Lake Garda offers a lot of various sport- activities. In front of all there are to describe the numerous walking and hiking trails. You can walk around the lake and next to the lake, you can climb up on the hills, admiring an unforgettable panoramic view. Monte Baldo, better known as “The Garden of Europe”, is one of the high-points. Special hike-maps will guide you high up to the mountains, finding and exploring magnificent places. Also you can have wonderful panoramic outlooks on Lake Garda from the mountain “Monte Altissimo”, nearby Nago. Also the high-square of Tremosine on the West-side, offers different excursions. A wonderful lake-view you can find at Pieve, the main-town of Tremosine. Hike-trails also are directed to Monte Tremalzo and Monte Tignale. Nearby the street “Strada dei Castei”, from Torri del Benaco to Garda, you can see a lot of olive -plantations, starting from San Vigiglio and its miraculous bay, you arrive at Monte Luppia, where the first rock-paintings, called “Rupestri” were found. At Arco, northern of Riva, there is an mountaineer office; there you can book special guided-excursions and free-climbing courses. At Limone, Alps- huntsmen organize walking excursions, six hours long, up to an original mountain hut.
For those ones, who love biking, we have so many cycle-passes with the most wonderful outlooks, between vineyards and olive-cultivations, immersed in a “packet of culture and history”. Who likes to make bike-excursions in the rough nature, can participate at guided biking-tours on Monte Baldo. Here also exist a bus – bike service, giving you the possibility to be transported with your bicycle up to the hills of Prada, or the cable-railway of Malcesine at determined times, also transports persons and bikes. The northern part of Lake Garda is the real territory for the ambitioned bike-sportsman. In April of every year, at Riva, there is the famous Bike-Festival. It’s a marathon, more than 5000 bikers are competing, or better: are “fighting” for the victory. And here a very important message: the most famous mountain bike driver of Italy, Miss Paola Pezzo, is always training here at Lake Garda! Bike-Hotels are appropriate, we find some in Riva. They have bike-garages, a little magazine with workshop and much more.
Riding a horse, exploring the territory of Lake Garda, is another wonderful sport – activity here. Daily excursions, crossing large forests and wide fields, unite men and horses with this magnificient nature. Many riding – school round the lake offer special programmes for beginners and advanced training.
The riding- school “Centro Ippico Rossar” in Marciaga, are German people. They have really “well-groomed” horses.
The school “La Betulla” nearby Pieve, organizes wonderful excursions. Another riding-school “Centro Ippico Punto Verde” is to find at Peschiera, a “Centro Ippico” at Toscolano, ecc.
Golfing, in the last years has become a high-point of Lake Garda. We have just some wonderful golf courses at Marciaca, another one at Carzago di Calvagese, nearby Salò, and founded by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. The third one is situated nearby Gargnano, integrated in our marvellous landscapes.
Let’s talk about skiing! Unforgettable moments, “gliding” downwards with your pair of skis, admiring the blue sky and the dark blue lake! On Monte Baldo we have possibility of skiing, at Malcesine, for example. There you can find a modern cable-railway, some chair lifts, good ski-tracks and a ski-school. Also good ski-tracks are on the other side of Monte Baldo, nearby Novezzina and Prada.
But the most famous sports at Lake Garda are all kinds of aquatic-sports! The high-point of windsurfing you have in the northern part of Lake Garda. Here you can find all sporting extremities. Born in the seventies, windsurfing is very popular and the town Torbole is our “Mekka of Windsurfing”. The wind currents come here so punctually and suddenly the whole lake is covered by innumerable coloured windsurfing-sails. Here, motorboats are not allowed. You can find many windsurf-schools at Torbole, Riva, Malcesine and Gargnano.
But the sailing-sports exist much longer at Lake Garda! Many famous international races take place here. The most famous is the “Centomiglia” racing, on the 2nd sunday of September, every year at Bogliaco. Sailing-schools, also for kids, you can find in nearly all towns of Lake Garda . But if you don’t like sailing, you can rent a little boat, wherever you are, and relax on the water, enjoying the sun, the mountains, the lake. Friends of all kinds of diving sports also can find their fulfilments at Lake Garda. In many towns we have diving- schools for beginners and advanced training. Not to forget are the sports, like “Freeclimbing” and “Canyoing”. There is the famous climbing-race “Rock Master” at Arco, every September, world wide champions of freeclimbers are coming here to participate at this adventure. “Canyoing”: you can see daring people, rushing down streams and currents of wild rivers.
At Monte Baldo we have good thermals, rising currents of warm air. Therefore this landscape has become a paradise for sailplanes, wing – gliders and hang – gliders. World champions come here all the year for training. Also you can find a little airfield with model – planes.We have to talk about water- skiing, with or without parachutes, all is possible at Lake Garda! We have enough water skiing-schools round the lake, to find more in the southern part, like Bardolino or Sirmione, for example, because the sea is here much quieter. Most of the tennis courts you can find at Malcesine, followed by Bardolino, Limone, Sirmione, Salò and Gardone. But nearly all belong to hotels. Only at Torri del Benaco, Garda and Sirmione there are public courts. Result.: Here you can practise all kinds of sports! But the most beautiful one remains “swimming” in Lake Garda!
