The path starts at the Crevoladossola Church where we can admire the beautiful multicolored stained glass put together by a Bern artisan shop and which traveled on the back of mules across the Gries Way. We go down along secondary small roads to the Enel power station put together by the Milan architect Portaluppi and thus follow on until we get to Solaro where a nice stone-paved mule track begins, and coasting the Toce River we reach the areas around Canova and Oira. From the central square we go up to the higher areas of town where the Oira Villa can be found, and from there we take a nice mule path which becomes less and less prominent until we cross the road leading to the Formazza Valley in the Arzaloo area. We cross the road and coasting two buildings we go down to the height of the Toce River which we coast till in a brief amount of time we reach the beautiful stone bridge which allows us to surpass the Toce River and arrive at Pontemaglio. From the oratory we take a left and follow on towards Crodo along a road which after a while becomes a large path which coasts the Toce River. Having overcome a brief tract with protection barriers at the bottom of the mountain we reach the area around Gianzana and thus on a paved road we go back to Alpiano Viceno. From here a path crosses the municipality and goes down to a metal bridge which allows us to cross back across the Toce River. At the end of the bridge we coast along the riverbank trading on a grassy road which follows on coasting the Crodo Thermal Water Gardens (Giardini delle Terme di Crodo). This is where we find the Devero Park Vigil visiting centre and its annexed information offices. At the end of the gardens we take a left and get to the paved road which we cross (via a zebra-crossing). Following the sidewalk we go up to the Crodo city centre (we suggest visiting the Antigoriana Dairy (Latteria Antigoriana) and Ossola Oven (Forno Ossolano) to purchase typical products), and then proceed along the paved road up to the deviation towards Outer Braccio and continuing along small inner roads we get to Inner Braccio. From here onwards we take back the old mule track which coasts the foot of a steep rocky slope up to arriving to the Verampio football field. We coast the Enel Power Station and following a paved road we reach the Campagna Eating House and thus an unpaved parking lot just before the Devero Torrent. We take a left, crossing a bunch of homes, and then reach a nice arched stone bridge crossing the Devero Torrent. This is where the mule track becomes very nice and starts going up with a few hairpin bends. At the end of the way up, we cross the fork in the road towards the Uriezzo Ravines (Orridi di Uriezzo) and soon after that we pass the fork in the road towards Premia. Here the mule track becomes mostly flat and with a few brief tracts, sometimes eroded in the rock, and thus we reach the monumental Baceno Church and the corresponding town centre.
The route:
Gries Way (Via del Gries) / Sbrinz Route (Via Sbrinz)
The stages of this route:
GRIES WAY: Stage 1: Crevoladossola/Montecrestese - Baceno
GRIES WAY: Stage 2: Baceno – Ponte (Formazza)
GRIES WAY: Stage 3: Ponte - Riale
GRIES WAY: Stage 4: Riale – Gries Mountain Pass (2479) - Ulrichen
Notable Items along the Track
Crevoladossola Parish Church, Canova stone architecture, Uriezzo Ravines (Orridi di Uriezzo), Baceno Church (national monument)