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Hiking in the Dolomites

June 2016 I will be studying abroad in Florence. During this month I will have 4 days to travel on my own and I want to go to the Dolomites and hike during this time. What strategies would you suggest? Should I hike from place to place staying at refuges or hotels along the way or select a town as a base camp and do day hikes from there? I also want to know what the must see places would be since I have to pick and choose what I am able to see. I am an experienced hiker who is in very good shape. When I backpack in the Appalachian Mountains I do between 15-20 miles a day and still have time at the end of the day. Any suggestions on places and routes would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Posted by
3387 posts

If you are a through hiker then the Dolomites will be a piece of cake...ride the gondola up, hike all day, sleep in a warm refugio, have a good meal, and hike the next day to the next refugio. When you're done, ride the gondola down...easy!
The refugios range from old, stone buildings with thick walls to newer, more modern ones with large dormitories.
My favorite refugio is the Langkofel hutte . It's very old, has small dormitory rooms with thick comforters and incredible views of the Val Gardena if you get one of the rooms in the front.
From there you can hike to several other refugios depending on how far you want to go in a day.
Many of the refugios provide blankets and sheets for an extra fee but there are several where you need to have your own as they are quite high and don't have laundry facilities. Check with each one individually before you make your reservations.
My favorite hikes are on the Seiser Alm and around the Drei Zinnen. Just about anywhere you hike out of the Val Gardena is going to be spectacular.

Posted by
1161 posts

via ferrata..... thats hiking alright !
Cicerone do excellent guide books.

Posted by
115 posts

I will be in the Italian Dolomites from Sept 7 to the 11th, this year. I have very limited travel experience but am fit and healthy and very active at home. Will be traveling with two friends who are also very fit and are experienced travelers. They have been to the town we will stay in--Ortisei/St. Ulrich--and loved it and wanted to go back, something they rarely do in their traveling. They are big hikers at home and abroad. So, based on what they did before, we will stay in a hotel where we will have Half Board (breakfast and dinner) and we will do day hikes each day right from the hotel. My understanding is that you can, more or less, from most places in these towns, walk out the door and start your hike, maybe with a cable car ride first. There are MANY places to stay in all the towns, due to the tons of people who come in the winter to ski. Not as expensive as you might think,either. Ann.

Posted by
127 posts

There is a good blog site that you can go to. It's called gooddayrome. She and her husband hike in the Dolomites a lot and I am sure that she would answer any questions that you have.

I was hiking there in July. There is a book called Shorter Hikes in the Dolomites that might be good, although I didn't use it.

Be aware that what the Italians called "moderate" hikes are what most Americans would call strenuous.

Mac's Adventures has a hiker's package in the Dolomites, which is what we used.

Don't miss Falzarego Pass which was a site of heavy fighting in WWI. You take a gondola to the top of a mountain then hike back down inside the mountain through tunnels dug out for the war. A unique experience! There's not much on the web in English about it, but it was the highlight of the trip for me

Posted by
101 posts

I am in Selva Val Gardena hiking as I write. Absolutely one of the best places in the world for hikes of all levels. Definitely use the Cicerone Guide by Gillian Price for planning and insight into the varity of hiking choices. I also hike the Appalachians when at home, but it is a whole different world in the Dolomites. You will love it.