The educational path between mountains and lake

Ascona-Locarno Tourism Verified partner
The educational route Between Mountains and Lake is a didactic route from Dirinella, where the mountain path of the same name also begins, to the SBB train station Cadenazzo. The route leads through forests, meadows, and villages with picturesque corners and splendid panoramas, but also offers the opportunity to engage with industrial zones, agriculture, traffic routes, and special features of the Gambarogno as well as the Magadino plain.
The approximately forty thematic panels, created in cooperation with the schools of Gambarogno, tell old, evocative, but also modern and fascinating stories. They familiarize hikers with historical, geographical and scientific facts, old crafts and new settlements, nature parks and recreational areas. They also explain the major territorial and socio-economic changes of the last 200 years, from the advent of the railway to the canalization of the Ticino River and the subsequent reclamation of the Magadino plain.
The educational path was created as part of an Interreg initiative in 2004 with the first section Dirinella – San Nazzaro, was extended to Contone in 2017, and has reached the SBB train station Cadenazzo since 2019. This extension was pursued as part of the projects Le Terre del Ceneri and La Via del Ceneri, which aim to highlight the historical, cultural, and landscape features of the areas of Cadenazzo, Gambarogno, and Monteceneri north of Monte Ceneri as well as the commissioning of the Ceneri Base Tunnel opened in 2020.
The educational path is aimed at a broad audience: schoolchildren, families, but also older people. It has no major difficulties and can be walked in both directions.
Due to its length of around 23 kilometers, the educational path is divided into three stages.


Ascona-Locarno Tourism Verified partner
Derived from the technical difficulty and the stamina requirements.
Track types
Public transport
Public-transport-friendly
From Locarno: Take the boat towards Ascona. Get off at San Nazzaro. Or take the train towards Castione-Arbedo. Get off at Cadenazzo and then take bus B 350 towards Dirinella. Get off at San Nazzaro.
Return from Magadino: Take the boat to Locarno. Or take bus B 350 towards S. Antonino, Centri Commerciali. Get off at Cadenazzo. Take the train towards Locarno. Get off at the station. More information: www.sbb.ch
Coordinates
Equipment
- Day hiking backpack (approx. 20 liters) with rain cover
- Sturdy and comfortable footwear
- Weather-appropriate and durable clothing in layers, if necessary telescopic poles,
- Sun and rain protection
- Provisions and drinking water,
- First aid kit
- Pocket knife
- Mobile phone, if necessary headlamp,
- Map material
Localization
Derived from the technical difficulty and the stamina requirements.
Weather at the starting point
Statistics
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The first part of the Between the Mountains and the Lake educational trail links Dirinella and San Nazzaro.
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