Road trip in winter: Discover the 7 MTB super spots in the Maritime Alps now

Why only ever go to Finale Ligure? Sure, because the journey from Germany is already long anyway, because the trails there are easily enough for a whole week's holiday and because you already know everything there and where the shuttle leaves from. You may have heard good things about the trails in neighbouring Provence, but that's still quite a long way away.

Admittedly: In summer, when the coastal roads are jammed with tourists, campsites and restaurants are packed and you have to elbow your way onto the next shuttle bus, it's certainly more relaxed to stay at a bike spot. But these are precisely the reasons why some bikers now only come to the Maritime Alps in the winter months. Even in January, there are days when you can cruise from one super spot to the next in double-digit plus temperatures and have the trails almost to yourself.

A trend that bike park and shuttle operators have also recognised. Even the Evo Bikepark near Digne-les-Bains in Provence is offering a continuous shuttle service for the first time this year. The spectacular black sandy hills of the Terres Noires, the red rocky gorges of the Esterel massif and the otherwise overcrowded trails of Finale and Pietra Ligure are also open. All spots that you have always wanted to visit, and they are only a few mountain road bends apart!

We have picked out the best trail regions for a spontaneous winter holiday trip and strung them together into a big road trip circuit. In principle, it doesn't matter in which direction you follow this string of pearls. But before you get stuck in Finale again, why not start with the colourful trails in Provence?

1. the Terres Noires near Digne-les-Bains

It's quite possible that some people's road trip through the Maritime Alps will end here. The Terres Noires, or "Black Earths" near Digne-les-Bains, are so extraordinary and fascinating that you won't want to leave. Naked black sandstone humps jostle like elephant backs into the horizon. The sandy lines stretch across them like a gigantic pump track. Sometimes these narrow tracks balance very exposed over the ridges, then they sling up the slopes between the humps on the right and left in wallride mode. Trail laps of up to 20 kilometres are easily possible here - without getting bored for a single centimetre. Not even the 150 metres in altitude that you have to climb to get to Digne-les-Bains, because even that is a narrow uphill climb. For an overview of the best trails in the region, the tourist office provides a map, but simply follow the almost seamless "piste cyclable" signposting along the way. Of course, a visit to the neighbouring Evo Bikepark is also a must: here, converted lorries shuttle you to the entrances of very creatively designed trails all year round.

Info Terres Noires

Journey: Digne-les-Bains is located in the French department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. It can be reached from Germany either via Switzerland (Lake Geneva) or via Turin (approx. 900 km).

Tours: Trail overview maps on site at the tourist office. Guided tours throughout Provence incl. shuttle service: 1001sentiers.fr

Bike park: The EVO Bikepark is open all winter long for the first time this year! Info: evobikepark.com

2nd Rustrel: Grand Lubéron

A complete change of colour: less than 100 kilometres south-west of Digne, the Grand Lubéron massif awaits with its fiery red gorges and canyons. This is a region where French enduro pros like to train in winter, as this scenic spectacle often sees temperatures of 20 degrees well into November. Their favourite route with lots of flow, technical tricky sections, but also short, mean counter-climbs (longest climb 200 m) is 22 kilometres through the Colorado Provencal, starting in the small village of Rustrel. The route not only takes you through the bright red sand, but also through vast fields of lavender, for which this region is so famous. You should also take time to visit the particularly pretty villages here. A café au lait and a croissant on the village square in the morning - unbeatable.

Info Grand Lubéron

Journey: It is 87.8 kilometres from Digne- les-Bains to Rustrel in the Lubéron massif. The most beautiful tour in the Colorado Provencal starts here.

Tours: The "Colorado Provencal" tour (22.3 km, 628 metres in altitude), Click here for our area guide with GPS data for the three best trails.

Guided tours: Grand tour through the département: Grande Traversée VTT de Vaucluse with 400 km/10,000 m/9 stages. Info: gaetandupin.com

Overnight tip: You can park your motorhome on a chilled campsite right at the entrance to the red sand gorges. Info: camping-le-colorado.fr

Info: provenceguide.com

One of my favourites in Provence is the Montagne de Lure. There is a signposted enduro trail here: 11 kilometres long, it leads through mushroom-like rock formations. - Holger Feist, Evoc Sports

3rd Esterel massif near St Raphael

The small mountain range between Fréjus and Cannes already basks in the sun directly on the Côte d'Azur. Even though all that remains of the former volcano today is a skeleton, you can take long walks through a bizarre red rocky landscape. Mostly with distant views over the Mediterranean. However, it is important not to lose sight of the ground, as the paths are often littered with angular scree and embedded in thorny scrubland. The mistral can also blow sharply from the side here. Especially in summer, the paths can be closed on such windy days, as there is a great fear of forest fires in this region. As large parts of the Esterel Mountains have been declared a nature reserve, mountain biking is not permitted on all paths anyway, but it is not strictly forbidden on trails. For example, there is a signposted enduro trail that winds its way from Mont Vinaigre (618 m), the highest and most panoramic peak in the mountains, through canyons and over the Col du Mistral down to the suburbs of St. Raphael. The best thing to do here is to get an overview map from the tourist office and put together your own route.

Info Esterel massif

Journey: From Rustrel on the Lubéron to St. Raphael on the Côte d'Azur is just under 195 kilometres, a 2.5-hour drive.

Tours: The Esterel mountains are small and the network of trails is easy to survey. The routes authorised for mountain bikers are signposted and a map is available from the local tourist office.

I can also highly recommend the Trans-Verdon route from the Col d'Allos to the winding alleyways of Manosque. These 300 kilometres are among my top 10 enduro experiences.

4th Nice: Col du Savel

Stroll along Nice's promenade with an ice cream in your hand, dip your toes in the sea and then head back into the mountains of Blausasc: these first gentle hills of the Maritime Alps rise up just behind the city. Lonely mountain roads wind their way through the round, still sparsely vegetated crests, overcoming individual ridges and winding their way up to the summit regions, serpentine by serpentine. Enduro ace Fabien Barel, who is at home here, showed us a particularly rewarding trail mountain: the Col du Savel. The descent starts with a bend through a dense forest of leaves. Unfortunately, we don't know how challenging this start is, as we were here with Fabien in January and we only ploughed through a thick blanket of leaves as light as a feather. In summer, however, this section is said to be bumpy and much rougher. But not for long. The path soon shoots into open terrain and widens the radii of its sandy bends. A few rocks serve as jump-off ramps, then you cross a slope edge on an exposed ledge to end up in a small field of black sand hills. A kind of mini-Terres-Noires. In total, this super descent takes 14.5 kilometres and 1000 metres in depth.

Info Col du Savel

Journey: From St. Raphael to the Col du Savel, in the hinterland of Nice, it is 104 kilometres by car.

The trail: To enjoy the trail over the Col du Savel in all its splendour, you start above at the Cime de Rocaillon. After about 6 kilometres of trail, you cross the Col du Savel until the trail finally ends in L'Escarène. Total trail descent:
14.5 kilometres / 1006 vertical metres. The GPS data for the tour can be downloaded here free of charge.

Shuttle: Unfortunately, there is no transport service for bikers. Creativity is the order of the day. For example, take your own car up and someone from the group can pick it up later (perhaps by taxi?).

5th Bikepark Sospel

Of course, the two bike spots Blausasc and Sospel hardly differ in terms of landscape, but Sospel and its bike park in particular are much better known in the scene. Here, too, locals have been clearing many a challenging kilometre of trail with shovels, saws and pickaxes for years. However, the lines themselves remain as natural as possible. You should therefore arrive with a certain level of riding technique if you want to have fun on these sandy, stepped and sometimes rocky trails. These are trails that lead around the village into the lonely mountains and sometimes climb over into the next stream valley for extension purposes. In other words, you can always expect counter-climbs, but not signs of civilisation. However, the name bike park is somewhat misleading, as there is no lift in Sospel. However, there is now a shuttle that starts at the Villa Casoni guesthouse. With its large breakfast buffet and pool in the garden, this biker accommodation is a good tip for an overnight stay anyway. Incidentally, the shuttle service is available all year round and if you ask the driver nicely, he will certainly shuttle you over to the super trail on the Col du Savel for a day trip.

Info Sospel

Journey: From Blausasc to Sospel, you follow a winding mountain road eastwards. Distance: 27 kilometres

Tours: You can travel to Sospel with a freshly downloaded track and still end up in a dead end in the maquis. The problem is that the network of trails around the small town changes every year because the locals are very keen. That's why it's best to book into the Villa Casoni guesthouse in Sospel. There's a shuttle and up-to-date trail information here!

The Sospel bike park is already one of the cult spots in the Maritime Alps. Even if the trails change a little every year because the locals simply wanted a new line. - Florentin Vesenbeckh, EMTB Magazine

6 Valle Argentina

The little river Argentina has carved a long and deep valley into the Ligurian Maritime Alps to the east of Sanremo. If you follow the valley road 20 kilometres inland from the coast, you will reach the village of Triora, which is one of the prettiest villages in Liguria, perched on its rocky spur. Even if you have to think away the many witch souvenir shops in some of the winding alleyways to recognise the beauty of the "witch capital of Liguria". But if you look from up there over the valley slopes to the right and left, it quickly becomes clear that you're dealing with root trails here! The Valle Argentina is densely forested. Only the upper mountain ridges rise bare into the sky. So if you want views as well as very fun but challenging forest trails, you have to start climbing from Molini. Bike mountaineer Harald Philipp, who now even lives here, showed us one of the best trails: the Monte Toraggio trail. We took the shuttle up to Ristorante Melosa (1500 metres altitude). We cycled the last 350 metres to the Passo della Valletta ourselves, then took a single track and adventurous route around the rocky flanks of Monte Toraggio. With an eagle's eye view over the Mercantour National Park!

It's always been a mystery to me why most people only ride as far as Finale Ligure and stay there. There are trails all along the coast that you can have to yourself.

Info Valle Argentina

Journey: 77 kilometres lie between Sospel and Molini di Triora in Valle Argentina. Here you cross the border into Italy.

Tours: The trails in Valle Argentina are also looked after and maintained. You can book shuttles and guides at molinimtb.com and riviera-bike.com.
Information and GPS data for the Monte Toraggio Trail can be found here.

Package holidays: German tour operators now also offer round trips along the Ligurian coast, e.g. at trailxperience.com and dierasenmaeher.de

7th Finale and Pietra Ligure

The grand finale at the end: since January 2023, the super area has been expanded to include the entire trail network of the neighbouring village of Pietra Ligure. This means there is now even more to do for bikers. For this reason alone, we recommend not taking this road trip in the other direction. There is a great danger that you simply won't be able to tear yourself away from Finale. The shuttles also run in winter, but much less frequently. This means there are no crowds on the trails - despite the double-digit temperatures that are possible here in January. The only downside is that it is hunting season from September to January. In the forests of the summit regions, individual trails are now regularly closed until 2 pm. You can find out which trails are affected by the shuttle drivers.

By the way: In winter, it's a good idea to crank up the 1000 metres in altitude to the Nato Base yourself. It warms you up and by the time you get to the top, the hunters have cleared the trails again (around 2 pm).

Info Finale Ligure and Pietra Ligure

Journey: Travelling along the coast from the west, you will first reach Pietra Ligure. Distance: 97 kilometres. Finale Ligure is another 4 kilometres away.

Tours: You can't really get lost on the region's classic trails. The hub for all shuttle, map and GPS track enthusiasts: Finale Outdoor Base, Via Per Gorra, 10 in Finale Ligure. Information is available here: finaleoutdoor.com