Over the small, really special mountain pass on the border between Austria and Italy, this 37 km long tour leads through the alpine mountain landscape. From Paularo in Friuli, Italy, located on the SP 23, to Kirchbach on the 111 in Tyrol.
The starting point is the lively village of Paularo. From here, a single-lane tarmac road leads up winding through the deciduous forest, past isolated houses. A small detour to the right leads to the beautiful Malga Zermula. The road continues to a junction with a gravel road, which leads through the fir forest up to more alpine pastures. The bumpy track has loose, stony ground in some places. The Malga Lodin, located on a grassy panoramic plateau, is the end point of the engraving. Surrounded by grazing cows, you can enjoy the magnificent view here. Back from the spur, you drive on the tarmac road towards Passo del Cason di Lanza past other alpine pastures and magnificent waterfalls. Again on a rough gravel road with steep sections and a steep incline, the route leads to the Polentin Pass. Excavated areas and concrete water channels require a great deal of attention. Once on the Austrian side, the slope is more pleasantly passable. The popular Straniger Alm is located on a plateau, in this beautiful nature it is worth taking a break with delicious food. Further downhill, you pass through a small ford and after a few hairpin bends, this tour ends at the road near Goderschach. Via Kirchbach and the Nassfeld Pass on the Landesstraße 90 you return to Italy on the SP 110.
Conditions, closures and tips — from members who drove here recently.
Border crossing from Austria to Italy closed. Metal fence and signs indicating a road closure, followed by concrete blocks placed across the road. There is no way round this and it is impossible to get through. Looks like ‘roadworks’
The sign on the Italian side is still there, but the track is passable all the way through. The reason was likely the "new construction" of the road just before the border. That project is now complete. There’s also a no-entry sign at the turnoff to Malga Lodin, but there were a few cars parked there, so it doesn’t seem to really deter anyone. It was a cool trip and a lot of fun
The pass was apparently closed on the Italian side due to construction work; there were signs just before the border, and there was still deep snow shortly after that, so I turned back.
I can only confirm this—just before the border with Italy, there was a "No Entry" sign—forest road, except for cyclists... "Maybe typical Austrian arbitrariness," and I simply rode on—of course, I can’t officially recommend that 😎 From the Italian side via the Passo Polenti, I wouldn’t have noticed anything; plus, forestry work was only on the Italian side, and here we just exchanged greetings with each other...
The branch road to Malga Lodin is now closed. Please also note that most maps do not show Passo Lodin but refer to it as Straninger Sattel or Passo Meledis.
On 30.7.25 drive from north to south. On the Austrian side there is a forest road sign just before the border. We had no problems, in the opposite direction a GS1200 got stuck on a steeper section in a fairway.
I drove from Austria to Italy in mid-August 2024. The Austrian side is actually better than the Italian one. Despite having a road bike and road tires, I found it fairly easy to ride, in my opinion. I hit the ground twice, but it was my own fault (going too fast, didn’t avoid an obstacle). The route is mostly through the forest; the view is only worth it at two spots: - at the Straniger Alm (view to the north, woohoo) - at the end of the spur, Malga Lodin (high plateau above the trees, no people, just a few cows—beautiful!). After the border, there’s a sign that says “Forest road, cyclists allowed.”
I drove from north to south. The dirt road to Straniger Alm was easy to drive on. I even passed two grandmas in a Hyundai i10 ;) However, just before the Italian border, there’s a “No Entry” sign for the forest road (see photo). But since I had booked a hotel and had to get through, I drove on anyway. The descent, however, was completely washed out and therefore extremely difficult for my beginner skills. Super steep and with really big rocks. I was glad that nothing was coming toward me and really glad when I made it down safely :D
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