Between the pine forests and the lake

A bike tour to discover the treasures of the Versilia hinterland.

During this pleasant tour, we will cycle in the Pineta di Levante and then arrive at Lake Massaciuccoli, discovering the naturalistic treasures of the area.

Leaving the Viareggio station we keep slightly to the right and take via 20 settembre heading towards the sea, where we take the cycle path turning left onto the seafront. On our right we see some beautiful Art Nouveau buildings, including the Margherita café, the Duilio 48 bazaar and the Bagno Balena.

We pass the canal port and continue straight to enter the Lecciona pine forest, along the Viale dei Tigli. If we prefer to continue on asphalt, we continue straight, otherwise at the first traffic light we turn right onto a path and shortly after to the left, to take a beautiful dirt path that crosses the entire Lecciona pine forest, a very fascinating naturalistic oasis.

Once we reach the asphalt road, we take the cycle path on the right towards Marina di Torre del Lago. Before reaching the sea, we turn left onto a dirt road that continues parallel to the sea for a few kilometres, up to Marina di Vecchiano. We travel a short stretch on asphalt and then take the path that continues parallel to the sea among the Mediterranean scrub, until we reach the mouth of the Serchio. Here we have to push the bike for a few hundred metres on the sand, but it is worth it because it is a beautiful place.

We continue along a dirt road and when we reach a small brick bridge with a hydraulic work, we cross it on the right and take Via del Mare, heading inland.

We cross the town of Vecchiano, take the road, first asphalted and then dirt, that runs along the banks of the Serchio until we reach the town of Nodica; we cross it and take the road to Filettole, which we follow for a few kilometers until we turn left to take the Puccini cycle/pedestrian route.

We follow the signs for the Puccini cycle/pedestrian itinerary, which alternates stretches on dirt roads with stretches on paths along the wetland area of Lake Massaciuccoli, where we can see various birdwatching spots. Near Massaciuccoli we follow a suggestive stretch on a walkway, and then leave the lake area to join the Sarzanese provincial road for a short stretch, which we follow carefully, and then head towards Massarosa. A series of secondary dirt and asphalt roads take us back to the Viareggio station.

Photo by Alberto Conte