Written by Cycling Spain
In Spain, the so-called Vias Verdes (‘Green Ways’) are becoming increasingly popular. Vias Verdes are old railway tracks that have been converted into cycling and walking paths. They are usually gravel paths that run through natural landscapes. A blessing for the Spanish, who use the quiet, traffic-free paths for cycling, jogging, walking, and teaching their children how to ride a bike.
Let’s be honest: we have a love-hate relationship with the Spanish Vias Verdes or “green ways.” We have personally explored many of these converted old railways, now bike/walking paths, with varying degrees of success and enjoyment – there have been times where we have cycled beautifully, and other times when we have thought to ourselves, “what in god’s name are we doing here?”
This sentiment pretty much sums up the Vias Verdes in a nutshell: there are well-kept vias verdes with old train stations converted into lovely meeting points, and there are poorly maintained vias full of dust and loose gravel. Therefore, our advice in this regard is to do your research before you begin cycling the Vias Verdes, by reading others’ experiences with those trails for example. Seeking advice from local Spaniards themselves may not be as valuable in this case, however, as we have noticed that they are a bit overly enthusiastic about the only car-free bike paths in the country.
While cycling the Vias Verdes, we came up with a list of five pros and cons about this experience:
The maintenance of the Vias Verdes is the responsibility of the local municipalities, therefore, the upkeep of each one varies greatly – some are well kept, and others are quite rough.
Overall, we think the Vias Verdes are a great initiative with a lot of touristic potential. At the same time, however, a lot of work is still necessary to get all of the 2,500 kilometers of the paths up to par and maintain them properly.
As you can imagine, not all Vias Verdes are worth the effort. Fortunately, we’ve cycled most of them ourselves and given them our own ‘star’ ratings. These are our favorites!
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