Fondo Toce Natural Reserve, Regional nature reserve in Verbania, Italy

Fondo Toce Natural Reserve is a regional protected area where the Toce River meets Lake Maggiore, featuring broad reed beds and wetland habitats. The site spans 361 hectares with varied landscapes including shallow waters, marshland, and wooded sections.

The reserve received official protection status in 1990, establishing dedicated management to preserve its ecological resources and habitats. This recognition reflected the area's vital importance as a refuge for numerous animal species and rare plants.

The reserve hosts the Centro studi sulle migrazioni di Fondotoce, a migration research centre of European importance, where more than 120 bird species have been recorded. Aquatic birds such as grebes, swans and coots nest in the reed beds, while swallows rest and feed here during migration.

A flat, easy trail crosses the reserve and can be walked in about an hour, giving close views of the reed beds along the Toce and the lake shore. The reserve borders the Val Grande National Park to the north and is managed by the Ticino and Lake Maggiore protected areas authority.

The water caltrop Trapa natans verbanensis, a rare aquatic plant recorded among the reserve's roughly 240 censused species, grows in these waters. The reserve's reed beds also filter the lake water, regulating it and absorbing substances, including harmful ones.