Legal Offroad Riding

Offroad ban in Italy? Not everywhere!

In December 2021, a draft law of the Italian government caused great unrest in the Italian and European offroad community. The revision of the national forestry law restricts driving on forest and forest roads massively. Any path which is narrower than 2.5 meters would be prohibited for both motorcycles and mountain bikes.

The Italian Motorcycle Federation FMI and the Association of the Bicycle and Motorcycle Industry (ANCMA), both of which have strong public influence, complaint immediately in a written form. In the following weeks, numerous media reported on a general offroad ban throughout Italy. There were hot debates in offroad forums and networks. Only the German “Tourenfahrer” magazin pointed out that the Italian provinces have large organization sovereignty with the conversion of the law.

Finally, the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy also pointed out that “… each province […] has its own regional law that regulates the purely technical aspects and usability of the roads.” The new federal law only establishes guiding principles. “No innovations will be made with regard to the permissible passage on the above-mentioned roads” states the Ministry.

Offroad remains legal in Tuscany

What does this mean for MotoAdventures customers? For the time being, the rules in Tuscany will not change, because the primary responsibility for riding on forest roads and forest tracks lies with the regional government.

In Tuscany, the forestry law and regulation, the so-called “Legge forestrale” and “Legge Regionale n.48”, regulate everything that has to do with the forest. According to these, even small paths and forest roads may be used by motor vehicles, unless tracks are expressly marked as closed. The provincial regulations have been in force for 20 years and are still valid.

This means for enduro riders, that offroad riding is still legal to the same extent as before. The Italian offroad events (“Cavalcata”) will also continue to take place. At the moment it is not known if the situation for offroad will change in the medium term. We will keep you informed about further developments in our newsletter and on the website.

Riding carefree with MotoAdventures

As a MotoAdventures customer you can enjoy offroad riding without having to worry about riding conditions. Because we keep an eye on the legal situation for you.

For more than 10 years we have been paying special attention to a good coexistence of motorsport, people and nature. We are well connected with local residents and regularly adapt our tours depending on the current conditions. To avoid potential conflicts of interest, our tours are only bookable in the low season and we respect the local hunting season. We are also respecting private properties and nature reserves.

Therefore, you may look forward to many exciting off-road tours together with us now and in the future!