Day Hike: Prato Piazza to Lago di Braies
Base Town: Dobbiaco in Val Pusteria South Tyrol, Transport to Hut and Trailhead: Tourist Bus #443
Prato Piazza (Plätzwiese in German) is a high-altitude alpine meadow in Fanes-Sennes-Braies National Park in South Tyrol. Situated at 6,560 feet (2,000 meters), the plateau is an excellent vantage point to behold some of the Dolomite’s most spectacular peaks, including Monte Cristallo, Tre Cime di Lavaredo, and Croda Rossa d’Ampezzo. We stayed two nights at Rifugio Prato Piazza, which gave us enough time for a couple of memorable day hikes — and some fabulous hut meals.
Beautiful Monte Cristallo, from Prato Piazza, Dolomites
The idea of spending several days on a flat plateau known for its “family friendly” walking trails was initially unappealing to me. We were here to climb mountains, not picnic in grassy meadows. The information we read about Prato Piazza on the internet was incomplete. The day hikes from Prato Piazza were fantastic!
Day Hike #1: Lago di Braies via Croda Rossa D’Ampezzo and Alta Via 1
After a hearty breakfast at the rifugio, we embarked on foot for Lago di Braies, which we hadn’t previously known was walkable from Prato Piazza. With a little guidance from people at the hut, we mapped our route and set out across the meadow on a trail we had spied from the terrace the previous evening. Exiting a forested area, the trail led up to a caldera below Croda Rossa d’Ampezza.
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We continued a gradual, pleasant ascent along a narrow path through layered pastures, some occupied by cows slowly munching on grass. It was quite a spectacular gallery walk, with magnificent vistas the entire time. We are from the east coast of the USA, where we typically hike “to” a viewpoint; here in the Dolomites, we hike all day “with” a view! It was perfect weather, generally sunny with a light breeze and high, turbulent clouds; the temperature was neither too hot nor too cold. We saw just a handful of fellow hikers.
The gallery walk followed the side of the mountain, proceeded around a rocky outcropping and then across scree fields, descending to a frequent landslide zone littered with huge rust-colored boulders.
Just past the landslide area, we arrived at a Malga Rossalm, where we stopped for some ravioli, apple strudel, and a couple of espresso coffees. From the hut, we chose Route 4 through a marvelous landscape that reminded us of the San Juan mountains in Colorado.
We eventually linked up with Alta Via 1, descending on a steep scree slope to Lago di Braies. We soaked our feet for a bit in the frigid waters, then continued along the lake loop trail to the bus area.
Since we did not have an advance reservation for the bus, we paid 8 euros at Lago di Braies for a one-way ticket to the next bus transfer station about 15 minutes down the valley. At the bus transfer, we hopped onto an empty bus headed back up to Prato Piazza, arriving with an hour to spare before dinner.
Day Hike #2: Monte Specie for Epic Peak Views
The day we arrived at Prato Piazzo, the weather threatened to unleash a storm. We had some daylight hours left, though, so we packed umbrellas and ponchos and headed out for a relatively short hike to Monte Specie. The going was easy along a gravel road with beautiful views of Croda Rossa d’Ampezzo across the meadow. Within half an hour, we came to the ruins of an old Austrian fort built in the late 19th century. Fort Vallandro (originally, Fort Dürrenstein) was built as a defensive stronghold against the threat of Italian invasion on the borders of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. It played a role in the Alpine front during WWI, but quickly became obsolete against advanced artillery. From here, we had an expansive view of the Monte Cristallo range!
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From the fort, we had a short, steep climb to higher pastures and then another easy stroll along a steadily inclining road. A huge cross at the summit beckoned us, so despite the dynamic clouds, we pushed upward. The payoff for this hike to Mt. Specie’s Pico di Vallandro was the unobstructed view of Tre Cime di Lavaredo. The tempestuous weather added drama, as swiftly-moving clouds swirled around the Three Peaks.
Tre Cime di Lavaredo from Mt. Specie in Prato Piazza
Just as we started back to the hut, rain drops began to fall. Expecting a downpour, we threw on the ponchos. The sky never did unleash, though, and we happily removed them further down the hill. Dinner at the rifugio was hearty: soup, lasagna, polenta with venison, and a plate of eggs, potatoes, and ham. We had cheese cake and plum cake for dessert. We shared a cozy room with four strangers, but everyone was polite and quiet.
Logistics
Our rifugio-stay in Prato Piazza was one of several multi-night mountain excursions we did during two months in the Dolomites. To lighten our load for mountain exploration, we left extra clothing and gear at a local hotel in our base town of Dobbiaco and rode bus #443 to Prato Piazza. We did day hikes on day 1 and 2. On the third day, we hiked from the plateau down to Carbonin Schluderbach on highway SS51 and caught the local bus #445 back to Dobbiaco.
