The marvels of snow-laden woodland and pastures and the benefits of a sport that demands plenty of energy. Cross-country skiing gives you a sense of deep wellbeing, toning up both body and mind thanks to the tranquility and magical silence of the snowy mountain landscape you pass through slowly, gracefully, striding or skating.
Oasi Zegna is an ideal place for this sustainable and economical sport. The tourist loop starting from Bocchetto Sessera offers beech trees, spruce and views across the Sessera valley. For a bite to eat, we recommend the restaurant in Locanda Bocchetto Sessera but if at the end of the loop you want to explore the area some more, you can carry on to Chalet Massaro, Albergo Bucaneve, Wing Over Bar, Bar della Panoramica, Chalet Bielmonte or Rifugio Monte Marca.
This link has descriptions of all the hotels, restaurants, inns and bars in Oasi Zegna.
BOCCHETTO SESSERA CROSS-COUNTRY TRAIL (9 km tourist loop) Technical data Low point: 1,366 m; high point: 1,425 m
Cumulative elevation gain: around 130 m
Round-trip distance: 9,000 m
Useful info Trail head is Bocchetto Sessera, where you’ll find parking, equipment rentals and ticket office (day pass: 6 euros).
To find out more: contact Associazione Amici del Fondo, tel. 320.9616218,
amicidelfondo20@gmail.com Description of route A short uphill section brings you to Bosco del Sorriso (Forest of Smiles), on your right, a beech wood through which the trail winds on level ground as far as Eremo di Maria (around 2 km), where you’ll want to stop and take some photos of the Sessera valley and Cima di Bò, the highest peak in the area.
After another flat section, with some bends, and you come to alpe Artignaga, where a short ramp leads up to the turning point.
And on turning round in fact, the panorama is completely different, down to the valley bottom. From here, some rather steeper ups and downs and then a continual but easy climb (this will brush the cobwebs off!) lead to Alpe Montuccia and its farmstay (popular in summer for its local cheese tastings).
Another series of ups and downs bring you to our high point, where there’s a fork in the trail: left goes back to Bocchetto Sessera, downhill all the way. Where you can start the loop again…
Places of interest On the way, you cross a beech wood and approach a luxuriant tract of European spruce (Picea abies), an unmistakable dark green patch at the foot of Alpe Artignaga inferiore, a place of considerable historical, anthropological and geological interest that’s well worth a follow-up visit in summer.
