Natisone Bike Arena is a project that connects trails in the Natisone river region into one big trail center. This little-known corner of north-eastern Italy hides a whole network of well-prepared natural style enduro trails. The bigest highlight of the region is almost 12-kilometer enduro trail ‘749’ from the top of Monte Matajur, formerly known as ‘Matadown’. An interesting fact is that most of the trails can be ridden here all year round. Intrigued? I invite you to the trail report from the Natisone Bike Arena.
Natisone Bike Arena – Where is it?
From the perspective of central Europe and Poland, a big plus is the distance to the Natisone region. Compared to the most popular Italian places like Finale Ligurie, San Remo or even Livigno, Natisone is the closest one. Valli di Natiosone are located close to the border with Austria and right next to the border with Slovenia. Coming from Warsaw, we still have over 1000 km to go, but it is 500 km closer than to Finale. The views over here are not that spectacular and the sea can only be seen far away in the background, but there is definitely typical Italian chill and atmosphere here. The deep valleys through which the Natisone and other rivers flow are surrounded by nice looking mountains. At first glance, these look like a gentle hills, of which only Matajur stands out with a more alpine appearance, reaching 1645 m above sea level. But the deep valleys are located at about 150 m above sea level, so there is no shortage of elevation to ride. Entering the forest, You will also quickly discover that there are a lot of steep parts, rocks, roots and other goods for great natural enduro trails.
Natisone Bike Arena – Bike Park or Trail Center?
Natisone Bike Arena isn’t a typical bike park. It is more like big area with enduro trails. There is no single start or finish point. However, the trails forms a network. Also there is a shuttle bus system with several pick up and drop off points. All really well thought off. All information about the trails, and how to get to them, can be found on the official web page of Natisone Bike Arena. Also Natisone Bike Arena is now on smart 3D map system called Mowi-Bike. There is a website, and also very usefull app which shows all the trails with all the infos like lenght, elevation, difficoulty, and many more. There are also marked parkings and other infrastucture usefull for the bikers. All of the trails and info You can find also at Trailforks.
Natisone Bike Arena – Trails
The trails are maintained by the local diggers group ASD Machete and very well marked in the terrain. All of trails have a natural character, although in some places the paths have been rebuilt to make cycling smoother and better. There will be no huge berms or jumps, as in a typical bike park, but a very pleasant mix of wild winding paths with some work at profiles, rockgardens and other obstacles. The local crew work closely with the IMBA federation and I can see that trails are built with lot of knowledge about the lines, water flow and other important factors. All of the trails are designed for riders who know what enduro is and have the right bike to deal with rocky terrain. The whole network of trails is designed so that even without the support of a shuttle bus, you can go around several different descents and combine them into pleasant loops. The project is complemented by facilities like accommodation, cafes and restaurants, friendly to cyclists and opened for their needs. It is worth mentioning that, as in the whole of Italy, the trails are not only for bikers. Clear signs warn us that pedestrian traffic is also allowed on all of the trails and you need to bear this in mind. The truth is, however, that the trails lead along rather unpopular paths and it is very rare to pass the hikers. In total there are more than 33 km of marked enduro trails and the whole area is divided into two main zones San Pietro and San Leonardo.
Natisone Bike Arena – San Pietro – Matajur
This zone surrounds the town of San Pietro al Natisone and concentrates the trails that descend into the valley in its vicinity. In total, there are 11 official trails scattered throughout the mountains surrounding the valley. The most famous trail and worth mentioning is ‘749’, previously called ‘Matadown’. It starts from the Matajur peak, which overlooks the entire area. Trail itself is over 11 km long with more than 1,400 meters of elevation. Once a year, an mass start enduro race is organized on it. The current record descent took about 25 minutes of riding, set by an EWS/EDR competitor. For average riders, such a descent will provide an amazing enduro trip for half a day. Lots of amazing views from the top and great fun.
Another trail in Natisone Bike Arena worth mentioning about is ‘Machete 3.0’. It is 2.8 km long and has 537 meters of elevation to ride. Twisty line with stones and roots form a pleasant and very flowy ride. The other variant close by formed from the ‘Cobra’ and ‘DH Vernasso’ trails located nearby is also very fun to ride. The Rupa and Penny trails are more difficult, steep and technical descents. They offer some nice rockgardens which requires some skills. On the other hand, trails such as ‘Alpini’ and ‘Guba Basso’ will allow you to accelerate more and have fun with more speed at gentle turns and small sections of roots. The Sorzy Pig Line has some nice profiled berms and few jumps. It is the one that feel like a typical bike park trail.
The Natisone Bike Arena – San Pietro zone is supplemented by official parking lots and shuttle bus pick up points. In San Pietro al Natisone, there is a great local cafe Dorbolo – the perfect place to start the day with a cup of coffee and something sweet. In the village of Sorzento, there is an restaurant “Osteria alla Cascina”, which welcomed us with a great bike lunch during the day. Both places cooperate with the entire Natisone Bike Arena project and are definitely worth visiting. In summer, after riding, you can always refresh yourself on the beach by the Natisone River.
Natisone Bike Arena – San Leonardo
The project’s second official zone is located in the side valley. The starting point for some trails is a parking of school near the small and charming town of San Leonardo. From there, a shuttle bus takes you to the area of the very scenic pub ‘Locanda al Trivio’. There starts the Trivio trail. It is nice and flowy 2.3 km long singletrail with a drop of over 400 meters.. It is a nice and quite fast route with few technical elements. Another interesting trail is called ‘La Baita’. It starts from the hill next to Trivio. There are also trails Clastra and Occhio alla penna which are starting from another hill. The first one is a very technical, rocky and steep trail that require some skills. The second one is its easier variant that leads with singletrail.
I also had the opportunity to check the ‘Spik’ and ‘Bunker’ trails, which were prepared for the upcoming enduro competitions. They are not on the official map of the Natisone Bike Arena and they are not maintained thru all season, like the other previously mentioned trails. However, if You are aiming for more difficult and technical descents, it is definitely worth to try them. It is also worth mentioning the place where we stayed, the ‘Agroturismo Pestrofa’. Freshly built apartments surrounded by the hills and next to a great restaurant that has its own fish farm. It is also a place that cooperates with the Natisone Bike Arena project and has all the amenities needed by bikers and their equipment.
Natisone Bike Arena – My visit
I went to Natisone Bike Arena after recomendation from a friend who is looking for interesting places for trips for his bike travel agency TrailDeer. His article about this place made me want to check it out for myself. We used firs long weekend of May to discover the place. The weather didn’t cooperated so well that time and I didn’t experience super spectacular views from the top of Matajur. But still I managed to ride for a day and a half with a local team that shuttled me uphill and guided on the trails. I also took the e-bike out just to visit the famous Matajur peak, and check the begining of ‘749’ trail. Although just after arrival the landscape from the bottom of the valley does not seem to be super spectacular, the local forests hide a really amazing terrain for enduro riding. The longer I stayed there, the more I liked the terrain. Due to the fact that the trails are dispersed on a large area, each of them offers a different character, slightly different surface and profile of the descent. Well thought-out points for the shuttle bus turns the whole ride into a nice trip, thanks to which you can visit several nice small Italian towns.
Trails has a natural feel, but they are very well mantained and built up to be flowy and interesting. They offer really a lot of good enduro riding. It’s definitely not the most popular biking region, so you’re unlikely to find any big brake bumps brakes here. There isn’t any fully smoothed typical flow line here, but people who are looking for nice natural paths will have a great time at Natisone Bike Arena. My almost 2 days of riding allowed me to visit most of the official trails, but only for single descents. I also did not manage to ride the entire ‘749’ trail (ex Matadown), only a short fragment at the top, and then about 2/3 from the intersection with the asphalt road. I would love to have one more day of riding there because I was definitely missing for another go on some trails like Machete or Clastra. If You will have more time then definitely You will not be bored either, because there are plenty of other trails in the area.
Natisone Bike Arena – Shuttle bus ride and best time to visit?
The place is not yet popular enough for the shuttle bus to run here every day or every weekend. If You want to use it, You must contact the crew of Natisone Bike Arena in advance. You can find the contact via the official Natisone Bike Arena website. The price of shuttle bus ride depends on the number of riders and whether you want to ride with a guide who will show you the best lines, or on your own. A few hours of a really good enduro ride should not exceed 30-35 EUR per person. With the use of the shuttle bus, the ride is mainly downhill, although enduro bike will definitely be useful here, which will also allow you to ride up short climbs and access roads. Trail bike with a smaller suspension travel can also be a good choice for the trails over here. Thanks to the marked uphill trails and great maps provided, you can also have fun on an e-bike here, or just use your own power to get uphill. The local team works on the trails here all year round and there is no break for the winter, neither from maintaining the trails, nor from riding. The exception here is the Matajur peak, which can be covered with a layer of snow. The lower-lying trails just work all the time. Some of them in the wet conditions can be a real challenge, but the local team will be happy to tell you which variants are best for winter training.
Natisone Bike Arena – Summary
To sum up, Natisone Bike Arena is a place really worth to see and ride. Especially for the people who are looking for a good ride in a natural enduro style. The large area offers interesting and highly varied trails. The descent along the 749 trail from the Matajur peak itself provides a ton of a good fun. From the high-mountain, scenic ridge, through gentle single trails and technical rock gardens, to the smooth and flowy finish with the Sorzy Pig Line variant. The other trails are also great and definitely left a smile on my face. An additional advantage of the place is the relatively short distance from the Polish border and also it has this unique Italian atmosphere and charm. If someone, like me, likes less known and less crowded spots, I highly recommend going to Natisone Bike Arena. This is a typical project that was created from the passion of a few positively crazy people, not the excel numbers of a large company. If you plan to visit the region, I recommend contacting the local team, which will be happy to suggest the best possible trails, but also where to eat and what to see in the area. I would love to come back here for a little longer.
About Natisone Bike Arena
Natisone Bike Arena is a project created from the riders and for the riders. It combines all the best trails available in the region, into one big trail center. By adding a shuttle bus service and services such as guides, accommodation and food in one place, it offers everything needed for bikers who love natural enduro ride.
Oficial website: natisonebikearena.it
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