PARCO FLUVIALE ALTO NOCE - 
UPPER NOCE RIVER PARK

The Upper Noce River Park was set up in 2015 to manage and promote the protected areas and river environments of the Noce River (which is actually a stream but is known to all as a river) and its tributaries, the Vermigliana, Rabbies, and Meledrio, and to defend its biodiversity through spreading awareness of their historic-environmental context. 

The River Park therefore extends naturally between the Stelvio National Park and the Adamello Brenta Nature Park and, thanks to its institution, the Val di Sole can today count on a protected area totalling about half its surface.
 

The ecological Natura 2000 network is the main tool put in place by European policies for conservation of biodiversity. The Upper Noce River Park is one of these areas and it has set up 3 conservation areas for natural habitat that guarantee long-term preservation of the resident plant and animal species.

We cannot talk about the history of Val di Sole without mentioning the importance that the River Noce has played in defining the growth and economic development of the whole valley.
Water from the glaciers and snowfields is a source of sustenance for agriculture, thanks to the construction of an irrigation system that brings water from the rivers to the fields and meadows via channels called Lec. 
The force of water has also played an important role in powering sawmills, flour mills and forges.
Since the end of the nineteenth century, turbines for the production of hydroelectricity have been in use, and the 1920s saw the investment by big Italian industries in industrial exploitation of water resources in Trento, including those in Val di Sole. One example, but not the only one, is construction in the sixties of the Careser dam in Val di Peio, at an altitude of 2,600 metres asl.
In more recent times, the River Noce has become a main player in the valley’s tourism economy: in 1984, the first canoeing school opened in Val di Sole and in 1993 the waters of the Noce hosted the World Canoe-Kayak Championships. Since then, the Noce has hosted other competitions and has become an outdoor gym for many other activities, especially rafting, so much so that National Geographic includes it among the top 10 rivers in the world for this sport.