we will be in the dolomites for 5 days next week and are concerned that the weather will be rather rainy. any suggestions as to what to do there in the rain? proceed with our hikes anyway and just take the weather in our stride? we are open to all and any tips!

thanks!

I am back a month. I think I might try to suss out some alternative destinations and activities.

Driving in the rain would be awful. Lifts may or may not be running. Hiking wasn't always amazingly easy.

A little rain, probably not a problem.

A downpour, I'd head for the next interesting town.

We were just there and when it did rain in Val Gardena you couldn't see a thing, the valley was totally socked in. The lifts still ran but you wouldn't be able to see anything.

You can see our pics in our trip report if you click on my name and you can see how socked it it got when you look at the first pics from the town. You couldn't even see that there were mountains around.

You couldngo to Bolzano and see the Ice Man, Otzi. Well worth a visit.

Innsbruck may also be an option.

We lucked out and got three gorgeous days to hike, but if the weather forecast was horrible we actually discussed what we would do and decided we would abort the Dolomites and move somehwre else, maybe Venice or Bologna areas.

Good luck, I hope it all works out!

thanks. this is the second time we planned a trip to the dolomites and had to reroute due to inclement weather. maybe we will still be lucky and the forecast will change for the better!

Also, if you are going to Val Gardena all the lifts will be closed as of 13 Oct 2013...

One reason we went to Italy at the very beginning of September was to increase our odds of getting good weather for the Dolomites portion of our trip.

The other reasons were that we wanted to go to the opera at the Roman arena in Verona and to be lazy at Lake Garda.

That all worked out well.

The heat and crowds in Venice, not so much.

i guess you can't be lucky all the time! i hope we will be as lucky as you some of the time!

Hiking in the rain can get quickly unpleasant and sometimes dangerous. Weather in the Dolomites can change quickly so common sense dictates that you should always bring some rain gear even when leaving for an hike under the best weather conditions; but leaving for an hike under rain may range from stupid to suicidal. If it rains, visit Cortina ol Bolzano or Brunico or Bressanone and look the rain from a bar window with a coffee and a piece of strudel.

Asps is totally right...the weather changes VERY quickly! We started out in crystal clear blue skies but the weather rolled in almost instantaneously after lunch and we headed back down the mountain. Always be prepared!