Hiking out of the Isone Valley between Bellinzona and Lugano

Wednesday December 11, 2024 -- It's that time of year again when the weather in the North is gray, gray, gray, either overcast, foggy or rainy and cold, and even though I would love to do some low-land hiking in this region (the grass is green even in winter, and I am not ready to do snow walking in the mountains yet), it's just too depressing.

So it's back to our traditional trips to south of the Alps to Canton Ticino, where there are many more mild and sunny days in winter, although the landscape is pretty brown at this time of year. Finding new places to walk or hike is difficult, as mountain trails usually require some steep ascents and descents, often difficult on the narrow and rocky trails covered in thick layers of fallen leaves. Walking in the valleys is also tricky, as the valleys are narrow and the mountains are steep, so you often find yourself in the shadow of the mountains.

One of the side valleys to the Vedeggio Valley (which joins the Magadino Plain to Lugano) is called the Val d'Isone, where we have been several times already, but never walked along the North side of that valley. Getting there only took us two hours, and we managed a nice walk in the sunshine for about four hours, before catching a bus at 2:45 p.m. in Bironico in the Vedeggio Valley. Getting back home also only took another two hours. 

It only took two hours from home to get here to the back of the Isone Valley. At 10:30, the village of Isone, where we are starting our hike, is still in shadow. The church of San Lorenzo has a Romanesque bell tower. 

A quick look into the parish church to pass a bit of time, as it looked like the sun was just going to come over the mountain. The church received upgrades in the 17th and 20th Centuries. 

We decided to start up the hill before the sun hit the village of Isone at the back of the Isone Valley. 

We started in Isone at 10:30, and had originally planned to walked to Medeglia along the river. But the valley was all in shadow, so we hiked up the hill instead, then descending to Medeglia. We got to Bironico at 2:30 p.m. where we caught a bus to Rivera (Originally we were going to walk to the train station there, but that part of the valley was also already in shadow). 

At the highest house in the village of Isone, the sun was already warming the hillside. 

It was an easy walk uphill through the forest. Best of all, we had sunshine!

A copse of birch trees, looks really pretty.

It didn't take long to reach an upper road with a great view of the back of the valley! The main mountain at the back is called Camoghè. It looks like a good mountain to ascend, but it takes five hours from Isone and is an ascent of 1500 meters!

At the back of the valley is a military training site for the grenadier division of Switzerland's military. Urs did his army training there, and has been in this valley many times!

Nice place for a summer home. 

Unfortunately the descent through the forest to Medeglia was much trickier than the ascent. The trail was narrow and hidden under the fallen leaves. There were steep sections where we had to descend carefully, as a false step might have meant sliding down the hillside. 

Walking very carefully on a trail we couldn't really see because of all the leaves!

Made it safely to Medeglia at 12:30, with our first views into the Vedeggio Valley and the Monte Tamaro Range.  

Now we can see to the entrance of the Isone Valley. (The perpendicular valley is the Vedeggio Valley).  Below is the church in Medeglia, which we had a look at when we started a hike there in March of 2022, so we didn't do a detour to there this time. 

Heading out of the valley above the village of Medeglia.

A look down at the church in Medeglia

Up ahead on the other side of the Vedeggio Valley is Monte Tamaro, the dominant mountain here. We did walk along that entire crest once in 2014, but also more recently around that peak on the right in July of 2023 (photos HERE). The famous Mario Botta church at Alpe Foppa is on the far right of the range.  

Another look past the rooftops of Medeglia toward the back of the Isone Valley. The mountain at the back is Monte Bar, another one we haven't climbed up to yet. That one is quite do-able. The hill on the right is called Caval Drossa. 

So many remains of huge chestnut trees. I'm not sure if this tree was still alive, but there was no other side to it. It was like a large wall of bark...

At 1 p.m. we found this convenient bench for our picnic lunch. 

Originally we had planned to walk along the lower road, but changed plans again to stay up higher on the hillside, passing later through that little cluster of houses on the right before descending to Bironico in the Vedeggio Valley.

A few neat stone houses along the way

We can no longer see the main village of Medeglia, as it's around the corner. That village below is the western part of Medeglia, called Drossa Medeglia. The hill at the back is Caval Drossa, and we did walk at its base once when we did one of our crossings of the Gola di Lago Pass in December 2018 (photos HERE). 

Heading down the hill now.... 

Another look to the back of the Isone Valley

A view over the towns of Bironico and Rivera at the bottom of the Vigezzo Valley. Our original plan was to walk to the train station in Rivera further to the north, but we can see that there is shadow there already, so we decided to end the hike just below here at the bus stop. 

A close-up shot of a church building which we had seen on the bus ride up into the valley, so we calculated that we just had enough time to take a detour there, before catching the bus. 

From above, we had seen another old building that looked like a church, and so had a look there first, but it looks like this building was abandoned a long time ago. 

The bus stop was close to this parish church in Bironico, called "Chiesa dei Santi Giovanni evangelista e Martino" (Church of Saints Martin and John the Evangelist). We had enough time for a quick look inside before the 14.42 bus.  

According to website information, the church was built in the Romanesque period, and was enlarged and modified between the 15th and 17th centuries. The single nave is richly decorated with stuccoes and Baroque paintings. 

The main altar which dates back to 1625 is especially valuable 

Interesting place for an organ. 

There are eight "chapels" opening up from the nave. 

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps. We started in Isone at 10:30 and caught a bus in Bironico at 14:42. We were home by 16:40, so not even two hours to get home!

We have done several hikes in the region between the Magadino Plain and Lugano, including twice on Cima di Medeglia

As the train from Rivera passes from the Ceneri to the Magadino Plain, there is still plenty of sunshine on the north side there!

These are the peaks in the Mesocco Valley, where we were just one week earlier. We always get a view into the Mesocco Valley when the train heads north from Bellinzona. 

Location of the Isone Valley within Switzerland. 

In December 2018, we did a hike starting in Medeglia and walking over the Gola di Lago Pass. From our climb up the hillside (in shadow!) we could see the village of Isone at the back of the valley. On this photo we can see where we climbed into the sunshine this time. 

And in July of 2023 we did a hike on the Monte Tamaro Range, from where we got this view to the East into the Isone Valley.

Hiking to the top of Cima di Medeglia for a view of the Magadino Plain

Sunday March 20, 2022 -- We finally had a chance to do a "mountain hike" again, albeit to a summit we have been to before in 2017 (at that time with substantially clearer view! Photos are HERE) Nevertheless, it was a lovely day to hike up the mountain, and the view was still pretty impressive.

And the best thing about this choice of destination: Even though it is in the very South of the country, it took us exactly TWO hours with public transit to get from our front door to the starting point of our hike in the Isone Valley!  (Transfers via Train/Train/Train/Bus are short, though, so there is no room for delays!). It's nice when we don't have to travel so long.  

Back in 2017 we started at the very back of the Isone Valley and walked along a boring military road to the summit called "Cima di Medeglia", so this time we took a more interesting trail straight up the hill from the village of Medeglia closer to the entrance of the valley. Of course we started with an inspection of the 16th Century village church, San Bartolomeo, which actually contains a part of the early romanesque church (anno 1200) which was originally built here. Some very nice murals and frescoes, which I always like to inspect. 

The descent back to the valley bottom at Rivera was almost exclusively through the forest on the North and West side of the mountain, so not much to photograph. But we were greeted by many patches of crocuses just emerging... so yes, Spring is finally here!

Heading from Rivera Stazione up the Isone Valley we passed many Magnolia trees, the first flowering trees and so beautiful!

First stop: The church in Medeglia, the village where we are starting the hike. The church of San Bartolomeo is presumed to have been originally built in the year 1200, as a smaller church whose entrance forms a part of this larger one which dates from 1585.

For me, it's always the ceilings which I find most fascinating

This beautifully-painted archway was the entrance to the original small Romanesque church built here in about 1200. 

Some more beautifully-painted murals inside the church of San Bartolomeo in Medeglia

Looking West down the Isone Valley toward Monte Tamaro. We started here in the cemetery with a coffee break!

We're heading up to the hamlet called Canedo, then to the summit at Cima di Medeglia (Cima=Summit), and down to Rivera Stazione. All told, a four-hour hike

The section of Trail no.52 which we are planning to walk: Starting in Medeglia, hiking uphill to the summit of Monte Medeglia (Cima = Summit), and down on the other side back to Rivera, from where we had originally taken a bus into the Isone Valley (we were the only passengers, a private ride!)

Starting up the hill through Medeglia

A look down at San Bartolomeo and the cemetery

The trail we are following, from Medeglia over the Summit and down to Rivera is part of the "Sentiero Lago di Lugano", or the "Lake Lugano Trail", a 130-km trail looping around the area of Lake Lugano.

I am so happy for self-serve farm shops like this one... because this morning I forgot to bring along a bottle of water, and there wasn't even a fountain in Medeglia where we started! So thanks to this farm, I was able to get my water, and some cheese as well which we snacked on not long afterwards

After an hour and 15 minutes of uphill climb we reached this charming mountain hamlet called Troggiano. A perfect spot to enjoy the sunshine and a second coffee break

The charming mountain hamlet of Troggiano. The picnic table was ideal for our second coffee break of the day!

Eating the cheese which we bought earlier at the self-service kiosk!

Another self-timed photo

The view we had from our picnic table: This is to the South on the other side of the Isone Valley. The pass is called "Gola di Lago" ("Throat of the Lake), and the mountain range behind it is called "Denti della Vecchia" = "Old Lady's Teeth"

A very cool rock....

An empty house...

On the last stretch toward the summit

The first glimpse of Lago Maggiore to the North

And here we are at the summit, surrounded by the beautiful mountains of Ticino. It took about two hours to get to the summit.

A good place to eat our lunch

Below are the cities of Giubiasco and Bellinzona

Heading down now along trail no.52 toward Rivera Stazione, another approx. 2 hours descent

After about 45 minutes of walking down through the forest we reach another mountain hamlet called "Monti di Prato Grasso", with a stunning panorama view of the Magadino Plain, from Locarno in the West to Bellinzona in the East

VIDEO:

Panorama video of the Magadino Plain

Needless to say, it's another great place for a coffee break!

There are always neat things to see in the forest. And we came across lots of freshly-sprounted crocuses!

The first forest flowers. Spring is here.

Back in 2017 we started in Isone at the very back of the Isone Valley, and walked from there to the summit, then down to Medeglia. This time we started in Medeglia, walked up to the summit, and town to Rivera. 

Where this is in Switzerland, compared to where we live in Zug