Bocca di Magra-Montemarcello-Bocca di Magra 8 km

This hike takes you from Bocca di Magra to Montemarcello and back. The walk offers great views of the river Magra, the Mediterranean, the Alpi Apuane, and the Golfo di La Spezia and takes you through woods most of the time.
The hike starts out at a parking lot in Bocca di Magra (you can also get here by bus). You walk towards another parking in the town where the marked trail towards Montemarcello starts (and you can find a map of the local trails). Directly, you start climbing. You pass by the walls and the gate to the Monastero Santa Croce (no access) and climb further through woods along the indicated trail to Montemarcello. Just before the village, the landscape opens up a bit. You walk through alleys to the main road and then on to the Punta Corvo panoramic view at the end of a dead-end road. After enjoying the view of the Golfo di La Spezia with Portovenere in the distance, you return to the main road to Bocca di Magra and follow this road for 250 m before turning off towards hotel Il Fortino. You keep to the left and follow the marked trail (number 4 to Punta Bianca) down and around the tip of the peninsula through maquis woods. This trail is steeper and a bit more difficult. Close to Punta Bianca you end up at a shelter/viewing point popular with local sunbathers… You need to go back a bit from this shelter, and turn right to follow the trail towards the end of a broader track where you can go right to go down to the actual Punta Bianca (I did not go there). A bit further, an asphalt road takes you back to where you came up from Bocca di Magra before. You descend back along the Monastero Sante Croce, but at the lower gate continue down along a series of steps to the beach in Bocca di Magra. From here, you walk back along the shore towards the starting point.
There are several bars and restaurants in Bocca di Magra, and a couple in Montemarcello.