Duration
Description
The Stoneman Trail is a well-know multi-day mountain bike loop in the Alps. It is located at the border of Austria/ East Tyrol and Italy/ South Tyrol and Veneto. It can be done in 1 to 3 days, with most people taking 2 days, spending the night in a hut along the way. The trails are overall not too technical and suitable for intermediate level bikers. However there are some parts of the trail where most people push/ carry the bike.
For those of you suffering from vertigo: The Demut passage right after Sillianer Hütte is a quite exposed, approximately 2 kilometer long part of the trail. Some people bike this part, but it is recommended to dismount if you do not feel comfortable.
What to bring
Tips
- The path is marked by green symbols (see 1st picture below) making navigation easy.
- The downhill section on the first day (from Markinkerle) used to go via a different route but is now closed as it led over private land — there are some faint marks still visible. Near the top of Markinkerle, you can see old Italian barracks left over from WWII (South Tyrol used to be part of Austria and came to Italy after WWI).
- We spent the night at Leckfeldalm. You can also continue to the next hut (Sillianer Hütte) that has beautiful views of the Dolomite range.
- The part between Leckfeldalm and Sillianer Hütte is quite steep and rocky, most bikers will have to push the bike for a bit.
- The first downhill section on day 2 (~2200m) is very beautiful, with endless flow trails and spectacular 360 degree mountain vistas.
- Best time is July/ August — if you go to early there may be still snow on some parts, and if you go too late you may end up like us turning around in a snow storm on top of Markinkerle (first week of October). Be sure to check the weather forecast and trail conditions before you go!
General information on the Stoneman trail
- The trail is named after the stonemen/ towers of piled-up rocks that can be found along the trail (as well as in many places in the alps) and was conceived by former mountain bike pro and local legend Roland Stauder.
- You can register for the Stoneman Trail at several hotels nearby and at the official Stoneman-Spirit-Info-Point in Sexten and support the initiative. However, registration is not mandatory - you can also ride it just for fun and for free. If you decide to register, you get a starter package and a handmade trophy if you manage to finish within 3 days. The package contains a wristband that you have to mark at beautifully crafted marking stations at key points along the route (see picture below). There are also a couple of vouchers included — we liked a nearby spa.
- We did the tour in 2 days (“silver”), but you can also do it in 3 days (“bronze”), e.g., from a base in Sexten, reducing the daily meters of altitude to about 1,600m and giving you the opportunity to soak in a spa in the evenings (actually we also did that a while back). You can also, of course, do it in 24h and get the “gold” trophy …
- By now, there are also road bike and hike variants of the Stoneman trail, and the brand has expanded to cover a bunch of similar trails in Austria, Germany, and recently even Belgium - see Stoneman.bike
