golden hues | overnight at rifugio croda da lago

9 miles . 3030 ft gain . 8080 ft high

When traveling, I usually like to visit new destinations even if I’m back at the same area. Well, I found myself back at Cortina d’Ampezzo. But then I found myself yearning to be back at Croda Da Lago again. This time, with less snow, more fall color, and better weather! I was determined! This time with better research, I found an entirely new path to get to the rifugio.

How to Get There

Method 1: Direct from Cortina, easy by public transit

We stayed at a local BnB in Campo di Sotto, a bus ride or short walk from the main town of Cortina. From here, it’s a lower elevation and you walk on forest service roads (gravel road equivalent in Italy). This is basically hiking Gores de Federa from Lago Pianoze. If you have a car, you can park here! You’ll pass by Malga Federal right before getting to the lake. The majority of the hike is in the forest.

This method is about 4 miles (6.5 km) each way and 2800 ft (885 m) gained. Add up to 2 miles or 3 kilometers from the Lago Pianoze trailhead to Cortina city center.

Method 2: Most popular, easiest with a car

Park at the Ponte de Ru Curto. When the trail diverges (you might even miss it, which is okay!), take the left trail to head up the steep slope. Generally this trail is very mellow except for this one part. There’s a couple great view points along the way that open up to the valley across, looking at Tofana di Mezzo (Punta Anna) and Cortina itself. I thought that the Becco d’Aial climbing wall looked spectacular! By this direction, you’ll see the lake before the rifugio. It’s super popular so you might be parked far from the trailhead!

This method is about 2.5 miles (4.2 km) each way and 1350 ft (410 m) gained.

Method 3: Most strenuous, but rewarding

This is my favorite method thus far! We took a counterclockwise loop around Cima Croda da Lago, the peak that looms over the lake. This method starts off similar to method 2 where you park at the Ponte de Ru Curto. We had to pay close attention to take a faint right turn that took us up the valley between Torrione Marcella and Cima Croda da Lago. Very soon we found ourselves above the trees and slowly gained more elevation. It felt a bit hard at first since we had some overnight gear but then the trail got less steep and more exciting with the increased views. We took a break at the saddle Forcella de Formin. We saw a few more people here and then descended to Forcella Rossa before a steep descent on loose rock back to the main trail. Alternatively if you want something more mellow or if it’s too icy, you can descend to Forcella Ambrizzola. It just adds a little more distance to mellow out the trail. Back on the main trail (technically called the Dolomites World Heritage Geotrail 46), it was an easy walk to the rifugio. A great end in sight!

To finish off the loop, continue around the lake and take the trail back down to the car like in Method 2.

Rifugio Croda Da Lago

The rifugio experience in the Alps is such a wonderful time, I always highly recommend it! Plus, the Rifugio Croda Da Lago has a cute sauna too. How can you say no?? Most huts have two names, one for the regional name and the other named after a person. So you might see Rifugio Croda da Lago or Rifugio Palmieri but somehow not called Federa, which is the name of the lake. I suppose there’s already Malga Federa. Malga means a livestock farm, so you won’t want to live there.

Reservations are easy through the Croda da Lago website. I love that this rifugio opens until October, which is so great for fall season hut experiences. Most close in September. We got half board for €73 which includes bed, breakfast, and dinner. To be honest though, this was one of the lowest quality hut dinners I had. But the breakfast made up for it!

We arrived rather late to the hut since we squished in more plans in the morning and barely made it before the sun set behind the mountains. For the hour prior to the standard dinner time at 6pm, we took a stroll along the lake and even enjoyed the early sunset.

We were so tired and jet lagged that we retired to our dorm rooms rather early. And gasp, we didn’t even use the sauna because it seemed like too much effort and enough people were using it already. In the morning, we woke up early and they had the breakfast already set out. So we scarfed down some bread and yogurt and sprinted out the door in 15 minutes to catch the sunrise. Thank goodness for the shorter day light to make sunrise and sunset watching a bit easier with sleep.

At the opposite end of the lake, we found about 20 other photographers trying to get “the photo” of the glowing golden larches. It was quite the spectacle! And yep, I contributed to that effect. It’s not much of a secret but it sure is a wonderful sight. I think most of them hiked early in the morning to get here and only a small handful stayed at the rifugio.

After the sun graced us with the most beautiful light, we headed back to the rifugio to pack our bags and pay our bill. Usually you can pay your part after dinner or in the morning. Everything is included for breakfast but additional drinks are extra for dinner. Because it was such a beautiful spot, it was pretty hard to say goodbye. Who knows if I’ll ever be back again!

Notes

The stats are closer to 7 miles, 2700 ft gained for the full loop. I added extra distance around the lake

There’s plenty of ways to get to the rifugio. But the shortest and easiest is parking at Ponte de Ru Curto. Another method is starting at Lago Pianoze. For a great loop, park at Ponte de Ru Curto and circumnavigate around Cima Croda da Lago. Parking is limited at both locations

Book an overnight stay on the Croda da Lago website. Sleeping bag liner is required, per all rifugio.