We plan to spend 2 nights in the Dolomites area. With 2 young kids, we would like to spend time doing light hikes and being closer to the mountains. Is it better to stay at Cortina or Selva?

Cortina is too far east.
Stay in the Val Gardena and Selva is as good as any.

Why don't you consider staying right in the mountains themselves? There are many, many lodges with scenic views that serve dinner as part of the deal. The food of the region is simple and kid friendly, with lots of nice desserts too.

I found both Cortinia d'Ampezzo and Selva disagreeable even though they are plop in the middle of beautiful settings (Cortina is ski bunny stupid and pubby and luxury shopping, and Selva is just plain unattractive and touristy). Kids, of course, love a lot of silly and tacky touristy stuff, and there is nothing wrong with that, so I too might make that choice with kids. If taking ski lifts is a big part of the agenda, then you might as well settle into one of the ski resort towns with lots of ski infrastructure, unattractive as it is.

But if you were thinking of taking the kids to a place where the nature is pristine and the beauty is overwhelming, and the mechanical things of the world are (mostly) far behind, then places like Perdaces have more charm or somewhere around Braies will give you that. Or just do a search for "agriturismi near Cortina" or Selva or any of the ski resort towns. They are usually in pretty areas.

Sorry for the typo -- I was referring to Pedraces

http://www.mondodelgusto.it/2012/06/...races-bolzano/

One way to go about this is to pick your hikes first, and then find lodgings nearby. There are several websites like this one if you do a google search for "easy hikes in the Dolomiti" or "kids hikes" etc

http://www.suedtirol.info/en/Destina...g--Hiking.html

You definitely want to be somewhere in the Dolomiti with a great view, but a mistake some people make is to think that there is only one area with the "best", or they spend all their time in their car trying to see "all" the great views -- and never really get out and walk and lose the crowd of shutterbugs.

That's a great tip Sandra. Thank you immensely. Lake Braies looks beautiful. I am going to take your advice and search for easy hikes in the Dolomites.

http://onelittleworld.com/dolomites_3.html

Lake Braies is beautiful, but on weekends in high summer the lakeside trail itself can get super crowded. If your 2-day will be a summer weekend, either pick a place to stay that is away from the crowds (you can peruse Tripadvisor hotel reviews) or another lovely spot in the Dolomiti. Like I said, there is staggering beauty all over, plus a lot of quality accommodation, so once you line up your easy hikes, it won't be hard to find a sweet spot to stay with an amazing view at your doorstep.