Autumn riding at Lake Garda: what changes after mid-October

Down at the lake, late October still feels like summer. People sit outside, the vineyards are only starting to turn yellow. But ride 500 metres up and the trees have lost half their leaves. At 1,000 metres it is full autumn. Higher than that, it is almost winter in the morning.

This is what I see every week on tours now. Here is what changes, and how to plan for it.

Mountain huts close early

From mid-October most huts (rifugi) in the mountains above Riva, Arco and Tenno work only at weekends. In November many close completely. Capanna Grassi, Rifugio Pernici, the huts on Monte Altissimo — all of them follow this pattern, and "open at weekends" often means "open at weekends if the weather is good".

So if your plan is "ride up, eat at the hut, charge the e-bike, ride down" — on a weekday this plan may not work. You arrive at a closed door with an empty battery and no food.

What to do:

• Call the hut the day before. If nobody answers, the hut is probably closed.
• Take real food and water with you, not just a snack.
• Start with a full battery and plan the ride so you can come back without charging. If you want to understand how far a battery really goes, read my article about e-bike battery range on Lake Garda.
• Look at restaurants in the villages on the way down. Many of them are open all year.

Cold at altitude

A simple rule: every 100 metres up, it gets about 0.6 °C colder. So at 1,500 metres it is 8–9 °C colder than at the lake. In the morning the grass and the trail are wet, even without rain. In open places high up, the cold wind goes right through your clothes.

At the same time, in late October the sun is still strong at midday. You can be cold at 9:00 and hot at 13:00.

What to do:

• Wear layers: a thin shirt, a warm top and a jacket that stops the wind. Take all of them, even if it is warm at the lake.
• Gloves. Your hands get cold first when you ride down for a long time.
• A dry shirt to change into at the top. After the climb you are wet, and the ride down is cold.

Wet leaves and slippery trails

Local services take care of the trails — for example, they cut and remove fallen trees. But in autumn a lot of leaves fall every day, and keeping every trail clean is a huge job. So at the end of the season you find trails full of leaves much more often. Under the leaves there are roots, stones and holes you cannot see. When the leaves are wet, they are as slippery as soap.

Mud is not a big problem — you get dirty, that is all. A slippery trail is a real problem: you can lose control and fall, even on easy ground.

What to do:

• Ride slower than in summer, especially in corners and on roots.
• Brake gently. Do not brake so hard that the wheels stop turning.
• With a little less air in the tyres, the tyres hold the ground better.
• Choose gravel roads and easy trails. This is not the time to try a trail you don't know.

Short days

The clocks change to winter time on the last Sunday of October. After that, the sun sets around 17:00, and in November even earlier. In the forest it gets dark 30 minutes before that.

A long route with a late start ends in the dark. Plan to be back in the village by 16:00. Take a small light, even if you don't plan to use it.

Hunting season

The hunting season in Trentino goes from September to the middle of December — all autumn. Hunters are in the forest mostly early in the morning and at weekends. Tuesday and Friday are no-hunting days in all of Italy.

Wear something bright — a jacket, a helmet, a backpack. Stay on the roads and trails. Don't ride through the forest when it is getting dark.

Bears

Yes, there are bears in the mountains around Lake Garda. In autumn they are active: they eat a lot before winter, and often come down to the lower hills with chestnuts and vineyards. Meeting one is rare. The real danger is a surprise meeting, very close.

So in thick forest and at corners where you cannot see what is ahead, don't ride in silence — talk, ring the bell. If you see a bear, stop, don't run, and let it go away.

Don't ride alone

All of the above — cold weather, slippery trails, short days, closed huts — means one thing: in autumn a small problem becomes a big problem faster. A flat tyre at 1,400 metres at 16:30 is not the same as a flat tyre in July.

Ride with a friend. Tell someone your route. Keep your phone charged — and remember that in some valleys here there is no signal.

Autumn at Lake Garda is beautiful. Clear air, colours, empty trails. Just plan the ride for the season you are in — not for the one you see from the lake.