Finale Ligure Mountain Biking

Finale Ligure, on the Riviera coast of Liguria between Genoa and the French border, is one of Europe's classic enduro destinations. The Finale Outdoor Region network holds more than 200 numbered, graded trails, spread across six areas that run from the sea cliffs at Varigotti and the Manie plateau up to beech and chestnut forest at around 1,000m on Melogno, and on inland to Bardineto and Monte Carmo. Expect everything from the easy 24H loop and flowing, bermed trails such as Rollercoaster and Crestino to steep, rocky, exposed classics like DH Uomini and Little Champery, many of them former international enduro race stages. Shuttle uplifts from town reach the top of the network in about half an hour, the trails are free to ride, and the region also publishes gravel routes through the inland villages. It rides almost all year, which makes it a favourite spring and autumn trip for UK riders.

The Trails

The Finale Outdoor Region is not a bike park. It is a wide network of natural singletrack, built and maintained by local trail builders and open to all, with each trail numbered and graded on a local four-step scale: Easy, Medium, Hard and Very Hard, often given as a range. The scale runs steep: many Medium trails are rocky, loose and technical by UK standards, so start a grade lower than you would at home and work up. The consortium splits the network into six areas: Finale Ligure and its plateaus, Melogno and alta Val Pora, Pietrese and Val Maremola, the Island Bay and Levante area, Alta Val Bormida, and Bardineto and north of Monte Carmo.

• Le Manie plateau and Varigotti: the 24H loop, a scenic trail of almost 12km for every level on the plateau, and the sea-view classics DH Uomini, a legendary Hard to Very Hard descent from the plateau to Varigotti, and DH Women, rocky and loose, a former Enduro World Series stage high above the sea.
• Melogno and Rialto: Rollercoaster, a long, fast trail full of compressions, berms and jumps, and from the Melogno fort area, forest descents such as Isallo Extasi (steep and rooty at the top, then fast, tight and loamy) and Fast and Furious.
• Base Nato, Feglino and Orco: a cluster of trails dropping straight from the Base Nato plateau, including Base Nato itself (fast, bermed, small jumps), Ingegnere (about 7km, Hard), and Supergroppo (about 7km, Medium), which starts near one of the highest points in the area and was the final stage of the Enduro World Series here in 2013. Little Champery, above Feglino, is steep, rocky and exposed.
• Crestino and Cromagnon: Crestino's first section is one of the most flowing trails in the region and the way into the Vezzi and Mallare areas, while Cromagnon, a Medium trail used for international enduro racing, is known for its passage under a huge boulder.
• Pietra Ligure and Monte Carmo: the inland trails above Pietra Ligure and Loano, home to e-bike specific enduro trails in Val Maremola and to Karma Trail, 8.3km and around 1,100m of descent from just below Monte Carmo, long, steep and narrow, for advanced riders.

The network suits enduro and all-mountain bikes best, with plenty of cross country and e-MTB riding too. Trails at Finale are subject to closures at short notice for weather alerts, maintenance, forestry work and hunting in the inland areas, so always check the Finale Outdoor Region live trail status before you ride. In dry spells, the consortium asks riders to avoid trails through pine forest and choose routes with an easy way back.

Gravel Riding

The Finale Outdoor Region publishes a set of gravel tours on the forest roads and quiet tracks inland, mostly around Bardineto, including loops to the villages of Zuccarello and Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena, a route through the Alta Val Bormida forests to Lake Osiglia, and a climb above Pietra Ligure. Each July the region also hosts a relaxed gravel weekend at Bardineto. It is a good way to spend a rest day away from the enduro trails.

Admission and Prices

Riding the trails is free, and you can pedal up on forest roads and tarmac climbs. Most visitors use the paid uplift, and the companies that run it, along with guides and bike hire, are listed under Guides, Shuttles and Hire below.

Trail maintenance is funded partly by the FOR YOU CARD, a voluntary card valid for a calendar year that costs a small annual fee. Buy it online, at the Finale Outdoor Base or Pietra Outdoor Base info points or from partner businesses, then check in with it when you pay for an uplift, a meal or a coffee, and the partner donates a share to the trail fund. Every EUR 10 donated directly funds a metre of trail maintenance. Prices are correct as of September 2026 but subject to change, so check current rates on the Finale Outdoor Region website before you book.

Guides, Shuttles and Hire

The Finale Outdoor Region names two official uplift companies, and both run single shuttle lifts every day from the Finale Outdoor Base, with departures from the Pietra Ligure Outdoor Base info point too. In just over 30 minutes the vans climb to around 1,000m, dropping you at Base Nato, at Din on Melogno for Rollercoaster, or at Forte del Melogno, and you ride back down to the coast on your own. A single ride costs around EUR 13.50 to 14 with the FOR YOU CARD, and multi-ride lift cards bring it to about EUR 12.50 to 13 a ride. For a first visit, local guiding companies run full-day, shuttle-assisted tours, where a van follows the group all day and a guide picks trails to suit your level.

• Cube Bike Shop Finale: bike shop in Finale Ligure (Via Brunenghi) with full-suspension trail and enduro bike hire by the day or half day, plus e-bike and road bike hire and bike sales.
• Finale Express: one of the two official uplift companies, based at Strada per Gorra in Finale Ligure, running single lifts to Base Nato and Melogno (with extra pick-ups at Feglino, Calice Ligure and Isallo), full-day bike shuttles with a driver, and self-drive minibus and bike trailer hire for groups.
• Finale Freeride: the other official uplift company, departing from the Finale Outdoor Base, with single lifts and shareable multi-ride lift cards, guided and unguided shuttle tours across the region, and airport transfers.
• Justride: Finale Ligure-based company running fully guided, shuttle-assisted enduro holidays for groups since 2007, with custom trips, e-MTB camps, women's camps and an enduro camp with race coaching.
• MTB Italy: guiding company on Via Saccone in Finale Ligure offering private guides and instructors, guided group and backcountry tours, multi-day trips across Liguria, bike shuttles, airport transfers, and trail bike, e-bike and battery hire.

Prices are correct as of September 2026 but subject to change, so check current rates with the operator.

Getting There from the UK

Genoa is the closest airport, around an hour from Finale by road, and there are direct regional trains from Genova Sestri Ponente, near the airport, to Finale Ligure Marina in under an hour. Nice has more UK flights and is around an hour and three quarters away by car, or two and a half to three hours by train with a change at Ventimiglia. Turin is around two hours by road and the Milan airports around three.

By rail from the UK, take Eurostar to Paris, then high-speed trains towards Nice or towards Turin and Milan, and pick up the coastal line along the Riviera to Finale Ligure Marina, which sits on the Genoa to Ventimiglia line in the middle of town. It is a long day, and possibly an overnight stop. On the London to Paris leg, bikes need to be dismantled and packed in a bike box or bag and booked in advance, so check Eurostar's current rules. On Italian regional trains marked with a bike symbol, you can take an assembled bike for a daily supplement.

Driving from Calais or the Channel Tunnel is around 1,140km and roughly 12 hours on motorways through France and into Italy, leaving the A10 motorway at the Finale Ligure exit. Expect French and Italian motorway tolls.

Getting Here

The Finale Outdoor Base info point, on Via per Calice just inland from the Finalmarina seafront and around 1.5km from the station, is the hub: uplift shuttles depart from here, and it is the place for trail information and the FOR YOU CARD. Pietra Ligure has its own info point, the Pietra Ligure Outdoor Base, which also has uplift departures. For uplift, guiding and bike hire, see Guides, Shuttles and Hire above.

When to Go

Finale rides almost all year. Spring, from March to June, and autumn, from September to November, are the best times, with mild temperatures, dry, fast trails and green hills. Summer is hot, especially on the trails nearest the sea, so ride early and late, or head for the higher forests on Melogno and around Bardineto, which stay cooler. In winter the coastal and sun-facing trails often stay dry and sunny when the Alps are under snow, while the higher inland areas can be wet or cold.

July and August are the busiest months, with Italian and European school holidays filling the coast. Finale has hosted international enduro racing since 2013, and race weeks bring busier trails and temporary closures on race stages, so check the events calendar before you book. Liguria is prone to heavy autumn storms, and the region closes trails during official weather alerts, so check the forecast and the live trail status each day.

If you are making a longer Italian trip, Bike Park Val di Sole, in Trentino, is Italy's World Cup downhill venue, with lift-served lines and long enduro descents on the same pass.

Where to Stay

Finalmarina, the seafront heart of Finale Ligure, is the most practical base: close to the station, the Finale Outdoor Base and the uplift departures, with plenty of places to eat. Finalborgo, the walled old town just inland, is a quieter and characterful alternative a short ride away, and Finalpia and Varigotti, along the coast to the east, suit riders who want to be near the Manie plateau trails. Pietra Ligure and Loano, to the west, are closer to Monte Carmo and the Val Maremola trails, and Pietra Ligure has its own info point.

Accommodation runs from hotels and apartments to campsites. Choosing accommodation and services that support the FOR YOU CARD helps fund the trails you ride.

Local Organisations

• Finale Outdoor Region: the consortium of local businesses that promotes the area, runs the info points and live trail status, and organises the trail builders who maintain the network, funded by local government, sponsors and the FOR YOU CARD. You can support the work with a direct donation through its website. Follow it on Facebook and Instagram.

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