was only a few drops compared to what passed through the valley moments earlier. We descend from the mountains and rode straight to Sant Antonio. From there was a great bike path along the river that leads straight to Bormio. Fortunately, it is practically all the time downhill, so we returned quite easily to the lower gondola station and to our parked van.
Bormio 3000 Single: Cima Bianca – Bormio
Despite the fact that trip was not without some equipment losses, I still consider it as a great one. Quite demanding natural enduro in the pure form, with additions of many brilliant views. I definitely recommend it, but only to those who feel comfortable in raw natural terrain and between a mass of loose stones. There are no smoothed fragments here as in single trails around Livigno. Maneuvering between rocks, tight 180 degrees turns was a great diversion for our trip. The whole descent is very varied and has highly technical parts, but also a few straight lines where you can catch a good speed even without a drive. If you do not have an ebike at your disposal, thanks to the Bormio 3000 cable car, it is a great option to experience an alpine high-mountain enduro with almost no climbs. I would love to repeat such a ride someday and extending it with a ride in the Santa Caterina region. One of the local Livigno guides claims that there are the most interesting single trails in the area. Whole of our trip, including a ride in the Bormio Bike Park, was a 40 km distance covered and over 3700 meters of elevation. After a day of good riding, we had one more attraction to go. Bormio region is famous for its hot springs, so we headed to one of them. Not the official, or paid one, but more wild option.
After ride in Bormio: Wild thermal baths
The wild hot springs near Bormio are not marked in any way. They are not in the city, but a few kilometers away, between the villages of Molina and Premadio. A river flows through the valley between them and by the bridge over the river you need to park your car. Then follow the unmarked path up the river on its eastern side. After a few hundred meters You will reach a rock face of a mountain with small concrete wall next to it. It is quite narrow and you need to be careful on it, but right behind it there are thermal springs with a small hot water pool. Its temperature is so high that it is difficult to sit in it for more than 10-15 minutes, but you can easily cool down in the river that flows right next to it. After a refreshing bath, it is worth walking few meters up to admire the deep gorge. The place, although not marked, attracts a lot of people even in bad weather. But it is really great place for a rest after whole day of riding in the mountains.
