Set against the ever so clear waters of Ticino’s Maggia river with towering mountain peaks all around is the TCS Camping Gordevio. Located just a 15-minute drive up from Locarno into the Maggia valley, Camping Gordevio is perfect for those looking for a laid back campground with 4-star facilities. At first glance, it is a simple campground with average-sized pitches, a basic supermarket and a small playground. But when you walk through the trees and discover the beautiful Maggia river at its doorstep, you can understand why it is one of the most popular campgrounds in Switzerland. Oh, and it has a heated pool too.
We spent 3-nights over the Frohleichnam long weekend here, taking our pop-top van on its maiden voyage, and this is what we discovered.
The rivier Maggia flows right behind the TCS Camping Gordevio
ABOUT TCS CAMPING GORDEVIO
Pitches are on the smaller side at Camping Gordevio, so we were glad to have arrived on a day when we had a choice of where to park our VW California. We chose one of the longer pitches (Nr. 71) by the wooden pods that gave us more than enough room for our van, awning and a small tent. I did, for a millisecond, envy those renting one of those cosy family pods, who had little more to do than dump their suitcase on arrival and were better protected from the elements – but set up didn’t take too long or cause too many arguments. Afterwards, we took a walk around the campground to check out everyone else’s set-up. There was everything, from large motorhomes and caravans, plenty of pop-top vans like us, as well as tents hidden up in the forested camping lawn. There are even three tree houses you can rent.
The grassed tent area of Camping Gordevio is located in a tree-shaded area
Cute little wooden pods and canvas tents can also be rented.
BBQ’s and Treehouses on offer at the campground
THE FACILITIES AT TCS CAMPING GORDEVIO
No matter if you are in a van, tent or pod, all guests use the amenities block with its showers, toilets, laundry room and washing up area. There are two of them, one a little more modern than the other, but both are cleaned regularly. Up at the more modern block, you will also find some cooking facilities as well as fridge lockers available for rent. Having access to a refrigerator, be that a fridge locker or bringing along your own camping fridge is something to consider when staying here at Gordevio, as the on-site grocery store, as well as the small convenience store in town, only have a small selection of fresh food and vegetables. You will find the basics, milk, eggs and bread (which is best pre-ordered the day before) but for more elaborate supplies like fresh meat, you must bring it with you or be willing to drive to a supermarket out of town.
ALL ABOUT THE FOOD
But we didn’t have to go anywhere to enjoy delicious Gelato. The little shop on-site sold locally made Gelato in the most creative of flavours. Sure you had your standard chocolate and strawberry, but they had others too like Blood Orange, Melon, Passionfruit and even Aperol Spritz. The only problem was having to plan out that gelato indulgence due to the shop’s limited opening house. So 4 pm each day, when the shop reopened for evening trade, became gelato time.
Don’t worry, we didn’t survive purely on Gelato. For breakfast we enjoyed a rustic loaf of Maggia bread, golden Zopf as well as croissants, all pre-ordered the day before and picked up when the store opened at 8 am. Lunch was always a simple affair with a salad made from leftovers we brought from home, salami from the village and the Swiss picnic favourite Zweifel chips. Dinner, we decided to treat ourselves by eating at the local restaurant located directly next to the campground. Its popularity as well as being one of the only restaurants within walking distance of the campground meant reservations were required. Their wood-fired pizzas got the tick approval from our family pizza connoisseurs, and I enjoyed their grilled dishes with plenty of in-season vegetables. They offered takeaway pizzas and coffee too.
We discovered only one other restaurant in the village, about a 10-minute walk up from the campground. Still, for convenience’s sake (and to satisfy those pickier eaters) we stuck to the closer one, saving the other for our next visit. For those with a car, bike or willing to walk a little further, make sure you check out the Grottos along the main road back towards Locarno and of course you could always visit the village of Maggia or head back to Locarno.
The Ticino stone homes in the village of Gordevio in the Maggia Valley
Building Steinmannli at the river Maggia in Ticino
Building a table with the stones along the Maggia River in Ticino
The small playground at TCS Camping Gordevio
Fridge Lockers available for rent
THE ACTIVITIES
Now my one word of advice when coming to this campground is don’t forget the swimming gear as I did. There are two pools, a shallow paddling pool and a deeper one, both heated, that my kids would have loved to have jumped in. And if it was a little warmer, I am sure the older two would have braved swimming with the current of the Maggia river. So lesson learned, bring your swimming stuff.
We did though spend most of our time hanging out along the river’s rocky shore. We built Steinmannli towers, threw rocks big and small into the river and The Boy even put together a rock table for our lunchtime picnic. Back at our van, we read books, Little Z made new friends on the (very) small playground, and we played a few rounds of Rummikub as well as taking out the Jass cards. Oh and don’t forget to pack the ping-pong set, that is something I thankfully remembered.
What we didn’t get around to was exploring. Well other than a morning stroll around the village. Even though we could have taken advantage of free public transport thanks to the Ticino Pass given to all overnight stays in Ticino, we preferred to chill and save exploring for our next visit, which is anyway what this campground is all about, a place to relax. There are no organised activities or large playgrounds or a football field. Here you have to make your own fun. I am sure there are some hiking routes to explore, and there were plenty of bike riders on-site too.
THE VERDICT
Would we return to Camping Gordevio? For sure, it is a great little campground for a long weekend, and if you come prepared, it has everything you need for a bit of rest and relaxation. Next time though I will not forget the swimming bag.
Good to know:
- Don’t forget to make a reservation if you want to eat at the next-door restaurant
- This campground belongs to the TCS (Touring Club of Switzerland), and members receive a 10% discount. They also have a camping club which gives a discount of between 20-30% deepening on the season. We are currently just members of TCS but not the camping.
- Check out this website for more inspiration on what to do in the area
