Cycling the Alps - high passes, glacial valleys and 9 cycle routes [2025]

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Many of the most iconic mountain cycling routes are found in the Alps, a region defined by dramatic peaks, long glacial valleys and winding road passes. The word alpine has become closely tied to this landscape: steep rock faces, narrow balcony roads, broad pastures with grazing cattle and villages built from stone and timber. It describes the specific character of riding here - the mix of steady valley sections, challenging climbs and wide views that open suddenly above the tree line. This is the environment that gives the Alps their unmistakable atmosphere and makes their cycling routes so memorable.

The best alpine cycle routes we have ridden:

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All photos by Simon Thread, Cycling Thread.

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Alpe-Adria Bicycle Route - the Eastern Alps

Near Salzburg, the Alpe-Adria Bicycle Route starts in the Northern Eastern Alps, where wide valleys sit beneath high limestone massifs. As the path leaves this basin, it follows long alpine corridors toward the Radstädter Tauern before settling into the quieter foothills of Carinthia. The most distinctive section uses a former railway line, with tunnels and cliffside galleries creating an almost level passage through terrain that would otherwise require steep climbing. Farther south, the route descends into Italy, where the mountains recede and the landscape opens into the warmer plains of Friuli.

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Lakes Route - the Swiss Prealps

Leaving the shores of Lake Constance, the Lakes Route quickly enters northern foothills where gentle ridges signal the first rise toward the Swiss Prealps. As the landscape gains height, meadows and farm terraces open wide views toward distant ranges, leading the route into a more defined prealpine zone with short climbs and broader panoramas. The Brünig area marks the strongest alpine transition, linking lake basins with steeper slopes and narrow valleys beneath higher massifs. From this crest the route drops toward Lake Geneva, where the mountains draw close again before the scenery softens into the lower prealpine belt.

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Rhine Cycle Route - the Lepontine Alps

High above Andermatt, the Swiss section of the Rhine Cycle Route begins at the source of the river near the Oberalp Pass in the Lepontine Alps. As the route descends into Surselva, cyclists follow the Vorderrhein through steep alpine slopes before entering the Ruinaulta Gorge, the most dramatic passage carved by the young river. North of these deep valleys, the scenery widens into the Rhine Valley of Graubünden, where the Rhaetian Alps slowly fall back and foothills take over. Reaching Lake Constance, the route leaves the last outlines of the Alps behind and enters a markedly softer, open landscape.

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North-South Route - the Lepontine Alps

Starting near Lugano, the North–South Route climbs out of the warm, Italian-speaking region of Ticino and enters the narrow upper valley framed by the southern slopes of the Alps. The ascent to the Gotthard area reaches its high point on the historic Tremola road, where a long chain of cobblestone switchbacks rises through rugged, open mountain terrain. North of the pass, the route drops into broader valleys and follows gentler contours across the Swiss Plateau, leaving the high Alps gradually behind. By the time it reaches Basel, the landscape has shifted fully into the soft, rolling forms of the Jura, marking the end of the alpine crossing.

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Carinthian Lake Loop - the Carinthian Prealps

Starting near the southern edge of Carinthia, the Carinthian Lake Loop moves through a landscape framed by the Karawanks and the Gailtal Alps, where the first long ridges rise sharply above the lakes. As the route circles northward, these high alpine backdrops gradually recede, giving way to the gentler outlines of the Nockberge and the wider basins around Villach and Klagenfurt. The terrain softens into rolling prealpine hills, where lakes lie in broad valleys shaped by the transition between mountain slopes and open lowlands. By the final kilometres, the Alps sit firmly on the horizon, and the route flows through warm, accessible foothill scenery characteristic of southern Austria.

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Cycling Trentino - the Dolomites

This Trentino loop links the Adige Valley with the Dolomites and the Brenta Group, forming a full circuit through some of the region’s most varied alpine landscapes. From Trento and Rovereto the route descends toward Lake Garda, then climbs into the Brenta area around Madonna di Campiglio before crossing toward the wide Val di Non and Mezzolombardo. North of Ora the terrain rises again into the Fiemme and Fassa foothills, leading through Cavalese and Predazzo. The final stretch through Valsugana brings cyclists back to Trento, with the high Dolomite walls retreating into the background as the route returns to the broader Adige basin.

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Aare Cycle Route - the Bernese Alps

The Aare Cycle Route begins high at the Grimsel Pass, where glacial lakes and steep granite slopes form the stark upper landscape of the Bernese Alps. As the river drops into the valley, the route passes through the Aare Gorge and continues along Lakes Brienz and Thun, with wide views toward the great alpine peaks above Interlaken. Beyond Thun, the mountains slip into the background and the scenery softens into the rolling Bernese Mittelland before reaching the historic centre of Bern. Farther north, the path crosses the Three-Lakes Region and ends at the meeting point of the Aare and Rhine in Koblenz.

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Enns Cycle Route - the Eastern Alps

The Enns Cycle Route begins in the high Eastern Alps, where the river rises between the Radstädter Tauern and the limestone walls of the Dachstein. From these rugged origins, the route follows the young Enns through steep forested slopes, narrow gorges and broad alpine meadows that frame the upper valleys. As cyclists move eastward, the surrounding mountains slowly recede and the landscape widens into softer hills and open farmland. By the time the route reaches the lower Enns basin, the sharp alpine silhouettes have faded into the background, marking the end of its high-mountain character.

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Cycling Vorarlberg - the Eastern Alps

From the gentle hills of the Bregenz Forest, cycling in Vorarlberg leads gradually upward toward the higher basins around Lech am Arlberg and the entrance to the Klostertal. Beyond these northern valleys, the landscape tightens and rises again as the route enters the Montafon, where steep slopes and traditional villages sit below broad alpine summits. The climb eventually reaches the Bielerhöhe Pass in the Silvretta range, close to the high peaks that define the southern edge of the region. Across this progression from foothills to high alpine terrain, Vorarlberg reveals a rare mix of soft prealpine forms and rugged Eastern Alpine scenery.

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