Racó de Sant Bonaventura - Els Canalons

TL;DR: Racó de Sant Bonaventura, an 18.34-hectare Municipal Natural Site declared in 2002 in Alcoi, is where the Polop river carves Els Canalons — pools and wooden boardwalks under poplars. Walk it via SL-CV 25.7 in about an hour, free and family-friendly.

Racó de Sant Bonaventura occupies a tight meander of the Polop river on the edge of Alcoi, where water has cut into limestone a chain of pools, natural slides and channels known as Els Canalons. It was declared a Municipal Natural Site by Consell Agreement of 8 February 2002 covering 18.34 hectares, one of the smallest designations in the Comunitat but among the most locally visited because it combines running water, shade and immediate access from town. The main approach starts from the Cotes Baixes estate and follows the river on local trail SL-CV 25.7, waymarked green and white with boardwalks over the narrowest stretches. Unlike nearby Font Roja, the star here is not holm oak but water: poplars, ashes and willows form a riparian forest that in summer drops the temperature several degrees below town, just ten minutes on foot from the first car park.

What is the walk through Els Canalons like?

The SL-CV 25.7 route follows the Polop for just under 2 kilometres each way from the reception area to Els Canalons and back on the same line, with negligible ascent and a total time of one to one and a half hours with stops. The path alternates compacted dirt, wooden boardwalks and polished rock by the water: no climbing needed, but wear shoes that can get wet and bring a stick if you go with small children. Els Canalons are two elongated pools linked by a narrow channel where water, historically channelled for a mill, runs boxed between metre-high walls and lets you cool your feet or, in summer, take a short dip in the lower pools. Riparian vegetation filters light and keeps the ground damp even in August, favouring dragonflies, frogs and dippers visible with binoculars. The site is five minutes by car from central Alcoi and Sant Jordi Bridge, so many locals visit daily to walk the dog or run.

Why is an 18.34-hectare site so important for Alcoi?

The Racó packs into very little space three values rarely coinciding in the province: permanent water in a Mediterranean setting where most ravines are dry, well-preserved riparian forest and immediate proximity to an industrial town of 62,000. That mix makes it an open-air classroom without leaving town: schools in Alcoi, Ibi and Cocentaina use it to teach water cycle, vegetation and water heritage without a bus. The 2002 Consell Agreement declaring it a PNM explicitly highlights Els Canalons as traditional water engineering integrated into landscape, and the municipality maintains boardwalks and signs with its own funds. The PNM figure, created by Law 11/1994 on Protected Natural Areas, lets the town protect and manage directly without depending on an autonomic natural park, and the Racó is a local example of that decentralisation in Alicante.

Eighteen hectares that work as an environmental thermometer: water, shade and city on one river stretch

Racó de Sant Bonaventura shows that 18.34 hectares suffice to gauge a town's environmental health if they hold year-round running water, and that is its most fragile value. The Polop river, born at Font del Salt and crossing Alcoi before joining the Serpis, keeps flow here even in dry summers thanks to karst springs that the environment department monitors within the municipal natural sites network, and any upstream spill or abstraction shows within hours in the transparency at Els Canalons. The riparian forest — poplars, ashes and willows — acts as a thermal regulator that lowers temperature up to 5 degrees versus Alcoi's tarmac at midday, an island-of-cool effect the Generalitat quantifies in its peri-urban green infrastructure guides as one of the ecosystem services most valued locally. Trail SL-CV 25.7, certified by the Comunitat Valenciana's mountain sports federation, carries most of the site's foot traffic each year.

When to go and what to bring to a river with pools?

All year has interest, but April to June brings fuller flow and budding banks; in high summer dipping in the pools is the main draw and weekdays are better to avoid crowding, because the site fills on hot weekends. In autumn after rain the river can run high and boardwalks get slippery: check the forecast and do not cross if water covers the wood. Bring swimwear, towel, water shoes and a bag for litter: there are no sorted bins and plastic ends in the water. Do not use soap or creams before bathing and do not take stones or crayfish: the PNM is protected and the declaration order bans removing flora, fauna or minerals. With children the walk is suitable for an all-terrain pushchair to the first boardwalk; beyond that use a carrier. Pair it with Font Roja or the Camilo Visedo Museum and Sant Jordi Bridge the same day, or with an outing to Pego Marsh for a contrast between running freshwater and coastal wetland. From El Campello or Orihuela the drive is over an hour, so plan unhurriedly.

For more, see the gardens and parks guides and day trips from Alicante, which rank the Racó among the few natural bathing spots suitable for families inland. If you stay in Alcoi, try olleta alcoyana and save the next morning for Fonts de l'Algar or the coast at Cala Sardinera for a change of district. And remember: no camping or fires in a PNM, and bathing is allowed only in signposted pools.

Frequently asked questions about Racó de Sant Bonaventura?

Access is free year-round with no booking. Bring water and shoes that can get wet; in summer swimwear and a towel are essential to enjoy Els Canalons without slipping on polished rock.

Tip: The most accessible of the batch: a flat one-hour loop, doable with an all-terrain stroller as far as the first footbridge.