Trail 252, Castelsantangelo sul Nera: Nocelleto – Monte Pian Falcone

The route of Trail 252

In Nocelleto the trail starts near the church of Santa Maria Castellare, with its convent. The first kilometer coincides with the Park's Nature Trail N11, "Presenze nascoste" (Hidden presences), a 2.7 km tourist loop. Where the two separate, at km 0.9, trail 254 to Gualdo also branches off.

From here the climb is continuous, with the steepest part between km 1.5 and km 3: almost 350 m of elevation in a kilometer and a half, up to Monte Pagliano (1,396 m). Higher up the gradient is constant, just under 200 m per kilometer, and the trail passes below the Punta di Valloprare (1,776 m).

At km 5.8 the trail reaches the summit of Monte Pian Falcone. The last short stretch, on the level, leads to the pass at 1,842 m where trail 251 arrives.

Trail 252 technical details

There is no water along trail 252 after Nocelleto: six kilometers and more than a thousand meters of ascent must be tackled with supplies taken from the village.

The Park makes trail 252 the ascent of the E11 hiking route, "Nel territorio del cervo" (In red deer country), which crosses the Valle di Corveto: a 14.9 km loop, 1,200 m of elevation gain, 5 hours and 30 minutes counterclockwise, graded EE, listed as open and maintained.

Trail 252 map

From the pass at the end, trail 251 descends in three kilometers to Forca di Gualdo; the E11 then continues on trail 253 to Gualdo and returns on trail 254, which the CAI data, however, list as closed.