Dolomite for 5 days advice
 

Has anyone driven the Great Dolomite Rd? If so, need some good strenuous and scenic hike options between Bolzano and Cortina D'Ampezzo and also some lodging location best bets. We're used to mountain driving and are adventurous. Thanks!

I'm no expert on the region but we did drive a bit of that road in 2006 and stayed at one of my favorite hotels...Uhrerhof Deur. http://www.uhrerhof.com/eng/index.php

It's near Ortisei. The views from the rooms is incredible. I would have loved to spend more time driving and hiking in the region but we were just passing through.

We were there three years ago. We stayed in Ortisei and hiked three sides of the valley. It was tremendously scenic. I think you can put together some tough hikes if you want. We had a four year old in a backpack carrier so we were not trying for records. But the hike around the base of Sasso Lungo was long, scenic and cool because it dominates the local landscape. The more adventurous can do the "iron roads".

For a guide book to hikes maybe try Shorter Walks in the Dolomites. Perhaps also invest in a detailed map so you can better plan.

There are some old battle fields from WWI. We did not make those because we wanted less time in the car.

I've driven the entire road and you don't need to stick to the road to be immersed in the Dolomitii. The road is a fantastic driving experience, and no doubt there many trailheads along the way, but you can do the road in less than 3 hours, so if you want to stay someplace else for your hiking, that is very doable.

The via Ferrata hikes are the most famous, and include many challenging trails

http://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com...hike-dolomites

https://alavigne.net/Outdoors/Featur...ts/ViaFerrata/

Terrific advice - thank you everyone! I"ll order a map and the book "Shorter Walks in the Dolomites" soon.

We stayed in Selva last year at this time and hiked a number of the trails in the area. Great access to high trails from Selva, and the other villages in Val Gardena. We stayed at Residence Carin (http://www.residencecarin.it/en/) in Selva. Wonderful apartments, great location for lifts and buses, and very knowledgeable and accommodating hosts that gave us excellent advice each morning regarding the hike we'd planned for that day.