The visit to Arco was part of a press trip with Visit Trentino, but, as always, all opinions and impressions are my own.
The early Sunday morning in the medieval village of Arco has just begun to warm the small community like a gentle embrace. Despite the crisp morning air, the first coffee of the day is best enjoyed outdoors, with the October sun streaming through stylish sunglasses. In the Garda Trentino region, winters are never particularly cold, and its 260 days of sunshine each year have attracted visitors since the 19th century. It was then that Archduke Albrecht of Austria discovered the winter sun here, built his winter palace, and transformed the town into a health resort that has ever since exuded elegance and European refinement.
Today Arco is more of a climbing paradise than a spa resort, but it's not the cliffs I'm here for – it's the olive trees. I'm going to hike along one of Garda Trentino's newest hiking trails – the Olive Trail - Sentiero dell’Olivo.
The Olive Trail gives visitors the opportunity to get to know one of the area's most iconic products – the highly prized and PDO-protected olive oil. DOP Garda Trentino. The trail was inaugurated as recently as 2024 and winds through the area's approximately 40,000 olive trees. It's not just a walk, it's a journey of knowledge through the landscape, craft and history of olive oil.
The path leads steeply up towards the castle that watches over the city from its cliff. Soon the first olive groves spread out before me in a sea of silver-green leaves that sparkle in the morning light.
I walk up the mountain on a winding path of round cobblestones and step stones. The steps wind their way up towards the olive groves and everywhere you see how the trees have shaped not only the landscape, but also the people who live off it. In Garda Trentino, olive growing has a history that goes back to Roman times, more than two thousand years ago.
Throughout history, the area's olive trees have been a source of wealth, identity and pride, and today they are an important part of the region's cultural heritage. No olive trees are allowed to be replaced with other trees or cut down, which is easy to understand when you walk past. During an unexpectedly hard frost many years ago, many trees seemed to have died, but since they were not allowed to be replaced, they were simply trimmed. And after a while new branches came up, which are now bearing fruit again. Olive trees may be sensitive to frost, but they are difficult to kill.
October is the harvest month for olives, but even though we are in the middle of the harvest season, we do not meet a single grower. Instead, I see small bottles and containers hanging on the branches. Pheromone traps that protect the olives from olive flies. Olive flies are pests that lay eggs in the olives and their larvae destroy the flesh, which reduces both the quality of the olives and the amount of olive oil that can be pressed.
This year (2025) the olive flies have been an extra big problem, combined with extreme weather and hail in June. Compared to last year, the harvest looks to be about half as big, but the oil content in the olives looks promising. There are a lot of half-rotten olives on the hiking trail. Fallen fruit that gets stuck under the soles of my hiking boots when I pass by.
Along the hiking trail there are fourteen information signs that allow us hikers to discover the secrets of the olive trees and understand all the work that goes into producing the green gold of Garda Trentino. The signs are in Italian, German and English and often have a modern, interactive element – such as hatches that can be opened or timelines that can be dragged.
Very quickly we reach the first viewpoint of the trail and Arco spreads out below our feet. The climb on the trail is 300 meters to the highest point of the trail and everywhere along the trail there are beautiful views of the castle, the valley and the villages. It is a hiking trail that you do not want to go fast, but rather experience and discover.
The olive groves of Garda Trentino are an example of how the region has been shaped together with nature. The mild Mediterranean climate at the foot of the Alps, protected by the mountains and the warm southerly winds of Lake Garda. This is the world's northernmost place for olive cultivation and the conditions could not be better. The soil consists of sand and stone, which may sound nutrient-poor, but provides the roots of the olive trees with perfect conditions. Olive trees need just the right amount of water. If they get too much water, the olives become watery and the important amount of oil is low.
At the highest point of the trail we stop for a little extra time. Here the view is magnificent and the vistas stretch for miles. I can see all the way down to Riva del Garda – even much further south than that. Even though Lake Garda is partly on the horizon, you can still make out the large number of sails gliding along at great speed in the wind. Northern winds this morning. Southern in the afternoon.
The olive trees that grow here in the region are of the Casaliva variety, a variety that is specific to the area around Lake Garda. The olives that are produced are medium-sized and greenish with a thin skin and although these olives are good for pickling, they are grown in this area solely for their greenish oil. The fact that olive oil can have different colors is not something I have ever considered, but it is an important characteristic. When blind tasting olive oil, therefore, they are always tasted in dark cups, so that it is not possible to see the color of the oil. Otherwise, the color of the olive oil can reveal where the oil comes from and influence the person testing it.
I pass by stone walls, viewpoints and (of course) row after row of olive trees. Every bend offers new views and no tree is the same with its rugged and aged knots. The temperature this day is also absolutely perfect and it would be possible to hike in shorts and a t-shirt without any problems. It is simply a very enjoyable hike. An easy hike that is suitable for all ages, albeit a bit hilly.
The full trail is seven kilometers long and takes about three hours to hike, with stops at information signs and viewpoints. It is possible to take a shortcut and shorten the hike to about five kilometers in two hours, so it is easy to adapt the hike to how much time you have to give. This is a hike that is not just a hiking trail, but a reminder of all the generations of olive growers who, despite the climate challenges of recent years, continue to fight so that the green gold of Garda Trentino can continue to be enjoyed by you together with a freshly baked slice of white bread.
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.
How do I get to the Olive Trail?
The Olive Trail Sentiero dell’Olivo starts and ends in Arco, in the Garda Trentino region, just north of Lake Garda. The trail is seven kilometers long and hilly, but I still have to say that it is an easy hike. The trail is well-maintained and informative for all ages and takes about three hours to hike. Although the trail is easy, I recommend sturdy shoes, as parts of the trail go over rocks where you need good grip. It is possible to shorten the hike to two hours (five kilometers), by taking a well-marked shortcut.
The olive trail starts at the square by the church in Arco and shares the beginning of the trail with the road up to the castle. The trail is well signposted all the way around.
A detailed map and more information about the hiking trail can be found at Garda Trentino's page on the Olive Trail.
The nearest airports are in Verona (8o km, 1 hour by car) or Milan Bergamo (170 km, 2 hours by car)
