jgg

We will be staying in Castelrotto for 4 days. Our plan is two days hiking and two days doing other siteseeing. The complication is last week my husband had an accident and partially (temporarily) dislocated his kneecap and tore a ligament in the back of his knee. He starts physical therapy next week and they say recovery should take 6-8 weeks (but as many as twelve). We will be in Castelrotto in 7 weeks. So.....looking for recommendations of hikes in that area that would be easier - to be honest we are not huge hikers anyway, but in good shape and exercise regularly. Mostly looking for incredible scenery and fun stops at huts for food and espresso breaks!! We will also be with our two teens. Have tried googling for hikes but I just find agencies that I can book trips with and our local bookstores didn't have anything. Recommendations of actual hikes or books to order online would be helpful. Also, we will have a car.
Thanks!

kenav

Hopefully others will chime in on this. But, my husband and I were in this area last year. You can take a cable up at any point (from many towns) and just walk as much as you would like,or as little as you would like. There always seem to be some hut/cafe where you can sit down and have a cup of hot chocolate, etc. up on the mountains.

It's a beautiful area. Have a great time. And healing thoughts to your husband.

ms_go

We did some incredible hikes in the area last summer, but I'm not sure I'd recommend most of those to someone with a bad knee (sorry to hear about the accident and hope the rehab is quick). As kenav says, there are a number of lifts that will put you right in the middle of fabulous scenery, and most have a variety of trails in the area ranging from moderate to difficult. One of my favorites for view was Seceda out of Ortisei:
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/p951565553

From there, you can either just walk in the area near the lift or walk down to Col Raiser (although part is a little steep).

We also did one walk from Castelrotto to Siusi, but I wouldn't call that the best for scenery. If you can get up in the Alpe di Siusi (we didn't have time), there are a number of trails there and others here can probably advise on the difficulty.

We used these books for planning:
-Sunflower Guide to the Dolomites and Eastern South Tyrol
-Shorter Walks in the Dolomites by Gillian Price (Cicerone)

Also, if you haven't found this site yet, it has a wealth of information about trails, lifts, etc.
http://www.valgardena.it/en/

Enjoy! I wish I was going back there this summer.

Jespere

We. too, hiked in the area last year. We (DH and I) stayed in Castelrotto, and our host recommended that we take it easy on our first day. We drove to Compatsch early in the morning and took the Puflatsch chair up into the bowl-shaped meadow.

The grazing horses were lovely, the views were inspiring, but lunch at Arnika Hutte is our outstanding memory.

We went on, following ms_go's posts from a few weeks before our trip, to more strenuous hikes on the following days, but that one was a wonderful intro to the area.

Have a fabulous time!

crckwc1

We, too, have done the Compatsch/Puflatsch route. Not too difficult. We have old, creaky knees that managed ok. Rick Steves has information on hikes in the area that you might want to reference. Hope your husband's recovery is swift and uneventful.

jgg

Thanks everyone for all this info. it is very helpful.

Ms go - when we were in the deciding stages of planning our trip I happened upon your trip report and that's what made the final sway for the Dolommites!! I will check out the website and the books.

"but lunch at Arnika Hutte is our outstanding memory." - thanks Jespere I love recommendations like that!!

Thanks for all your good wishes!!

Steve_James

Hi Jgg - I second Ms Go's recommendation of the Seceda lift out of Ortisei for views.

On the Alpe di Siusi don't miss the Florian chairlift from Saltria for more spectacular views -
http://tinyurl.com/2vbvzud
http://tinyurl.com/32fgvdo

Others winners are the Ciampinoi and Dantercepies cable-cars from Selva. Each lift has a refuge at the top for lunch-with-a-view -
http://tinyurl.com/367dhus

For lift opening dates see:
http://www.valgardena.it/en/lifts/page65.html

Hope this helps ...

Steve

ms_go

My favorite hut lunch was at Rif. Comici. It is a fairly steep walk down from/back up to the Ciampinoi lift (which may or may not be open when you're there; it opened last year about a week into July). But I think it is a relatively level walk of about an hour or so from Passo Sella/Sellajochhaus (which has parking), with amazing scenery all along the way. That would also provide the opportunity to take the Passo Sella lift, which is unique (see "flying telephone booths" from our trip report). There's a hut right at the top of that lift, as well: Rifugio Toni Demetz. We didn't eat there, but the views are phenomenal.

If you decided to go up to Seceda, there are some relatively flat trails right around the station over to the beginning of the Odle peaks. Then, there's a chair lift (Fermeda) that will take you down the steeper part of the mountainside, and from there it's a fairly level and short walk over to the Col Raiser lift, which can take you the rest of the way down (bus back to Ortisei).

Here are a few more of my favorites for planning:

The interactive map of the area:
http://www.alpenwelt-verlag.com/kund...ite/index.html

Live webcams:
http://www.val-gardena.com/en/live--...s/page465.html

jgg

Thanks again! This info. looks great!

kenav

Alpe di Siusi has a very flat trail that goes on and on and so you can go on and on if you like. But, again, you can do just as much as you like and since it's flat, it's really easy. Spectacular scenery.

There's also a large cafe up there. When we finally sat down for something to drink there was an "oompah" band, which as fun, and then some woman started to sing to pre-recorded music (she was a professional). All were American songs but sung in German. (Ex: "Blue Bayou", "Don't Cry for me Argentina").

What a hoot!!

turnip

jgg, my apologies for hi-jacking, if you would prefer I start a diffferent thread please let me know.

We'll be in a similar situation this fall. My wife is up to 5 surgeries now on her one bum knee. I have read its easy to rent bikes in the area and that the cable cars are fine with you bringing them aboard.

Any ideas for a trek where we could cable car up and take a leisurely, primarily coasting ride, down?

We are NOT looking for extreme mountain biking, just a way to see the scenery while making it as comfortable as possible for mrs. turnip.

Thanks!

jgg

Don't mind the hijack at all, though you might want to start a new thread specifically mentioning bike riding in the title. You may get more responses specific to your needs that way.

Also, this thread is 2 years old - we went on the trip in June 2010 - but here's a link to my trip report if you're interested:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...p-in-milan.cfm