11-km Walk along the Ticino River in the Riviera Valley, Gnosca to Lodrino

Saturday December 23, 2023 -- Even though the damage in the Gotthard Base Tunnel is still a long way away from being repaired, the National Railway SBB has decided to start running a few passenger trains through the tunnel on weekends, although only on Saturday mornings going south and Sunday evenings coming north (the idea being that people will hopefully spend one night and two days in the Ticino, supporting the tourist industry again, which has suffered since the tunnel damage...)

It being a very warm day in the south, we figured we'd do the short trip again for a change (90 minutes to Bellinzona from home) so that we could enjoy the sunshine and warm weather for a few hours before then taking the longer trip home in the evening (an hour longer). We chose to walk for 10 km along the Ticino River (one of Switzerland's major rivers), which is not a hike we would ordinarily do, as I find riverbank hikes too boring. It was also difficult to estimate along which stretch we might have more sun than shadow, this being just past the shortest day of the year, and the steep mountains in the Leventina Valley cast lots of shadow....

Our plan to walk the stretch between Gnosca near Bellinzona nortwards to Lodrino had to be cut short in the end, because our destination would, in effect, have been on the shadow side of the mountain. But two hours and 40 minutes of walking were enough, and we had plenty of sunshine. A positive aspect of walking along the river at this time of year is that we saw more of the river than we would have in summer, because of the forest foliage.

An interesting note: We learned later that this had been the warmest December day in recorded history in this region, with a maximum temperature of 22 degrees. In fact, I found it almost too warm to do this walk!

We started our hike in the village of Gnosca at 10:05, a 15-minute bus ride from Bellinzona which we reached in only 90 minutes. This old church ruins was an unexpected surprise, as we "stumbled" onto it as we headed into the village.  

Information inside the ruins tells us that the oldest part of this church ("Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista", or "St.John the Baptist"), or basically the original church, was built in the 12th Century

Absolutely unfathomable to be standing right next to stones that were stacked over 900 years ago!

The rounded part of this building was part of the original church built here in the 12th century. The bricks look new on this side, probably because the structure was crumbling and the stones needed to be shored up. 

Heading north through the village of Gnosca, we are going to the other main church, the "Chiesa di San Pietro Martire" ("St.Peter the Martyr"). On the hillside across the valley is the town of Claro, with the historical monastery Santa Maria Assunta perched on the hillside. 

A close-up look at the Claro Monastery across the valley. This is the oldest monastery in Canton Ticino, established in the year 1490. The church itself is from the year 1300 with interior art work from the 15th Century. The complex has recently been entirely renovated. 

This now is inside the San Pietro Church. 

Lovely ceiling

A panel on the north wall shows that this wall is part of the original church from the 13th Century. By the 15th Century, the church had doubled in size. The altar in red still exists in the building. Amazing. 

The stone altar with the painting is that part of the 15th Century church which still exists in this building. 

A look back at the village of Gnosca as we head down to the Ticino River

This is the 11-km walk we did from Gnosca along the Ticino River, part of national trails no.2 and 7 (Trans Swiss Trail and Via Gotthardo). Originally we wanted to finish in the town of Lodrino, just 20 minutes more from where we ended, making it a full 3-hour walk. But Lodrino was already deep in the shadow of the western mountains, and we would have gotten home an hour later. 

We crossed the Ticino River at 10:45

Crossing the Ticino River

The trail along the Ticino River is called the "Riviera Trail" and is part of both National Trails no.2 and 7. 

Another look at the Claro Monastery on its perch above the town of Claro

A closer look again at the Claro Monastery. We have walked up to this monastery twice now, the most recent hike is one I did on my own in November 2021. Those photos are HERE.

A nice walk along the river. In summer, we wouldn't see as much of the water.... 

We are now on the same side of the river as the town of Claro

We ended our walk in Osogna-Cresciano, an hour and 20 minutes from here. 

A rare access to the river (mostly the trail was about 3-4 meters above the river)

I love bridges

Here we had to do a detour from the trail to get access to the river, where we had hoped to find a place to sit to enjoy our sandwiches. But there was nothing good to sit on, and I have to admit, it was MUCH TOO WARM in the sun. 

Then we found the ideal place, a bench with half-sun half-shade and ate our sandwiches here at 12:40

This is the sunny hillside on the east side of the Riviera Valley, between Claro and Cresciano. We have walked that hillside a few times, mostly in winter, as there is sun for a long time in the winter afternoons. (Photos from one such hike are HERE)

The river was such a pretty colour, and the water so clear. 

This section to the bus stop was boring: Long and straight along a wide road. 

A short section of rapids on the river

VIDEO:

Ticino River near Cresciano

Final stretch. This part of the valley south of Biasca is called the Riviera, and the temperatures are usually quite mild here. The palm trees do well!

Across the river to the West, the shadows are getting long quickly. The village of Lodrino is at the foot of those mountains, and more than likely in shadow already. 

Originally we had planned to walk to Lodrino, only 20 minutes more from here. But we would have had to catch a later bus, and spend about an hour longer without sunshine. We figured 11 kilometers was enough, and ended our hike here at the old train station in Cresciano at 13:40, where we only had to wait five minutes for a bus back to Bellinzona. 

These are all the hikes we have done to date in this region of the Riviera between Biasca and Bellinzona. The light blue trail is the one we did this day, along the Ticino River. 

This photo is from our December 2017 hike from Claro to Cresciano, and shows the Riviera Valley bottom and Ticino River, where we walked this day. This was 2:30 p.m. and the entire valley bottom is in shadow already!

Location of the Riviera Valley in Switzerland.

For the way home, we had to take the long trip again, via the older tunnel higher up than the base tunnel. They call this the panorama route now! Here we are traveling north along the Reuss Valley. The weather wasn't bad here either, apparently!

We got back to our home town of Zug at about 16:40 (a three-hour trip home) and this was the evening sky! Spectacular.