👀 Book early during season 📣 Bike availability becomes limited during the season.
Starts in Nazaré
Nazaré to São Martinho do Porto coastal loop (50 km)
South over the Serra da Pescaria to the Salgado dunes, past the dinosaur footprints to the calm bay at São Martinho, then back inland. Quiet roads and bike path, one real climb.
Route elevation profile: from 0 m to 180 m, total ascent 750 m.
- Tour Difficulty
- Moderate
About this ride
A 50 km loop south from Nazaré to the shell-shaped bay at São Martinho do Porto. The Serra da Pescaria climb comes early, then it is quiet road and bike path along the Salgado dunes to the Capela de Santa Ana and down to the bay. The water at São Martinho is flat calm, which is a shock after Nazaré. The return takes an inland line. 580 m of climbing across the day, any bike works.
Before you go
The ride
Leave Nazaré along Praia da Nazaré and turn south. The Serra da Pescaria is the first sustained climb of the day and the only one that counts. Over the top you drop to Praia do Salgado and the dune system between the Alcoa river mouth and the beach. Paragliders launch from the ridge here on clear south-west winds. Beyond Salgado the road passes the dinosaur footprints in the limestone (you need the right angle and light to see them, most people ride straight past) and the 12th-century Capela de Santa Ana above Salir do Porto. Then down to A Concha, the bay at São Martinho do Porto. The GPX returns by an inland line.
Surfaces and bike
Quiet tarmac and well-built bike path. No singletrack. Urban bike, e-bike, gravel or road bike all work.
Water and food
São Martinho do Porto has cafés and seafood along the promenade. Salir do Porto has a café. Nothing on the serra.
When
Year round. In summer go early, before the afternoon sea breeze turns the return into a headwind. Swim at São Martinho, not at Salgado.
Family version
If 50 km is too much, ride the flat ciclovia around the São Martinho bay instead. We deliver bikes to São Martinho do Porto.
Prefer company?
This is the Dinosaur Tracks and Shell Bay guided tour. The guide knows where the footprints are.
Along the way
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Nazaré
A picturesque fishing village famous for its giant waves, rich maritime culture, and beautiful beaches.
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Praia do Salgado
A long, wild Atlantic beach south of Nazaré framed by dunes and golden cliffs, popular with surfers and walkers seeking open shore away from the crowds.
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Salir do Porto
The quieter southern side of the São Martinho do Porto bay, a relaxed starting point for gentle rides around the lagoon and its open dune landscape.
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São Martinho do Porto
A coastal town wrapped around a near-perfect shell-shaped bay, where calm, shallow waters and a sheltered shoreline make it one of the safest swimming spots on the Silver Coast.
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Parapente Praia da Gralha
A dedicated paragliding launch site on the cliffs above Praia da Gralha, prized for steady coastal winds and panoramic flights along the Silver Coast.
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Pegadas de Dinossauro
A clifftop plateau where fossilised dinosaur tracks, left some 145 million years ago in what was then a shallow lagoon, run beside sweeping views of the Atlantic.
More routes nearby
All routes →
Starts in Nazaré
Nazaré to Praia do Norte lighthouse loop (20 km)
Seafront, the Sítio climb, the deer reserve and the fort above the big-wave beach. 20 km, one climb, mostly downhill home.
20 km
200 m
2 h
·
Paved / Gravel
Starts in Nazaré
São Gião church and Monte de São Bartolomeu loop from Nazaré (25 km)
The oldest things around Nazaré in one short ride: a 7th-century church on a farm track, a 156 m volcanic hill with a chapel on top, and the medieval ridge town of Pederneira.
25 km
200 m
3 h
·
Paved / Gravel / Trail
Starts in Nazaré
Nazaré town loop: seafront, Sítio, Praia do Norte and Pederneira (30 km)
The whole of Nazaré in one easy ride: the promenade, the 110 m climb to Sítio, the deer reserve, the lighthouse above Praia do Norte and the Pederneira belvedere.
30 km
200 m
2 h
·
Paved / Gravel