MTB ride to the top of Monte Palmeto

The bike routes I made for on-sicily.com are all meant for road bikes. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t beautiful routes for mountain bikes in the area. On the contrary! Climbing the mountains in the area on your MTB will give you spectacular views in beautiful areas of this sunny island. The first route I’ll mention on this blog, is the climb to the top of Monte Palmeto. This is the large mountain that you see when you drive from the gulf area via the A29 to Palermo. This rocky mountain is located close to Eurobici, where I can organize bike rental for you. The climb is not that long, so if you only have a few hours to spare, this route would be excellent.

The climb:
If you start counting from the main road, the climb is around 9 km long. The climb on the mountain itself is 6.6 km long and has an average grade of 6%. In the first few kilometers there are a few steeper parts, but it’s quite a steady climb. Expect rocky and sandy roads and beautiful views, first of Montagna Longa, then of the towns of Cinisi and Terrasini and the sea, and on the top of the climb a spectacular view of the Golfo di Castellammare and the gulf area with its coastal towns. When you reach the top, you’ll be at 633 m asl.

Strava route:
I created a Strava route from the climb (and descent) that you can export to a tcx file for your Garmin. The starting point is where you leave the main road. If you rent a bike at Eurobici, you can check out this route, which starts and ends at the bike shop.

Photos:
On November 2 I rode up the mountain with my good friend and cycling buddy “Caimano”. Below you’ll find the pics I took that day on Monte Palmeto (Click images to view larger versions). I’ll post the pics I took on the descent in the next blog post.

Caimano nearing the start of the climb

A few hundred meters into the climb

A view of Montagna Longa

The climb to the top of Montagna longa will be the topic of another bike route post.

Lots of pine trees in the first few kilometers

One of the few hairpins on the climb

2.5 km into the climb

Slopes covered with rocks and stones

4 km into the climb

Looking through the trees, you’ll see the sea, the airport of Palermo and the towns of Cinisi and Terrasini.

One of the beautiful views

When you’re about 5 kilometers into the climb, you’ll arrive at the other side of the mountain, from which you can see the Golfo di Castellammare and the rocky mountains with Nature reserve Lo Zingaro.

A view of the Golfo di Castellammare, 5 km into the climb

Pine trees at the top of the climb

Time to enjoy the view (be careful, it’s quite the drop).

The bikes we rode to the top

A spectacular view of the Golfo di Castellammare and its coastal towns

Selfie time

Enjoying the view

My Cannondale F4 with the gulf area in the background