Succiso Nuovo-Passo del Lagastrello-Fivizzano

4th stage of the "Sentiero dei Ducati" to be done by MTB. It is advised to follow the directions contained on the website www.ilsentierodeiducati.it for the gravel route, with some minor modifications.

From Succiso, one enters the “heart” of the Tosco-Emilian Apennine National Park. It is the most “hiking” stage with a predominance of trails and technical sections both uphill and downhill. Until the Passo del Lagastrello, it overlaps with two other long routes dedicated to MTB: the Alta Via dei Parchi (AVPMTB Trail) and the Sentiero Italia CAI. The section is quite demanding on a bike (especially with bags). Thereforethe entire route up to the Passo del Lagastrello is developed on asphalt (roads, which are low traffic). After the short detour to the ruins of the Abbey of Linari, the descent into Lunigiana will begin. We return to Lagastrello and reach the Passo del Giogo (1276 m) by asphalt uphill. Now we start descending, initially taking the Diramazione SP Massese for 6 km, before turning right onto a dirt road. (Note: if desired, you can continue on asphalt for another 4 km to reach Comano). With the dirt road, in 4 km we reach Prota, and with another 2 km we arrive at Crespiano. (From here, if desired, in about 4 km of uphill you can arrive at Comano). The route continues on dirt roads: the first part is quite steep for about 6.5 km, and the second part is downhill for 4.5 km. A slight uphill of 3.5 km on asphalt leads us to Panigaletto, and finally, the climbs of the day are over. We reach the village of Cotto, then descend with SP 41 towards Pognana and Fivizzano. About 3 km after Cotto, we can make a brief detour to the right to see the Filacciano Waterfalls. Returning to the provincial road, we descend to Pognana and, still going downhill (but with a few short climbs), we arrive at Fivizzano.