You come to the Dolomites for the skiing, then realise you’ve let yourself in for something more: wild geological discovery. “It’s like a modern nature project – the Dolomites were once all coral reefs,” says Alex Schenk, an instructor and mountain guide in the region. “When the Alps grew, the Dolomites were at sea level and were pushed up, so the rock you’re skiing around was once a coral reef with a few hills on top that were islands. If you’re lucky you’ll still find stone shells or fossils.”
This head-spinning explanation – that you’re skiing your way round vast rocky outcrops that were once on the seafloor – goes some way to explaining the tripped-out beauty you’ll encounter if you come skiing in this northeastern stretch of Italy. The Unesco World Heritage Site – which includes resorts Cortina d’Ampezzo, Alta Badia and Val Gardena – is often said to be more “wow” than the rest of the Alps (of which they’re still strictly a part), but how could they be any better than Verbier, Zermatt, Chamonix, Cervinia, Lech or Gstaad?
“It’s the panorama!” says local ski guide Marika Favé. “Sometimes you forget the quality of the snow because the panorama is so nice. There are no mountains with this light, these colours: white, grey, yellow, red at sunset and sunrise. The central Alps are so dark, so brown, so grey. Plus, here you have these jagged towers and vertical walls that are very impressive. The vertical walls of the Dolomites are unique.”
The otherworldly atmosphere of the place is thanks largely to the famed rocks and the ways they interact with the light. “The sun ignites the Dolomite rocks, which take on colours ranging from yellow to fiery red, with shades of pink and purple,” explains Francesco Masiero, a sports expert in Cortina d’Ampezzo and community adviser at the Hotel de Len. “In Ladino [the local language], this phenomenon is called enrosadira, meaning ‘turning pink.’” The effect is unique to the region and especially mesmerising because it shifts according to time, day, cloud cover and the clarity of the air. When the landscape is this transfixing, you’ve got to remember to keep your eyes on the slopes.
But you’re not in the Dolomites in winter simply to stare at the view. Get the Dolomiti Superski pass and you’ll have access to 450 lifts to take you to 1,200 km of slopes and 16 ski resorts. It’s a winter-sports lover’s mecca and its geography creates incredible ways for you to tackle the mountain. The Sella Ronda is a vast “ski carousel” circuit around the dominant Sella Massif rocks. Translation: you’re never repeating runs, always moving in one direction, taking on a 360-degree challenge for a day. And the added bonus: once you’ve done it one way, you can experience it totally differently another day by going anticlockwise.
The terrain is so wide, open and inviting here that it encourages more than just classic downhill piste skiing or snowboarding. In recent years, the single-resort party-ski holiday is slowly being challenged by the rise of a parallel holistic approach to the mountains. This kind of trip might include fewer boozy lunches on the slopes and a decidedly chill après-ski. That all allows for earlier mornings and later days back-country skiing (or ski touring), cross-country skiing (on far-reaching tracks) or trying out the new sexed-up snowshoeing (high-tech metal spikes rather than the old wooden tennis rackets). The Dolomites cater abundantly to all these adventures.
Schenk says he’s seen a shift in how people want to enjoy their ski trips in the area. “People don’t want to ski every day,” he says. “People like ski touring because it’s pure skiing and you have to work for your turns. You have to live with nature, be respectful and careful as well, because it can be dangerous. And in the region where I’m staying, it’s a plateau, so we have 60 km of cross-country slopes – it’s still getting more popular.”
Few ski areas give such an all-encompassing sense of being in Big Nature. “Each mountain looks different from every different inclination,” says Schenk. “You can see one mountain from the north face and look at it from the south and not recognise it as being the same. That’s different from the Alps, where many mountains look the same. They’re just peaks up and down. The Dolomites are very special.”
Key Terrain
The best Dolomites ski slopes, trails and day trips to take on
Travel the Sella Ronda loop
Complete the most famous “ski carousel” challenge, which can be done both clockwise and anticlockwise. It’s a travelling ski day trip with no repeat runs.
Get historic in Giro della Grande Guerra
“It’s a bit longer than the Sella Ronda and it’s also a round trip that you can do in one day,” says Schenk. “You stay for most of the time on the World War I borders. You’re skiing in a very peaceful region where there was once war and people were dying fighting over winning two metres.”
Race round Val Gardena
“If I were to choose one area for skiing, it would be the Val Gardena,” says Favé. “You have Saslong, Seceda, Dantercepies – a lot of very interesting slopes.”
Free-ride in the Sella Massif
“This is a nice place for free-riding because you can take the cable car. From there you have valleys or couloirs where you can ski without skinning [applying the synthetic seal skins to the bottom of your skis to help you climb uphill in back-country skiing],” says Favé. “The Cortina area is really nice for back-country skiing. And snowshoeing anywhere is nice because more people are enjoying just hiking in the snow now. I was a forest ranger many years ago, so I like to explain the forests and the animals.”
Tour the Bus de Tofana
For ski touring, Masiero recommends Bus de Tofana. He describes it as “an unforgettable large natural hole that, when crossed, leads to the opposite side of Tofana di Mezzo, from where the off-piste descent begins down a wide gully set among Dolomite rocks.”
Hit the Cortina–Dobbiaco trail
For cross-country, Masiero says the best trail is the Cortina–Dobbiaco, a 32 km route that goes from the gates of Cortina to the Nordic Arena in Dobbiaco, the line of the historic Dolomites Railway that connected Calalzo to the Puster Valley via Cortina between 1921 and 1964. Ski through old rail tunnels and over bridges, seeing the Cristallo mountain, the lakes of Landro and Dobbiaco, the Three Peaks of Lavaredo and the Boite River along the way.
Do the Schuss Olimpia downhill
Skiing down the Schuss Olimpia has an added thrill: you’re retracing the slopes where the first televised Winter Olympics took place.
Stays
With landscapes this pretty, you’ll want to splurge for lodging that is just as considered. By David Annand
Alpine chill at San Luis
This family-run hotel with its 42 alpine-fantasy chalets and treehouses is arranged like a fairytale village around the lake, which you can skate on when it freezes in winter. The feeling of unhurried hospitality is evident in everything here – whether it’s owner Alex Meister happily grabbing your bags and equipment from the boot of the car, the breakfast basket brought to the door of your beautiful chalet, or the warm welcome in the snug spa rooms. In typical South Tyrolean style, the food is a cheery mash-up of big, bold Austrian flavours and Italian sophistication: wood-fired breads, chunky charcuterie and super-fresh local vegetables. Tucked away on its own, 30 km north of Bolzano, it’s a place to come and disappear, rather than après-ski: the nearest slopes are a 15-minute drive away at Merano 2000. But after a long ski, nothing beats their open fires and treetop views. sanluis-hotel.com
Peak modernism at Alpina Dolomites
Architect Gerhard Tauber’s ultra-modern, angular Alpina Dolomites harmonises with the local environment: rough stone facades echo the mountain ranges and the wooden terraces interact with the alpine trees. The rooms are understated luxury, some coming with terraces for sundown après-ski with a view over the Seiser Alm plateau. Indulgence can be had at both ends of the spectrum, be it via the treatment menu at their Como Shambhala Retreat spa with indoor-outdoor swimming pools or in the cigar room with its excellent cognac collection. The Mountain Restaurant & Stuben is delicate and refined with prettily plated dishes. Those after something heartier might opt for the ballsy flavours on offer at the Alpina Chalet Restaurant. The hotel is perfectly located for the Alpe di Siusi-Val Gardena ski district with its 84 lifts that carry you to beginner slopes and black runs, and there’s an in-house instructor on hand to take you out on guided trips. alpinadolomites.it
Lodge life at Alder Lodge Alpe
Alpine cliches have been dispensed with at this intimate 30-room hotel, so don’t come expecting a chocolate-box chalet. For the Adler Lodge Alpe, the Sanoner family – with six generations of hotel-operating experience behind them – took a trip to Namibia as their inspiration, hence the hotel’s lodge feel with its unfussy blond interiors, animal-hide rugs and campfires. All of this complements the abundant floor-to-ceiling windows which look out onto views that are spectacular even by the rarefied standards of the region. Book a treatment at the full-service spa at dawn or dusk and you’ll have ringside seats for the enrosadira.
All hearty meals are included in the room price at Alder Lodge Alpe: plentiful buffets at breakfast and lunch, and then a multi-course menu from head chef Denny Mair in the evening. It’s a ski-in, ski-out hotel, so it’s easy to explore the surrounding Alpe di Siusi. It’s also within striking distance of some of the best slopes in the region at Dolomiti Superski. adler-resorts.com
Mountain frame at Forestis
This former sanatorium has been turned into a minimal modern citadel. Its three sculptural towers loom high above the treeline, meaning all guests get astonishing views of the Geislergruppe, one of the Dolomites’ most dramatic ranges. The design is peak pared-back luxury: white walls, blonde wood, polished stone – a look (rightly) designed to frame rather than compete with the views. Huge glass walls show off jagged mountains and dense forest. The spa is a glass box with a Celtic-inspired treatment menu of wood massages and an infinity pool. Executive chef Roland Lamprecht serves up exquisite plates of his signature “forest cuisine” in the restaurant with its tiered semicircle banquettes that all face a towering glass wall. The bar makes good use of Pagan-influenced open fires and the cocktails have a woodland vibe – all berries, bark and fir needles. Forestis is a ski-in, ski-out hotel, a hop, skip and jump away from the Plose lift which takes you to 45 km of slopes. Don’t ski? Go on a husky-pulled sled ride instead. forestis.it
Olympian haunt at Hotel de Len
In Ladin, the local Tyrolean language, de Len means “of wood”. Local pine is the hero product of this major renovation project. Previously the historic Hotel Impero, the building was transformed by Venetian architects Stefano Gris and Silvia Dainese in 2021 and there’s wood everywhere, from the lovely matchstick-style exterior to the pine-panelled rooms. De Len’s restaurant serves up sharing plates with a heavy Italian accent – courgette flowers with ricotta and pasta dishes with cuttlefish and fava beans. The hotel’s bar is in the heart of the building and has a range of après-ski options, from local beers to barrel-aged cocktails. There’s a spa up in the eaves, with epic views and a short but serious treatment menu. As for skiing, your options are plentiful: Cortina is at the epicentre of the scene (it will host the Winter Olympics in 2026), and the bus for the ski lifts to the Faloria and Col Drusciè slopes stops right outside the hotel. hoteldelen.it
Modernist retreat at Vigilius
Designed by star local architect Matteo Thun, Vigilius is abrupt and modernist, but also in total harmony with its surroundings. Its handsome, weathered wood exterior is at one with the alpine forests that surround it. Arrival is via cable car only, and once you’re up here, there’s a monastic feel, all epic mountain silence and lungfuls of pine-fresh air to breathe in. The wood-panelled rooms and light-filled spa are serene, but there’s still high living to be had at high altitude in the resort’s two restaurants. Fine dining joint Ristorante 1500 is where chef Filippo Zoncato makes excellent use of the abundance of local produce, and Stube Ida is a rustic tavern where they turn out hearty South Tyrolean staples. Locally, there’s a small ski on Monte San Vigilio but it’s a nature reserve, so only open when there’s enough natural snow to cover the slopes. For more consistent skiing, Merano 2000 is a 15-minute drive from the bottom of the Vigilius cable car. The resort is also close to Schwarze Lake, which freezes in winter, making it perfect for ice-skating. vigilius.it
