Italy · Lombardy / South Tyrol · Premium route guide
Passo dello Stelvio (SS38)
49 kilometres, 48 numbered hairpins on the east ramp, 2,757 m at the summit, and the photo every European motorcyclist takes at least once. Full route on the map (including the Umbrail Swiss-border spur), a GPX for your GPS, and the motorcycle-friendly stays other riders have vetted at both ends.
- Distance
- 77 km
- Peak elevation
- 2,759 m
- Elevation gain
- 3,272 m
- Best months
- Jun–Sep
The route
SS38 from Bormio (1,225 m) up over the pass at 2,757 m, then down the famous east ramp of 48 numbered hairpins to Prato allo Stelvio. The traced route also drops into the Umbrail spur — a 3 km detour to the Swiss border that most riders skip. Pins are motorcycle-friendly stays other riders have vetted.
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Works with Garmin, TomTom, BMW Navigator, Calimoto, Kurviger, komoot, MyRouteApp. Import as a track to ride the exact line. Road data from OpenStreetMap (ODbL); elevation from SRTM.
Track vs. route — how to load this into your GPS
What you're downloading is a GPX track — a dense, road-snapped breadcrumb of the exact line, with elevation on every point. It's not a GPX route (a short list of turn waypoints your device re-plans between). Tracks preserve our road choice; routes let the device pick its own way and can send you down a boring motorway shortcut.
How to use it on your navigator:
- BMW Navigator / Garmin Zumo / zūmo XT: import as a track, then Convert to Route (or Trip Planner → new trip from track) if you want turn-by-turn prompts. Keep Recalculation off so it stays on our line.
- TomTom Rider: import the GPX in MyDrive — it loads as a track / itinerary. Enable Follow the exact route so it doesn't re-plan.
- Calimoto: open the GPX and choose Import as tour — Calimoto follows the track line.
- Kurviger / komoot / MyRouteApp: open the GPX and pick Import as track to keep the road choice. Only choose Import as route if you want the app to re-plan for your bike profile.
- Google Maps / Apple Maps: these don't read GPX. Use the map on this page for turn cues, or import the file into a GPX-capable app first.
Rule of thumb: if your device asks "track or route?", pick track to ride our exact line — pick route only if you want the device to re-plan.
Elevation profile
From ~908 m at the base to 2759 m at the top — 3,272 m of total climbing across the route.
The south ramp from Bormio is the technical one — narrower, tighter, with a couple of unlit tunnels. The east ramp down to Prato is the postcard: 48 hairpins stacked on a wall, each one numbered on a little stone marker. Most riders do it both ways.
The Umbrail Pass turnoff at the summit drops you down a quiet, single-track Swiss back road to Santa Maria in Val Müstair. It adds 45 minutes and skips the tourist crowds on the Stelvio's own descent. If you're staying in Bormio for two nights, tack on the Passo di Gavia the following morning — narrower, wilder, less-trafficked than the Stelvio itself.
The road, honestly
This is the road every rider list puts at #1, and it earns it — but not the way you'd expect. The corners aren't especially challenging. What makes the Stelvio the Stelvio is the scale. Looking up from Trafoi and seeing 48 hairpins stacked above you, then riding every one, is a rite of passage. Just accept that you'll be behind a camper for chunks of it.
Ride it at dawn or forget it. The pass opens with the sun; by 10:00 the coach tours have arrived and the photo-stop queue at the top starts blocking the road. Sleep in Bormio, be through the summit by 09:00, and it's a different mountain.
Three roads out of Bormio, not one
Most guides talk about the Stelvio like it's a single road. It isn't. From Bormio you can ride three genuinely great high passes in a single day: the Stelvio itself (north, over Passo dello Stelvio to Prato), the Umbrail spur (a Swiss-border loop that rejoins the SS38 near the summit), and the Passo di Gavia to the south (2,621 m, single track in places, and quieter than any of them). If you can spare two nights in Bormio, do all three — that's the trip most riders wish they'd planned.
Bormio (south) is the popular base — a proper spa town, good food, easy access to the Gavia and Mortirolo. Prato allo Stelvio (north) is quieter, cheaper, and puts you on the east ramp first thing. Either works; Bormio has more rider-verified stays.
Weather, altitude, and what to pack
2,757 m is the second-highest paved pass in the Alps. Even in August, expect 5–10°C at the top with a wind that will find every gap in your jacket. Pack a proper mid-layer. The pass is closed roughly November to late May; check stelviopark.it for live status before committing to a plan.
Fuel: fill up in Bormio or Prato. Nothing between. Cell coverage above 2,000 m is patchy — download offline maps.
What to see along the way
- Bagni Vecchi (1,300 m) — Thermal baths just north of Bormio — the first proper viewpoint back over the valley on the way up.
- Terzo Cantoniera (2,485 m) — Refuge and café roughly two-thirds up the south ramp. Coffee stop, and the point where the road starts stacking hairpins on top of each other.
- Passo dello Stelvio (2,757 m) — The summit. Souvenir stalls, sausage vans, and the photo. Second-highest paved pass in the Alps.
- Umbrail Pass turnoff (2,501 m) — The Swiss-border spur. Drops down a quiet, single-track road to Santa Maria in Val Müstair — gorgeous, and skips the Stelvio crowds.
- Tornante #1 (east ramp) — Bottom of the 48 hairpins into Prato. Small pullout — most riders stop here for the up-shot.
- Passo di Gavia (2,621 m) — Not on this GPX but the natural second-day ride out of Bormio. Narrower, wilder, less-trafficked than the Stelvio itself.
Rent a bike
Rent a motorcycle or scooter for Passo dello Stelvio (SS38)
Flying in? Pick up a bike near the start of the route. We've pre-filled the pick-up city with Bormio — change it if you're basing elsewhere.
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Rider-verified stays within 30 km
Automatically selected by proximity to the traced route — no editorial cherry-picking. Sorted by how close they are to the road.
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