Cycling from Molina di Fiemme towards Predazzo

Spring is here so it is time to swap our sledges and skis for bicycles!

The 15 km long cycling/walking path from Molina di Fiemme to Predazzo goes along the Avisio stream. It is far away from roads and it has lots of shade so it would be ideal in summer.

You can obviously join it at various points and we would recommend the stretch from the cascata towards Molina di Fiemme because it is all flat so more suitable for smaller children. It's also only 3.2 km long one way. You'll find many places to stop and have a picnic.

 

If you choose to go towards Predazzo, you'll find few stretches where you have to cycle up the hill. In our case we just got off our bikes and walked. There was still some snow on the asphalt so we had to detour slightly. We got to the cable car of Alpe Cermis and a ski slope that cut our cycling path in two. Our children were tired so we headed back to our car but first we had taken some pictures of us wearing short sleeves standing in the middle of the snow-covered ski slope.

To sum up, it's a safe cycling path with many splendid views. It's got lots of shade and places to have a picnic. The only thing that was missing was a playground and toilets.

How to get there:

From Trento Take the A22 per Bozen/ Bolzano. Take the exit at Neumarkt/Egna/Auer/Ora and follow the indications for Cavalese. You'll find indications for la Cascata and la pista ciclabile (the cycling path) on your right just after Molina di Fiemme. You can also park near the cable car Alpe Cermis. Both car parks are free of charge.

Duration:  whole of half a day;

Level: if you prefer walking, it's an easy path, suitable for pushchairs;

If you are here to cycle  the path is of a medium difficulty.

Bike hire: 

http://www.alpecermis.it/cermis/estate/attivita/nones_sport-en/

Refreshments and toilet facilities: Molina di Fiemme, Cavalese e Predazzo. You'll find places to have a picnic alongside the path. No toilets or baby changing facilities.

Useful links:
Italian website with many cycling routes, just go on the translator to have it in English.

http://www.piste-ciclabili.com/itinerari/184-ciclabile-della-val-di-fiemme

Andalo and the malghe/restaurants trail

Today we are very happy to write about a great winter walk in Trentino. Trentino is famous for its skiing slopes, but not as much for sledging or winter walks for all the family. This walk has it all: a prepared and well-maintained path for walking or sledging, and at least 3 malghe/restaurants. It's also used as a slope for alpine skiing. If you want to go sledging, you have to bring your own equipment as there is no hire available at the restaurants. You'll probably find some renting places in Andalo, though.

We started our walk in Andalo at the end of the road Via Pradel. In summer you can leave your car a bit further up at the Valbiole car park. In winter the road is inaccessible due to snow so you have to park a bit earlier down the road. The path is very well signposted and it leads to the Malga Montanara which has a great  view over the Brenta mountains. The walk takes about 1h30 minutes but you can use the snow cat service that circulates between the restaurants. Typically, they havent' got any price list. We took the snow cat from Baita Pineta to Malga Montanara and it cost us 8 Euros per person which is quite a lot. It was a great experience, though, something we did for the first time.

The path is used by fans of alpine skiing...

...and snowboarding.

As already mentioned, we stopped for a quick lunch at the Baita Pineta where we found the food and service very good. We then took the snow cat ride (about 5-8 minutes long) to the malga Montanara. The view from there is breathtaking so we took lots of photos while our kids had fun at the nearby playground. It was gettting late so we couldn't stay long. We walked back to our car which took us about 40 minutes. Had we known how well maintained the path was, we would have taken our sledges with us.

 Apart from the already mentioned restaurants, there are at least two more places to eat: Casina Bruniol and malga Tovre which in summer keeps animals and sells their own cheese and other produce.

Malga Tovre is closed in winter.

Dolomiti di Brenta

Paganella

Snow cat service is available on request.

Restaurants:

MALGA TOVRE  (Tel: 0461 583042, cell. 349 0676883), open from June to September;

RIFUGIO LA MONTANARA (Tel. 0461 585603) is near the chair lift station and Malga Tovre

BAITA PINETA  (Tel. 335 5951734)

CASINA BRUNIOL Tel. 347.6674824

Molveno Pradel Mountain Lifts

Open from 28 of May to 2 of October 2011;

 

How to get there: from Trento follow the signs for Andalo/ Molveno. 

How to get there from Molveno: use the "bidonovia" Pradel from Molveno and then take a chair lift to the top or walk follwing the signs for la malga Montanara. (only from end of May to October)

From Andalo: leave you car at the Valbiole car park or nearby and follow the signs for la malga Montanara.

 

Duration: from half a dayto a whole day;

  

Level: easy to medium;

 

Refreshments and toilet facilities: Casina Bruniol, Baita Pineta and malga la Montanara. No baby changing facilities.

Merano 2000

Meran 2000 ski resort is a perfect winter and summer destination for families. It's not a big plateau area but it has a lot on offer: 40km of ski slopes, winter walks, a natural sledge run and the Alpine-Bob. Apparently, it's the longest one in Italy.

If you prefer walking to taking the cable car, you can follow the footpath
from Falzeben (1680m) towards Pfiffinger Koepfl (1980m) . The walk takes about 45 minutes. If you plan to use sledges on your way back, it is better to rent them at Falzeben, near the cable car station. The only reason is that they always have sledges available here, whereas you won't always find them on top of the mountain.

An information point listing all the restaurants and the time to get to them.

In our case, we set off from Falzeben and took a cable car up to Pfiffinger Koepfl. We had lunch at a nearby restaurant and we followed a well sign-posted path towards Malga Waidmann/Waidmannalm. The walk was very easy and not very long. We passed on our way other families with small children and buggies. It was definitely worth going a bit further off the busiest area near the cable car station. All we could see was white mountains dotted with ski slopes and mountain huts. It was much quieter and tranquil. We wanted to avoid going back the same way so we followed the path towards Rotwandhuette/ Rifugio Parete Rossa to the start of our sledge run. This path doesn't take you to the exact beginning of the sledge run, but a bit further down the slope. It is also narrower in places so not suitable for buggies. If you get to Malga Waidmann with a buggy, you would be much better off going back the same way.

How to get there: 

By car from Trento: follow the A 22 towards Bolzano/Bozen, take the Bolzano sud exit and then follow the Merano-Bolzano superstrada. Exit at Merano Sud and follow the indications for Meran 2000. The journey takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. You can either leave your car at the cable car station in Falzeben or near the cable car Naif, which lies a little before Falzeben. Both cable cars take you to Pfiffinger Koepfl.

Sledge run and walks: easy;

Duration: 1 day;

Restaurants:

Falzeben restaurant (0473 279423), Halbweg/Mezzavia: Zeughuette (0473279408), Waidmannalm (0473279461;

Useful links:
http://www.meran2000.net/uk/start.php

Reinswalder Wiesn sledge run

Reinswald is situated in the beautiful Sarentino valley and it is only 1 hour drive from Trento. Reinswald boasts one of the longest sledge runs in South Tyrol: 4.5 km long Reinswalder Wiesn. We liked the place a lot and we want to return there this summer to explore more.

We went there last Sunday. It was very busy and we left our car at the free of charge car park and took the shuttle bus to the cable car station. It was all very well organised. From there you can decide if you want to follow a well signposted path (1.5 hour walk) towards Malga Pichlberg or take the cable car. Either way, you have to remember to rent your sledges at the cable car station in the valley.
Once up there we didn't want to go down right away so we decided to walk a bit towards Gedrumalm (it is a 50 minute walk from the cable car station). After about 15 minutes, the path got narrower and it continued towards the valley, which meant we would have had to come back up again. The views were worth it, though. It was also quieter than at the Pichlberg restaurant.

Going down with our sledges was very thrilling, and at times we were going very fast. As already mentioned, it felt crowded so we wouldn't say that we enjoyed it as much as the other sledge runs in South Tyrol. We stopped for a moment at malga Sunnolm, but, as it was packed as well, we decided to carry on towards the cable car station.

To sum up, it is a beautiful part of South Tyrol with one of the longest sledge runs but if you can, avoid weekends. As for the easy winter walks, we didn't feel it had such a big choice like, for example, Renon. We haven't explored it all, though.

How to get there: 

By car from Trento: follow the A22 towards Bozen/ Bolzano, take the exit at Bozen Nord/ Bolzano Nord and follow the indications for Sarntal/ Val Sarentino. 


For alternative means of transport please see the following website:
http://www.reinswald.com/cms/en/the-quickest-way-to-your-winter-fun.html

Duration: whole day;

Sledge run level: easy to intermediate, 

Refreshments and toilet facilities: cable car station, Malga Pichlberg and Malga Sunnolm

Useful websites:

http://www.reinswald.com/cms/en/sportarten/rodeln.html

Monte Bondone in winter

Although our blog is for families, this time we are going to write about a walk we did without our children in tow. We feel we have to write about Monte Bondone because it is so near us.

That's where many children from Trento learn how to ski and it's also a great destination for cross country skiing and snow shoe hiking.

We went to Monte Bondone one Monday morning when our children were at school. We left our car at the Viote car park which is free of charge Monday to Friday. We asked for some information at the Cross Country Skiing Centre and they gave us some very basic directions, namely that we could go left or right. We decided to go towards the Prati Wolchenstein and we got to Bocca Vaiona. After some time the path got narrower and it was difficult to walk without the snow shoes. Luckily for us the sun was shining and the snow was soft and melting in places. We think we got up to La Rosta from where we had a gorgeous view of the Brenta mountains and the valley/ Valle dei Laghi with the Toblino Lake. We say we think because there was no sign on the mountain saying where we were other than a sign in Italian saying hunting was forbidden! It was a great walk with splendid views but definitely not suitable for small children. Don't be put off though, there is still another walk to explore on Monte Bondone. As for sledging, we didn't see any sledge runs but I'm sure you would be able to find some hills there.

All in all we feel that for families who want to enjoy walking or sledging in the mountains in winter, Bondone hasn't got such a rich offer as South Tyrol does.

How to get there:

By car:
From Trento follow the indications for Monte Bondone (SS45bis). You will have 2 choices: either passing through Sardagna or through Sopramonte. I prefer the latter one because the road is less bendy. Go up, up, up until you get to Viote Centro Fondo, turn right when you see a sign for Rifugio Viote. We parked our car at the empty car park which, judging from the bar and a little hut, you most likely have to pay for during busy periods. This car park is right next to the woodland playground.

By bus:

Bus nr 202 that takes you to Vason and Viote (link to the website with the timetable, only in Italian)

Duration: half a day or whole day if you go skiing as well;

Level: easy if you stay near Centro Fondo di Viote (cross country skiing centre), difficult if you venture out anywhere else;

Toilets and refreshments:the closest one is Rifugio Viote next to the playground, no baby changing facilities;

Puflatsch, Seiser Alm/ Bullaccia, Alpe di Siusi

Seiser Alm, Alpe di Siusi in Italian, is our favourite winter destination in South Tyrol. It's got everything: a variety of wide ski slopes, miles of winter paths, breathtaking scenery and lots of places to stop for a meal or a hot drink. The area is so vast that somehow everyone finds a place for themselves and it never feels crowded. 

Puflatsch, Bullaccia in Italian, is known for the witches' stories. (See our older posts on Alpe di Siusi.) It is a perfect place to admire the panorama; from here you can see all the surrounding mountains, including: Schlern (Scillar) and Saslonch (Sassolungo) and even Marmolada in the distance. The panorama viewing point is not far away from the restaurant Puflatsch Bullaccia. Turn right near the restaurant and follow the path going up to the viewing point.

We got up there using the cable car Puflatsch/ Bullaccia where we also rented our sledges free of charge. From the ski lift/cable car Puflatsch/ Bullaccia at 1870m above the sea level you get to Puflatsch at 2119m.

If you prefer walking, you can follow a well sign posted path but don't forget to get your sledges first at the Puflatsch cable car station. The walk takes about one hour. We stopped at the restaurant and then took our sledges down. It was relatively easy, although the ice in some places made us go very fast. 

How to get there: 

By car: From Trento follow the A22 towards Bozen Nord/ Bolzano Nord, follow the indications for Seiser Alm/ Alpe di Siusi. The road leading to the Alpe di Siusi Nature Protection Reserve is blocked from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. (exception for guests of facilities located on the Alpe di Siusi) so you need to leave you car at the free of charge car park and then take the cable car to Kompatsch/Seiser Alm. The cost for a family of 4 is about 27 euros (a return ticket), children under 5 go free of charge. You have to add the tickets to go up to Puflatsch from Kompatsch. (3.50 euros per adult, children under 6 go free)

For bus and train travel we refer you to the following website:

http://www.alpedisiusi.net/en/alpe-di-siusi/arrival.html

Duration: whole day

Sledge run: medium level; it's 1,8km long

Refreshments and toilet facilities: restaurant Puflatsch/ Bullaccia; toilets available at the cable car station as well. Since it is South Tyrol, all places have baby changing facilities.

Renon Plateau- Bolzano

We have discovered another great place for families and not only; it is very good for both, winter sports and winter walks. 

Renon is just above South Tyrol's capital Bozen/ Bolzano, so it's like what Monte Bondone is for Trento but it offers much more than Bondone in terms of walks and sledging; and it takes only about 50 minutes by car to get there from Trento.

We went there on a Sunday and it was not too busy. We had a great day with a bit of walking first and sledging afterwards. The kids were happy because we took the cable car and we stopped to have a meal at the restaurant.

We parked at the free of charge car park near the cable car station  of Rittner Horn at Pommern (1541m above the sea level). We got our tickets for the cable car and rented out a pair of sledges from the nearby rental service. (You pay for it when you get your ticket for the cable car.)

We took the cable car to the Schwarzseespitze at 2070 m above the sea level and we found ourselves in a sort of winter paradise. It was what we like: tranquil and breathtaking, with lots of winter paths to choose from. Seeing all this we did not want to go straight down with our sledges and we decided to walk first. To be honest we were unprepared as to where to go but we asked somebody and they advised us to do the Panorama walk. Of course, we are sure, you prefer to be much more prepared than us, so here is the website where you will find all the winter walks around Renon: http://www.ritten.com/en/active/snowtrekking/

The Panorama walk is very easy, by all means suitable for families and indeed, we saw some buggies on our way. We followed a very well sign posted path, passed by a round panorama table with an info point and a splendid view of the surrounding mountains, including Seiser Alm/ Alpe di Siusi. After about one hour of a leisurely walk we were back to our starting point. We went to have lunch in the restaurant and then set off towards the valley. The sledge run was icy in places and we were going very fast at times.

All in all, we had a great time and we'd love to go back there not only in winter. 

How to get there: 

By car from Trento: take the A22 towards Bozen/ Bolzano, take the exit at Bozen Nord/ Bolzano Nord and follow the indications for Renon. 

For alternative means of transport, including the Ritten cable car from Bolzano please go to the following website: http://www.ritten.com/en/active/snowtrekking/

Duration: whole day;

Sledge run level: easy to medium; it's 2.5km long;

Refreshments and toilet facilities: at the cable car station in the valley and at the Schwarzseespitze. Baby changing facilities are also available.

Useful websites: 

http://www.ritten.com/en/