An easy circular path through a city park that offers the possibility to exercise in a wooded environment, or to unleash your imagination in wild games thanks to the “Torta in Cielo”.

Departure location: Omegna, Via delle Brocche (326 m)
Place of arrival: “La Torta in Cielo” (410 m)
Difference in altitude: approx. 100 m total
Distance: 2 km total
Walking time not counting stops: 45 minutes total
Type of route: mixed (trail, dirt road)
Signs: yellow “Percorso Vita” arrows
Water: fountain at destination
Recommended period: all year round, even with snow, if you take the path for pushchairs/strollers. Perfect in warmer months because the path is always in the shade.
How to get there: 7 km from Gravellona Toce. Located at the northern end of Lake Orta. Some parking in the adjacent streets. Parking can also be found along Via Erbera following the signs for “Area Camper” and “Centro Sportivo” where there are many spaces along the road and in Piazzale Lodi, near the Lido. From here, visitors will need to walk a maximum of 1 km 50 metre difference in altitude one way. By bus: Novara-Borgomanero-Omegna-Domodossola line (www.comazzibus.com). By train: Novara-Domodossola line, Omegna station (www.trenitalia.com). By boat: Orta-Omegna line (www.navigazionelagodorta.it)
Information: Distretto Turistico dei Laghi www.distrettolaghi.it; Tourist Office – Piazza XXIV Aprile, Omegna, www.visitomegna.it; Municipality of Omegna www.comune.omegna.vb.it

the itinerary

The entrance to the Monte Zuoli park is located on the SP46 road, almost at Via Erbera. After going through the gate, take a short stretch of asphalt road uphill and then continue on a path to the right, indicated by a yellow arrow that leads to a “Percorso Vita” station and a slide for young hikers. Continue following the yellow arrows (not the red ones that indicate the mountain bike route), and gradually climb from station to station, always staying under the thick canopy of trees in the cool shade. Benches are located along the path if you need to rest.

A beautiful birch grove is right before the destination: a large clearing where you can find the installations of the park “La Torta in Cielo“, dedicated to the writer Gianni Rodari. Here, you will see colourful walls where kids can play hide-and-seek, a panoramic amphitheatre, a very long pulley and several covered tables. Rest rooms and a water fountain are also available. Wooden silhouettes indicate the direction that you should take, or point to interesting things to see. From the amphitheatre, take the downhill path (yellow arrows) and you can see boulders with cup-and-ring marks, a rock-slide and the panoramic point. Then, the path descends quickly until it joins the asphalt road that you came into the park on, which leads back to the entrance gate.

to learn more

Gianni Rodari
Born in Omegna in 1920, Gianni Rodari was a children’s book writer, the only Italian to win the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award (the “little Nobel prize” for children’s literature). His works include “Filastrocche in cielo e in terra”, “Favole al telefono”, “C’era due volte il Barone Lamberto” and “La Freccia Azzurra”, which inspired a movie with the same title.

tips for young hikers

Almost always in the shade, this excursion is in an easy but “real” mountain path, perfect for the first trekking experiences of children. The path in the park is not suitable for pushchairs/strollers, and therefore we suggest the variant that starts from the car park in Via Varallo: it’s true that the parking lot is really located very close the Rodari park, but there are many playgrounds that you can drive to. Why not make the little ones walk a bit? The surprise arrival at the pulley will make them say “wow”!

Trail creators: Franco Voglino, Annalisa Porporato and Nora Voglino
Content authors: Franco Voglino and Annalisa Porporato