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Strada dei Cannoni

Strada dei Cannoni (Valle Maira)

The Strada dei Cannoni is a legendary military road high above the Valle Maira. It is considered a classic among mountain bikers and can be combined with numerous singletrail descents down to the valley floor.

Description

The starting point of the tour is San Damiano Macra, from where you take the main road up the Valle Maira to the Pont Dla Ceino campsite. Here you turn right onto a former road to Elva that is closed to traffic. This road is officially closed due to the risk of falling rocks and everyone drives on it at their own risk. Nevertheless, it is the usual ascent for mountain bikers to Elva. Alternatively, you can also ride towards Elva via Stroppo. The destination of the ascent is the Colle di Sampeyre. In this way, over 1300 vertical meters add up in one ascent. However, most of the ascent is on the pass.

The long Strada dei Cannoni, a former military road that rides through the entire Valle Maira, begins at Colle di Sampeyre. You now follow this gravel road for almost twenty kilometers, generally always downhill. There are numerous options for the descent back to the valley floor of Valle Maira. In this version, you branch off to the right from the Strada dei Cannoni below Monte Cornet and tackle the 1000-metre altitude trail. On the descent, you pass Pagliero and the trail finally rides into the center of San Damiano Macra.

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Map & GPX-Track

The map is only available to Ride subscribers.
The Ride-Subscription is available at ride-mtb.com/abo

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57 km

1880 m

1880 m

731 above sea level

2324 above sea level

1 day

San Damiano Macra

San Damiano Macra

3010

well suited

Thomas Giger
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La Locanda di Elva

Bikeschools

No bike schools are registered for this region. Registration as a partner takes place here.

Bikeshops

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Bikehotels

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Written by Martin Wipfli on 03. September 2026

We rode this trail on September 3, 2026. The high-altitude trail starting at Strada dei Cannoni is rated black on the Ride Trail Map. We felt it was more like a blue trail—in any case, significantly easier than other red trails in the region.

Portrait Thomas Giger

About the author: Thomas Giger

Thomas Giger has been the editor of Ride MTB since 2002 and is a regular online and print author. Over the years, he has specialized in tourism topics and is particularly well known for his blog-style columns. He is also one of Ride MTB's active tour authors.

Thomas Giger has been the editor of Ride MTB since 2002 and has had a significant influence on the tour database. His focus is on single trail tours. There are few who know the trails in Switzerland as well as he does. However, his areas of expertise also include Aosta, the French Western Alps, and the whole of South Tyrol.

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Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.