Numerous cyclists choose Prato as the starting point for the tour on the legendary Stelvio Pass, the “Queen of Pass Roads”
Prato, the main village of the National Park municipality of Prato allo Stelvio, is surrounded by meadows and orchards in the Upper Val Venosta. This is also indicated by the Latin name: "prata", meadow. It is actually the old debris cone of the Rio Solda on which the houses of the village stand. Prato stretches from its train station in the neighbouring village of Spondigna to the adventure pool at the entrance of the locality. In the village centre, the schools, banks, shops, restaurants and the village dairy and bakery are grouped around the main street. One of the buildings houses the aquaprad National Park House, easily recognisable due to the large lizard on the façade.
The Frauwaal, one of the most beautiful irrigation channels in the Val Venosta, takes you down the valley along the banks of the Rio Solda to the village of Montechiaro. Out of the valley there are the Arena di Prato Nature Trails, also known as Prader Sand, one of the last alluvial landscapes in South Tyrol. A fish pond is also part of it, as well as water games and a barefoot path. When the weather gets cooler, at the beginning of autumn, the traditional fair takes place, a get-together to spend a relaxed day strolling and stocking up with warm things for the winter.
The Val Venosta Cycle Path that follows the Via Claudia Augusta Roman road runs through the main village of Prato (Prad). It turns east of Glorenza into the Arena di Prato and leads past the swimming pool through the village centre before continuing through orchards towards Cengles. If it can be a little more demanding, then a MTB tour starts in the Solda Valley and takes trained cyclists to the Passo del Madriccio. The crowning glory, however, is the "Queen of Pass Roads": Prato is a popular starting point for the bike tour up to the legendary Passo dello Stelvio.
