The stream rises in the Apennine Mountains near Monte Penice and flows in a northerly direction into the Po.

The Tidone's sources are on the northern slope of Monte Penice at an altitude of over 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) in the Apennine Mountains in the municipality of Menconico.

Near the town of Nibbiano the Tidone flows into the Lago di Trebecco which is formed by a dam built in the 1920s.

The affluents of the Tidone are mountain streams called the Morcione, Tidoncello, Chiarone and Luretta.

The Battle of Trebbia was fought near the lower course of the Tidone when Hannibal defeated a Roman army in 218 BC.