Update on Sentiero del Centenario

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After more than a year of anticipation, the Gran Sasso National Park (Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga) has allocated €300,000 for the maintenance and restoration of the Centenario Trail (Sentiero del Centenario). The trail, which has been officially closed since June 2024, will now receive much needed repairs to ensure it is safe for hikers once again.

The funding has been set aside for use by local municipalities responsible for the trail’s upkeep. While construction has yet to begin, there is hope that these efforts could allow the trail to reopen by late summer 2026. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

Sentiero del Centenario: closed

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As you may remember, in February 2024 the L’Aquila chapter of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) upgraded the rating of the Centenario trail from a hike to an alpine route, due to the conditions of the equipped sections of the trail.

Unfortunately, on the 29th of May of this year the municipality of L’Aquila announced the immediate closure of the trail with an executive order; you can find the order here (in Italian). While the order only covers the section of the trail that is located in the territory of L’Aquila, the other municipalities that are crossed by the trail also published similar orders.

Therefore, the Centenario trail must be considered closed, and considering the time it may take to fix all the equipped sections, this situation may last for years. A sad day for our beloved region.

Issues on the Centenario trail

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The Centenario trail is one of the most iconic trails of the Gran Sasso massif. It starts from Vado di Corno and ends in Fonte Vetica, going through most of the west ridge of the massif, reaching the top of Brancastello, Torri di Casanova, Infornace, Prena, and Camicia. The trail is around 17 kilometers / 10.5 miles long with more than 1700 meters / 5577 feet of ascent. There is also a Strava Segment of the trail.

On the Italian rating scale for trails it is usually marked as EEA: meaning only experienced hikers with the right equipment should attempt it. The reason is that some sections of the ridge, in particular from the Torri di Casanova to the summit of Monte Camicia, require some scrambling or are equipped with ladders and steel cables.

On the 22nd of February 2024 the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) section of L’Aquila published a notice [1] (in Italian) saying that, because of the poor conditions of some of the equipped sections of the trail, the Centenario should not be considered anymore a hike but an alpine route, and therefore should be attempted only by people with alpine experience and the right equipment.

[1] https://cailaquila.it/avviso-sentiero-del-centenario/