San Bernardino: Hiking Trails, Views and Culture

San Bernardino is designated in the park’s VIVIilPARCO trail signage as a starting point for hikes. This gives you several ways to experience the area: hiking, views, history and religious traditions. The distinctive trails and destinations of the locality can be combined into different focuses for planning your trip.

Hiking trails with varied landscapes

Trail 507 B passes across the forecourt of the Santuario di Nostra Signora delle Grazie and then continues into the forest. The same trail also offers a panoramic view of Guvano Beach. As trail 507 B, formerly No. 7, it also reaches Cigoletta Pass at 607 metres above sea level. For hikers, this sequence of distinctive points combines a sanctuary, forest landscape, coastal view and elevation in a single trail description.

From San Bernardino, the trail climbs via Sentiero 507 and continues onto the Alta Via delle Cinque Terre (AV5T) towards Termine–Levanto. Another trail connection leads via trail 507 A to San Bernardino after crossing the provincial road to Corniglia. One trail therefore continues from San Bernardino, while the other reaches the locality after crossing a road. You can take these different directions into account when planning your hiking interests.

Historic Trail and Religious Festival

The historic trail 581, situated on the middle slope, is known as "Strada comunale Reggio-San Bernardino". A trail with a historic designation thus complements the landscape-focused sections with an aspect of cultural history. Those who, while hiking, take in not only the route but also the history of a trail will find a distinct feature here.

At the Santuario di Nostra Signora delle Grazie, the festival is celebrated on 8 September with Holy Mass and a procession. The date adds a clear cultural occasion to the trail connections at the sanctuary. If you would like to combine hiking and culture, you can consider the historic trail 581 and the festival as different thematic points of interest.

Destinations in the Surrounding Area

The Castello Doria, a castle, is located in the surrounding area of San Bernardino. The Belvédère de Manarola, a viewpoint, is also in the surrounding area. Spiaggia di Guvano beach is likewise located nearby. This means that different excursion interests can focus on a castle, a viewpoint or a beach, without having to combine these destinations into a single place.

The ancient site Sito archeologico del Castello di Carpena is also located in the area around San Bernardino. Together with the Castello Doria and the festival at the Santuario, it creates a cultural spectrum that complements the hiking trails with historical and religious themes. When planning your trip, you can choose different focuses among trail routes, views, beach, castle and ancient site.

Further Places for Orientation

Further places that you can access for planning your trip include Montemarcello, Marinella Di Sarzana, Santo Stefano Di Magra, Cembrano, Ponzano Superiore, Casale, Bracelli and Ortonovo.

For the higher-level travel overview: La Spezia.