Dolomites in early Spring?

Bolzano and even Castelrotto might be very pleasant in April, but you won't find any hiking open in the higher areas. The ski area are open until Easter, and then most of the area pretty much shuts down until the summer season starts. many hotels take a family vacation at that time. Lifts close and do not re-open until mid-May or June for some.

Here are the 2009 opening dates for the lifts up from Val Gardena area and on Alpe di Siusi:

http://www.valgardena.it/en/lifts/page65.html

To avoid the "summer boom" in the Dolomites, and still enjoy good hiking, try June, or September.

For myself, I would say no. I love the Dolomites---the scenery is gorgeous and unique. But April is really a "down" time. We were in the area (Venice) in April 2003, and I really wanted to see the Dolomites again. But after considering all the information, we decided to go to Lago di Garda (much lower elevation)instead. While there, we rode a lift up Monte Baldo, from which we could see into the Dolomite area---or would have been able to had it not been totally in the clouds. Even where we were, the ground was muddy and partially snow covered. Our planned hike up there was very short.

Then leaving the lake, we drove north into the Brenta Dolomites at Maddona di Campiglio. All the mountain scenery was hidden from view by fog and mist. We didn't see the sun until we dropped back down to the plain at Trento. so that year, anyway, a trip to the Dolomites would have been wasted.

Where else are you going to be in Italy? Perhaps we could suggest other areas nearby that would be great for scenery and hiking in April.

Or you could go to the Dolomites at the beginning of April and take skis or snowshoes. If you hit good weather, it would still be lovely, just snowy.

We'll be in Italy for 2 weeks, all over (renting a car)..We wanted to go to Castelrotto for a couple of days but anticipated doing some easy hikes to experience the scenery. This time of year however, that doesn't appear to be a good idea. Are there other things to do in the area for a couple of days if we're not hiking? We'll be homebased in Castelrotto. Thanks everyone!

We'll be in Italy for 2 weeks, all over (renting a car)..We wanted to go to Castelrotto for a couple of days but anticipated doing some easy hikes to experience the scenery. This time of year however, that doesn't appear to be a good idea. Are there other things to do in the area for a couple of days if we're not hiking? We'll be homebased in Castelrotto. Thanks everyone!

The Dolomite lifts are closed between hiking and skiing seasons, so they would be closed the end of April, May, October and November.

so the "lifts" are closed, however if we're staying in Castelrotto would we still have access to the hiking trails, etc?

Thanks. I guess my question is moreso are there hiking trails from the city up to some of the higher elevations? or do you have to take a lift to somewhere prior to hiking?

If you look at the website Steve gave you, you'll see that the Alpe di Siusi has two easons: "winter" and "summer". The cableway up to the Alpe formthe parking lot (at Siusi) wiill shut down April 11, 2010, and won't re-open until late May.

The high areas will still under snow in april; it won't be the lovely green meadow you see in photos.

A different website for the area does offer a ffew suggestions for "apring", such as a hike form Castelrotto up to the "witches' bench":

http://www.seiser-alm.it/en/top-seasons/your-spring-holidays.html

And a couple of other lower-level hikes.

Thanks Lola...if we decide to go in early April and take the lifts up, is it even worth it that time of year??

I was just about to say the same thing---Castelrotto is a lovely town in its own right. And I was going to suggest you stay at Haus Silbernagl and let Petra give you guidance on how best to spend your days. But I checked, and they are closed from late March until early May. (At least they don't show any prices for that time on their website, which is usually the clue). Same with Hotel zum Wolf. Cavallino d'Oro appears to be open---it's a nice place. But the fact that so many others are closed might be a clue that it's not the best time even for Castelrotto.