The route, about 7 kilometres long (one way) and lasting just over an hour (round trip), is completely flat and lets you admire some of the most evocative environments of Friuli Venezia Giulia. This stretch is part of the AdriaBike route, a 1000 km long cycle path that connects the Alps and the lakes of Slovenia with the beaches and lagoons of the Adriatic. Here you can download the AdriaBike Road book.
The starting point is the Valle Cavanata Nature Reserve. Once you reach the Reserve from the Monfalcone-Grado provincial road, you can park your car and rent a bike for free at the Visitor Centre with which to travel the paved path that runs along the Averto canal (via Averto), leading to the embankment beyond which there lies the sea.
From this point, turn left and follow the gravel road that runs alongside the embankment (via Canéo), but it is advisable to take advantage of the concrete stairways (there are seven in all) to climb the embankment and take a look at the panorama of the gulf of Trieste. On clear days the Istrian coast is clearly visible.
At a certain point of the route you will come across an area with fairly tall poplars called the Lido delle Conchiglie, a sandy area which you can take advantage of for a pleasant stop.
Continuing along the road along the embankment, you reach the locality Canéo, so called because of the presence of a dense reed-bed, and then continuing towards the mouth of the Isonzo river to the fishing village of Punta Sdobba. From here you can return to the Visitor Centre by returning by the same route, following the same stretch of cycle path or you can make a loop following the cycle path in the direction of Isola della Cona with an initial gravel dirt road and then turn left at the first junction that you reach continuing along the road with little traffic to the Visitor Centre.
Another recommended route is the one that allows you to start from the Valle Cavanata Nature Reserve to reach Isola della Cona, the final part of the Isonzo Mouth Nature Reserve, for a total of about 24 km round trip along the same route. Arriving from the Valle Cavanata Visitor Centre to the Caneo, already a part of the Isonzo Rivermouth Nature Reserve, continue towards the Isola della Cona, first along a gravel road followed by a subsequent stretch along a road with little traffic along the right bank of the Isonzato, a tributary of the Isonzo. Follow alongside the canal until you reach the state road near the bridge over the Isonzato and immediately after the bridge turn right following a secondary road which, following a U-shaped route lets you to avoid the busy state road and reach the Isonzo river. From this point, taking care, cross the bridge and turn right following the cycle path until you reach the visitor centre at Isola della Cona.
In the planning that led to the transforming of what was once a fishing valley into a Nature Reserve, many aspects have been taken into consideration, and details have been taken care of that perhaps might otherwise be overlooked. The hedge along the cycle path that runs parallel to the edge of the valle has also been carefully structured to provide shade, protection and refuge not only for cyclists, but also for wildlife.
In fact, to achieve it various native shrub species have been used, species which are not usually employed for this purpose, but which are very important for small wildlife species. Hawthorn, dogwood and blackthorn provide berries that are palatable to birds, and at the same time they can be chosen as nesting sites or simply to hide in.
