When someone talks about paddling in Italy, you probably first think of the Alps, Val Sesia, or even the Sorba river. But there’s much more than that. I’m gonna share four less well known places that I got to paddle while living in Venice for the last two years …
Valstagna
Only an hour away from Venice, Valstagna is a beautiful village in the Val Brenta valley. With its stone houses overlooking the slalom course, Valstagna is a great place for some slalom or even freestyle paddling. The course is semi-artificial, about 300 m long and has great moves for beginners and advanced paddlers to train. There is also a nice hole in the middle of the course where every freestyle move can be thrown. At high water flows, the feature becomes very flushy, but at normal flows it is a great place to train freestyle – the hole is wide and deep, just avoid the slalom paddlers. At the end of your day, go enjoy a pizza at La Villetta – a restaurant with a balcony overlooking the course – or a refreshing glass of grappa at Bassano del Grappa.
Noce River
The Noce River is a beautiful, less-known, alpine river, just north of Trento. The river is about 25 km long, really continuous with some grade IV rapids. At 60-70 cm, the river is a lot of fun, especially in slicey boats. At high levels (> 100 cm), the run can become a bit more challenging. You can paddle Noce at the end of spring or during the summer (shorty cag recommended!). If you want to make your trip even more typical, you can avoid running shuttle by taking the local train, as the train track follows the river all the way to the top at Mezzana. The Noce valley is also a great place for skiing in the winter, or mountain biking and hiking in the summer.
Santa Giustina’s Lake
On your way up to Noce from Venice, you can stop for a more leisurely paddle at Santa Giustina’s Lake. The lake has crystal clear water and is surrounded by beautiful green fields, orchards and high mountain peaks. When the level of the lake is high enough (depending on snow melt and dam releases, usually in spring and early summer) you can adventure into Canyon Novella on the east side of the lake. On a sunny day, the light reflections on the emerald green water and the canyon walls are well worth all the flat water. You can enjoy the lake on SUPs, kayaks or even inflatables.
Venice
Of course Venice had to be on this list, and does it even need a description? Paddling through the canals of the various islands of Venice is a great way to explore the most famous lagoon in the world. Although the widest and busiest canals on the main island (Venice itself) are off limits and kayaking there will not be tolerated, the other islands such as Murano, Burano and Torcello can be explored entirely. In the past people used to travel only by boats, the main building entrances are therefore on the water and are often missed when walking around. Kayaking through the canals is a great way to discover all those hidden gems! Some parts of Venice itself can also be visited from the water, but having a local guide is very recommended, as it is incredibly easy to get lost and end up in the wrong places. If you are up for this magical experience, you can put in at the Passo Campalto on the mainland, and paddle across to the island of your choice.
You can find all the places in the map above. For Venice, I added my route and main points of interest on the map, as it’s really easy to get lost in the maze of canals. This route worked fine for us the last time (locals took me around), but we were not 100% sure it was all legal. The police there are quite strict with people paddling around (and inflatables are totally forbidden).
I hope this blog made you discover some new places, and maybe add one or two items to your bucket list. Feel free to message me directly if you want more information about those places!
