Trail 151 (Montemonaco): Foce di Montemonaco – Lago di Pilato
S Start: Foce di Montemonaco · 950 m A Finish: Lago di Pilato · 1,953 m
Map and track: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Trail facts
- Start
- Foce di Montemonaco · 950 m
- Finish
- Lago di Pilato · 1,953 m
- Route
- one way
- Trail marker
- 151
- Municipality
- Montemonaco
Warning: dogs are not allowed at the Lago di Pilato, not even on a leash. The lake basin is in zone A of the Park. The Park's rules also prohibit approaching the shores beyond the maximum water level line, walking on the scree slopes, camping or bivouacking, and lighting fires.
Trail 151 leads to the Lago di Pilato (Lake Pilato): it starts from Foce di Montemonaco, at 950 m, climbs the whole valley and reaches the lake, at 1,941 m, below Monte Vettore. It covers 6 km and about 1,000 m of ascent, with no descents. Municipality of Montemonaco, CAI difficulty E.
- Distance
- 5.95 km
- Elevation gain
- +1,002 m
- Elevation loss
- −0 m
- Lowest point
- 950 m
- Highest point
- 1,954 m
- Difficulty
- E, hiking
- Time
- 4 h 5 min (estimate)
From the OpenStreetMap track and the Copernicus DEM profile; time is an estimate.
Before you go
Forecast at the start
- Today9° / 4°0.4 mmCloudy
Forecast by MET Norway, updated automatically · license CC BY 4.0
Rules and orders: Park website. Snow and avalanches: Meteomont bulletin.
- Ascent
- 1,002 m
- Descent
- 0 m
- Lowest point
- 950 m
- Highest point
- 1,954 m
Elevations: Copernicus DEM GLO-30 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018.
Indicative OpenStreetMap track: check the markers and trail conditions on site.
The route of trail 151 to the Lago di Pilato
The trail runs from Foce across the Piano della Gardosa, then up the steep "Svolte" (switchbacks), then along the entire valley to its head.
At Foce there are parking lots, drinking water points, a picnic area and the Taverna della Montagna mountain hut; after two hundred meters the trail passes the Fonte Sorgente dell'Aso spring. The first two and a half kilometers, across the plain, climb gently, just over 200 m in all.
Then come the Svolte: between km 2.4 and km 2.8 the trail gains about 180 m, and this is the hardest section. Above, the valley climbs steadily: at km 3.75 trail 152 branches off, and shortly afterward the trail passes the Fonte Matta spring; at km 5 trail 153 leaves for Forca Viola. The last kilometer leads to the lake, with the Fonte del Lago spring a few meters from the trail.
Trail 151 technical details
The return is by the same route and is all downhill: about 1,000 m.
The lake's water levels vary widely from year to year: the Park notes that in the driest years it can dry up, as happened in 2017.
Points of interest along trail 151
The lake is home to the chirocefalo del Marchesoni (Marchesoni's fairy shrimp), a small red crustacean that the Park describes as an endemic species adapted to cold water and the subject of a monitoring project. Its eggs form cysts that remain viable for years on the bottom of the basin, even when dry, if the sediment is not disturbed.
Nearby
What to see nearby
- Il LaghettoLake200 m
- 600 m
- 600 m
Where to stay
- Taverna della Montagna, MontemonacoMountain hutunder 100 m
- Rifugio Altino, MontemonacoMountain hut3.1 km
- Altino Campi Scout, MontemonacoCampground3.1 km
Where to eat
- under 100 m
- Battì, MontemonacoBar and café100 m
- Franca, MontemonacoClimbing1.9 km
Straight-line distances.