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Deer in the Maremma Park
Photo © Shutterstock.com / Francesco Carniani
Photo © Shutterstock.com / Francesco Carniani

Nature Parks accessible in Tuscany

Some of the most beautiful parks in Tuscany offer accessible trails and itineraries for a barrier-free tourism.

Offering everyone the opportunity to be able to fully enjoy the experiences that make Tuscany unique is undoubtedly one of the main goals of accessible tourism
In this respect, numerous attractions and cultural centers have expanded their offers to allow the widest possible audience to fully enjoy the tourist proposals.
With their wild and unspoiled nature, the Natural Parks cannot be missed as they represent one of the most precious riches of this land.
Let's discover together which are the most interesting proposals!

Contents
  • 1.
    Maremma Regional Park
  • 2.
    Orecchiella Park
  • 3.
    The Sterpaia Coastal Park
  • 4.
    Poggio Neri Forest Park

Maremma Regional Park

Maremma Regional Park
Maremma Regional Park - Credit: Antonio Cinotti

The Maremma Regional Park is a 9,000-hectare green oasis in the heart of southern Tuscany.
The natural landscape of the Park is characterized by a great variety of ecosystems, making it the ideal habitat for an incredible number of plant and animal species.
The undisputed protagonists of the landscape are the coastal ridge of the Uccellina mountains, dotted with old watchtowers and the ancient Abbey of San Rabano, and the Tyrrhenian Sea, with its rocky shores and the plain of the mouths of the Ombrone.

Itinerary A7 - Mouth of the Ombrone River

The itinerary (bicycle path) is free and accessible up to the watch hut, located near the mouth.
Access by one’s own vehicle is also possible, holding a valid sign.
For access by car, it is preferable to contact the Local Police service of the Authority to gather all the necessary information about the visit.
The trail is very simple but gives magical sounds, colors and scents: from the green Pineta Granducale to the wide stretches of marshland that embrace the final stretch of the Ombrone River.

Itinerary A6 - Wildlife

The route is free and accessible, with rest areas along the way.
There is a parking lot for vehicles carrying a valid sign.
The route has tactile naturalistic signs placed at the entrance.
The tactile signs are made of bas-relief tiles describing the various naturalistic aspects of the Park and are accompanied by captions and embossed QR codes to enable users to access audio/video content subtitled in different languages.
The itinerary is 5 km long, and many species of plants typical of the Mediterranean maquis can be found along the way: the pleasant path crosses the forest of centuries-old cork and downy oaks, where it is easy to encounter herds of fallow deer.

Marina di Alberese rest area

One of the best-known beaches in the park, famous for its fine sand and crystal clear sea.
Access is allowed to a very limited number of cars: there are 3 places reserved for people with disabilities, allowing direct access to the beach via a footbridge.
There is a J.O.B. chair on site for direct access to the sea.

Orecchiella Park

Orecchiella Park
Orecchiella Park - Credit: Photo Graphic Studio

The Orecchiella Park is a natural reserve in the heart of Garfagnana and is one of the most striking natural parks in Tuscany. We are located in a beautiful area between the Apuan Alps and the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, a short distance from the historic Verrucole Fortress.
The accessible trails intersect with each other in poles of attraction common to all tourists: the visitor center, the wildlife enclosures, and the Bear enclosure.

Trail of the Fontanone

From the ticket office, it is possible to enter with one's own car, equipped with a badge, up to the entrance of the trail: a long path develops in a fascinating coniferous forest.
The visit is also recommended for the blind thanks to the great richness and variety of sounds (birds, foliage, water) and scents: a wooden handrail makes the path safe on the valley side. 

The Bear Trail

This trail allows visitors to get close to bears - separated from visitors by a sturdy structure - in a natural setting with splendid views of the Apuan Alps.
The vegetation is solely shrubby (broom, ferns and dog roses) and the pastures bear the traces of the passage of wild boar and deer.
Here, too, you can enter from the ticket office with your own marked vehicle and also have access to the area where there are wildlife enclosures housing deer, mouflon, black grouse and roe deer.

The Sterpaia Coastal Park

Sterpaia Coastal Park
Sterpaia Coastal Park

The Sterpaia Coastal Park is an enchanted place where you can marvel at centuries-old oak forests until you discover, beyond the dunes, the beauty of the sea.
The water is crystal clear and the beach of clear, fine sand is bordered by a cool pine forest.
This stretch of coastline, between Piombino and Follonica, is a long shoreline of about 8 km that is shallow and gently sloping toward the sea.
All the bathing establishments in the area have been built according to the criterion of full accessibility with special walkways that allow you to reach the sea, shaded platforms used as equipped rest areas, and accessible restrooms.

Poggio Neri Forest Park

Poggio Neri Forest Park
Poggio Neri Forest Park

The Poggio Neri Forest Park comprises about 700 hectares of hilly forest dominated by holm oaks and chestnut trees.
Not far from Sassetta, a beautiful unspoiled village in the Val di Cornia area, 10 km from the sea, the Park offers various points of interest and picnic areas.
There is an accessible route with a path within a Mediterranean scrub forest that winds around Mount Bufalaio.
This is an attractive itinerary with a scenic rest stop and a disused quarry from which, in years gone by, the famous Red Marble of Sassetta was extracted.

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