Disappointment in the Dolomites

Wait until they put some autovelox speed cameras to fine hikers who walk too fast or ZHL (Limited Hiking Zones) where only residents with permit can hike.

There is no limit to local governments’ greed once you allow them to pluck visitors’ wallets.

Well done, hopefully many will follow...as long as tourists don't respect the properties. The trails are abandoned and the meadows are full of rubbish.
I invite everyone who doesn't understand these local reactions to let pass visitors in their own garden (or house/appartment for those without a garden).

We should do the same here in the Bernese Oberland. If that means less tourists then this is a feature, not a bug.

A while ago we were walking to Stechelberg and I noticed that they had put up electric fences on both sides of the path, but they were the wrong colour (they are normally yellow here), and then I realised that they had not been put up to contain the cows, but to contain the tourists.

I will not be sad if we see less hit-n-run instagrammers here, trampling on the gras.

It is an asset. Assets have value. Value should be exploited for the greater good and preservation for future generations.

Seceda and Alpi di Suisi were my least favorite hikes in the Dolomites. It’s no fun hitting the trail with 50 other people at the same time when you have to use a cable car. Having a car to get away from the masses and hitting the trail early is bliss.

It’s sad that Val Gardena is so overcrowded. Luckily the Dolomites are vast and there are many other places to hike. And that’s where I’ll be headed next year.

It's not an initiative of local governments. The hikers walk across private land and the landowners decided to put up the turnstile.

I live in the mountains. A lot of land which is open to the public is actually private. It is hoped that hikers and other tourists are respectful of the local environment, people and activities. When that isn't the case restrictions can come into place which unfortunately impact also respectful tourists.
However, that is the only place in the Italian Alps with a toll booth - plenty of free, and tourist-free, space elsewhere with fantastic landscapes.

I don't pay to hike

Well, in fact, you do. Unless the hike you are on begins at your doorstep, we all pay to hike. My hike today cost me CHF 39.00 for a Gemeinde Tageskarte to take the train from where I live to Wengen where I then enjoyed a great hike. Many people pay a whole lot more than that for a day of hiking in the alps!

You pay to enter many national and state parks in the US. My house in Birmingham is near the largest state park in AL and people under 62 must pay $5 every time they enter the park($2 for those 62 and older). For perspective, my husband just paid $300 each for tickets to watch two college football teams who have each only won 3 games(obviously, this game does not include Alabama!)

Well, I have no problem paying to offset the impact that my visit may have on others. These landowners have to deal with the impact but may otherwise not reap the benefits from this tourist boom that the town hotels and restaurants realize.

Just imagine several thousand people walking down the street in front of your house every day. How would you feel?

Oh, and great Slim Pickens reference !!!

I will not be sad if we see less hit-n-run instagrammers here, trampling on the gras.

WengenK, we skipped our annual visit this year to both Lauterbrunnen and Ortisei because they are now “over-loved.” How it has changed since we started going to the areas just in 2012! Luckily, we know where to go to get away from the conga lines of hikers. Hoping to brave a return next fall…

“I don’t pay to hike”.
Like others have said, how would you like it if 8,000 trampled through your garden and meadow, ignoring your calls to tread lightly? Nothing in life is free, especially whilst visiting nature. You can avoid it next time by staying in cities, or pay the fee. Complaining about paying €5? Seriously, ridiculous on YOUR part.

You pay to enter many national and state parks in the US

Exactly, Cala. Darn near every US National Park and a fair amount of National Monuments (e.g. Bandelier; Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks; Muir Woods; Hovenweep; etc) we've hiked have had access/user fees. We've been more than happy to fork over $ for daily, weekly or yearly passes (we have lifetime senior passes now) as the $ goes towards trail repair (after all, our feet added to the overall wear-and-tear), protection of fragile resources; staff, visitor centers/services, and educational/interpretive programs.

As well, no way would we miss a fabulous trekking or scenic opportunity for a mere 5€ or 5$ user fee that may help keep a trail in shape. Heck, I paid $15 just for a (amateur) photo permit at an old, remote, less-visited New Mexican pueblo a week or so ago and didn't feel it was out of line for the privilege.

Somebody has to pay for the upkeep of the trails and any infrastructure, so why shouldn't it primarily fall to the users? Someone has to do the trail maintenance, fix the walking bridges over the streams, keep up the retaining walls or steps, etc. Shortsighted to thing we can just traipse all over the land and not be responsible for the upkeep.

I was in the Dolomites (Ortisei) from September 4-11 this past fall. We had a wonderful time with excellent weather, just one rainy day. The only place the crowds were a problem was Seceda. It was quite crowded and there were lines to take photos in prime spots. Lots of people doing multiple poses, which drives me crazy. We just walked past them. However, there was a steady stream of people on the trails near the lift, which made it a bit unpleasant, so we didn’t stay long. It was an absolutely gorgeous Saturday, so perhaps that was a factor?

We encountered just one turnstile. There was one guy operating it on a narrow trail not far from the Seceda lift. You could not get by without paying him 5 euro. However, if you were willing to trek down the hill and back up the hill on the other side of him, you could accomplish the same walk. That is what we did. I will say this guy did not look like a landowner to me. (Although I know looks can be deceiving.) From what I read while I was there, individuals purchase these turnstiles and set them up to make money. They are not legal, and the authorities arrest them if they catch them. I don’t know for certain that this is true,

I would be willing to pay a fee to hike in the area — but I thought the turnstile was not the best way to do it. I also hate to think that some day only the affluent will have the opportunity to hike in beautiful areas.

Don't go to the Faroe Islands, then: the main famous hikes all have fees and it's not 5€, more like 20+.

Chances are I won’t get to the Faroe Islands, but they really appeal to me. It’s good to know about the fees. If they are collected by an organization that maintains the trails and the parks, I’d be willing to pay. I’d also be okay with paying the landowner if the parks are not owned by the government.

I don’t mind paying to hike, but I also understand that the sight of a turnstile on the trail is undesirable. There is probably a better solution that the local government can come up with in the future and maybe another way to compensate the landowners.

It’s beautiful up there, but the accessibility attracts a lot of the hit and run tourists that only go for the view and the pic to post on social media. They have no respect for nature or the mountains. I saw people all glammed up for photo shoots there. It’s ridiculous.

We are headed back to Ortisei for the 3rd time in 3 years, to finally get to Seceda, My husband's in his 80s, and this will be our last attempt--on our first, the gondola was closed, on our second, we discovered our son was uncomfortable with ski gondolas so we took the funicular to Receda and saw clouds where the peaks of Seceda should have been. The whole area is so wonderful, that I am really just glad to be getting back to the Dolomites. if a farmer is paying his bills because he owns the land with the best view, it feels like the same strategy that other have used around the globe, whether they have caves or a beautiful beach setting. I'd prefer that the best places in the world be public spaces, but traveling from the country that now puts a price tag on everything, I feel uneasy telling other people they can't do what Americans do so commonly.

As a dog owner, who had our little guy with us on the last two trips to the Dolomites, I have always been annoyed by those people who don't pick up after their animals, which too often means that restrictions are placed on all dogs, meaning that I had to leave him home on some of the best hikes I have ever taken when it would have been a wonderful day for both of us. It is similarly hard to understand the difficulty of packing out trash or staying on trails to reduce damage to the farmland, and though it may be an overreaction, the "toll" responds to modern tourists who forget they are guests in other peoples' communities. Too many travelers think the economic benefits they bring entitles them to do as they please, turning what was the delight and pride that used to exist when hosting foreign visitors into contempt for guests who make life harder for those who live in places that have become internet sensations. How do we teach the ethics that begin with respect for other people when we've created a group of people who are vlogging around the world, using the beauty of our planet as the backdrop for their faces to generate clicks? How to we get those internet "stars" to discuss being good global citizens who understand the issues the environmental and financial issues that heavy tourism brings to some of the places they have made famous?

I will have my 5 Euros ready for the turnstile and if the landowner is there, I'll thank him for welcoming me onto his land and ask him about the impact he is having on the travelers who come to his place.

You can still hike it for free if you approach from the other side. The turnstile was on one specific trail crossing private land. Nature park trails were unaffected