5 proposals for outdoor activities around Florence

The Casentino Forests, Mount Falterona and Campigna National Park with its forests, peaks, stone farmhouses, places of faith and protected wildlife stretches between Tuscany and Romagna. In the Florence area we find one of the Park’s gates in Londa, which houses a Visitor Center for orientation and booking of excursions and events.

The Park can offer more than 600 km of trails, including dedicated MTB routes, nature trails and high accessibility trails.

The Park has its charm in every season: snow and soft rime in the cold season, the dazzling green and fresh from spring to summer, and then the warm colors of foliage in autumn, all at 38 kilometers away from Florence. The Park, thus, lends itself to day or multi-day excursions.

We move toward Valdarno, 30 kilometers from the center of Florence, to the rugged and evocative environment of the Balze. They are shared between the provinces of Florence and Arezzo and for the Florentine part fall within the territory of the municipality of Reggello.

Their appearance of ochre-colored pinnacles, only partly covered and hidden by green vegetation, makes them a unique setting for walks and bike rides.

We are at the foot of Pratomagno, in an agricultural setting, but by exploring the trails we find the key to access this fascinating protected area, which enchanted even Dante and Leonardo da Vinci.

Among the protected natural areas, that of Poggio Ripaghera has very interesting aspects: an endemic flora - the cistus laurifolius -, landscapes and views, a sanctuary with a centuries-old history - the Madonna del Sasso.

The area contains within it a path somewhere between archeology and ethnology, called the Burraie Trail - small buildings in the shade of the forest, used in the past for butter production. This hilly area that rises to more prominent mountains is also part of the Renaissance Ring trek.

We are in the municipality of Pontassieve, and Poggio Ripaghera can be reached by trails from the village of Santa Brigida or Alberaccio. It is only 15 kilometers from Florence and is suitable for walking or mountain biking.

Halfway between physical activity, meditation and therapy: this is the so-called forest bathing that can be done in the ancient forest of Mount Senario in the municipality of Vaglia. On the top of a mountain that acts as a division between the Florentine area and Mugello stands the monastery completely surrounded by firs and trees. A forest almost a thousand years old.

Here, starting in the spring, it is possible to experience forest therapy, appropriately guided by experts who help to focus attention on the connection between our senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell) and the environment. The fir’s terpenes are indeed therapeutic and, together with the silence, the slow walking and the light filtered through the foliage make this experience an immersion in nature and an enveloping caress of well-being. And only 15 kilometers from Florence.

And now instead we go down into the heart of Florence, along the river that runs through it: the Arno.

Did you know that you can cycle towards both east and west? The Arno cycle path, a portion of an ambitious project that will go from its source on Mount Falterona (we are still in the Casentino Forests National Park!) to its mouth on the coast of Marina di Pisa, is nonetheless a pleasant stretch that can be done, even with children, for a different day out in the Tuscan city. The Arno cycle path goes from Girone, a hamlet of the municipality of Fiesole to the Renai di Signa park, having first skirted the center of Florence and the Cascine Park.

You will be amazed in discovering a river dimension, among herons and egrets, rowers and Renaioli boats, the only type of boat allowed to carry people on the river.