Tre Cime di Lavaredo: The Complete Hike + Huts Guide
Plan the Tre Cime di Lavaredo hike: 2026 toll road and shuttle rules, the 10 km trail 101 loop stage by stage, and the huts from Auronzo to Locatelli.
The Tre Cime di Lavaredo circuit is the single most famous day hike in the Dolomites, and the short answer for anyone planning it is this: drive or take the shuttle up the toll road from Misurina to Rifugio Auronzo (2,333 m), then walk the loop around the three peaks anticlockwise on trail 101 — roughly 10 km with about 350–400 m of ascent, 3.5–4 hours of walking, or 4–5 hours once you factor in hut stops and photographs. The key waypoints are Forcella Lavaredo, the celebrated Rifugio Locatelli with its head-on view of the north faces, and the grassy pastures of Malga Langalm on the return leg. In 2026 you cannot simply turn up by car: access must be reserved online in advance.
The three towers — Cima Piccola, Cima Grande (2,999 m) and Cima Ovest — are the emblem of the Dolomites, and the loop that circles them is graded easy-to-moderate, on wide, well-marked paths the whole way. It sits at the top of most rankings of the region, including our own list of the best hikes in the Dolomites. This guide covers the 2026 access rules, the route leg by leg, every hut on and near the circuit, and what to do if you want more than the standard loop.
Getting to the trailhead
The loop starts and finishes at Rifugio Auronzo, reached by a paved toll road that climbs from Lake Misurina. Since 2025 access has been managed by an online reservation system run by the Municipality of Auronzo di Cadore, and for 2026 the rules are strict: you must book a timed entry slot in advance at auronzo.info, entering your number plate, and same-day bookings are not accepted — the cut-off is 23:59 the evening before. The 2026 toll is €40 per car, €26 per motorbike and €60 per campervan, valid for 12 hours from your booked entry time, with parking at the top included. The road is seasonal, typically open from late May until late October depending on snow.
If you would rather not drive, the 444 shuttle bus runs from Dobbiaco (Toblach) station directly to Rifugio Auronzo, passing Lake Landro, from 31 May to 11 October 2026. It takes about an hour, departs every 30 minutes in high season, and must also be booked and paid online in advance (drei-zinnen.bz/ticket). Local buses 30 and 31 connect Cortina d’Ampezzo and Misurina with the hut as well. For the bigger picture — which airport to fly into and how to reach this corner of the Dolomites at all — see our guide to getting to the Dolomites.
Whichever way you arrive, come early. The car park at Rifugio Auronzo holds a finite number of vehicles, morning slots sell out first for good reason, and the light on the peaks is at its best before midday. Booking an entry before 08:00 means you will walk the first hour of the loop in relative quiet. Strong walkers can also skip the road entirely and hike up from Misurina, which adds roughly two hours and 550 m of ascent each way.
The classic loop, stage by stage
The circuit is almost always walked anticlockwise from Rifugio Auronzo: trail 101 east to Forcella Lavaredo and Rifugio Locatelli, then trail 105 west past Malga Langalm and back beneath the south faces. Anticlockwise gets the crowds moving with you and puts the big reveal — the north faces from Forcella Lavaredo — early in the day; walking clockwise instead means quieter paths and afternoon light on the north walls, at the price of meeting the main flow head-on. Waymarking is excellent throughout, and nothing on the standard loop requires hands or a head for heights.
Rifugio Auronzo to Forcella Lavaredo — 2.5 km, about 45 minutes
From the car park, trail 101 heads east on a broad gravel track that barely gains height. You pass the small Cappella degli Alpini war memorial chapel after ten minutes, and after about 1.7 km reach Rifugio Lavaredo at 2,345 m, tucked under the south side of the towers. From the hut a short, steady pull of just over 100 m brings you to Forcella Lavaredo (2,454 m), the saddle east of the peaks and the highest point of the standard loop. This is the moment the famous view arrives: the three north faces line up in profile for the first time.
Forcella Lavaredo to Rifugio Locatelli — 3 km, about 1 hour
From the saddle, trail 101 contours north across scree slopes beneath Monte Paterno, losing and regaining a little height. The path is wide and unexposed, and the view of the north faces improves with every step. You arrive at the Dreizinnenhütte — Rifugio Antonio Locatelli (2,405 m), perched on a rise opposite the towers. This is the postcard viewpoint of the entire Dolomites, and the terrace is correspondingly busy at lunchtime. The small Laghi dei Piani tarns lie ten minutes beyond the hut and make a quieter picnic spot.
Rifugio Locatelli to Malga Langalm — 2.5 km, about 1 hour 15 minutes
This is the leg that separates the full loop from the simple out-and-back most visitors do. Trail 105 drops around 200 m west into the head of the Rienza valley (the Rienzboden), crossing a couple of streams on the valley floor, then climbs again onto a grassy shelf scattered with dwarf pine. Malga Langalm (2,283 m) is a working summer alm serving cheese, cold drinks and simple hot food — a welcome change of scene after the rock and scree of the northern side, and reliable marmot territory.
Malga Langalm back to Rifugio Auronzo — 2 km, about 45 minutes
From the alm the path rises gently to Forcella Col di Mezzo (about 2,315 m), the saddle at the western end of the massif, where the Cadini di Misurina spires appear ahead. The final stretch is a near-level track directly beneath the south walls of the Tre Cime, delivering you back to the Rifugio Auronzo car park. Total for the loop: just under 10 km, 350–400 m of up and down, 3.5–4 hours of actual walking.
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The huts on and around the loop
Four staffed huts sit on or just off the circuit, which is precisely what makes it such a forgiving day out — you are never more than an hour from food, water and shelter.
Rifugio Auronzo (2,333 m)
Rifugio Auronzo is the big road-served hut at the trailhead, owned by the CAI Auronzo section. With around 100 sleeping places in rooms and dormitories, a large restaurant and a bar, it is more mountain hotel than climbers’ refuge — but sleeping here lets you walk the loop before the day crowds arrive. It features in our ranking of the highest huts in Veneto, and booking well ahead for July and August is essential.
Rifugio Lavaredo (2,345 m)
Twenty-five minutes into the walk, Rifugio Lavaredo is a smaller, quieter private hut below Forcella Lavaredo. It makes a sensible lunch alternative to the busier terraces at either end of the loop, and its handful of beds suit anyone wanting a low-key overnight close to the towers.
Rifugio Locatelli / Dreizinnenhütte (2,405 m)
The Dreizinnenhütte, or Rifugio Antonio Locatelli, is the prize. Run by the CAI, it faces the north walls straight on, and an overnight here means sunset and sunrise on the most photographed rock faces in the Alps without another soul on the trail. It is also, unsurprisingly, one of the hardest hut bookings in the Dolomites: beds for July and August routinely sell out months in advance, so reserve as soon as the hut opens its booking calendar for the season.
Rifugio Pian di Cengia / Büllelejochhütte (2,528 m)
A 45-minute detour east of the main circuit, the tiny Büllelejochhütte — Rifugio Pian di Cengia is the highest hut in the area at 2,528 m, with only a dozen or so sleeping places and a reputation for excellent food. Reaching it from the path between Forcella Lavaredo and Locatelli turns the standard loop into a genuinely quiet mountain day, and it is a key stage on the six-hut tour of the Sesto Dolomites.
When to go and conditions
The practical season matches the toll road: late May or early June to late October. Snow patches linger on the shaded northern side of the loop well into June, so mid-June to the end of September is the reliable window; the huts typically operate from the second half of June to late September or early October — always check the individual hut pages and their own sites for exact dates before building a trip around an overnight.
Within that window, the months behave differently. Late June brings wildflowers on the Langalm side and the last snow tongues below Forcella Lavaredo. July and August offer the most dependable hut services but also the biggest crowds and near-daily afternoon thunderstorms — plan to be off the loop by mid-afternoon. September is the sweet spot: stable high pressure, thinner traffic and cool, clear air. Early October can be glorious with the larches turning gold around Misurina, though hut hours shorten and the first snowfalls can arrive without much warning. In winter the road is closed and unploughed, the huts are shut, and the plateau becomes ski-touring and snowshoe terrain for experienced, avalanche-aware parties only. Before you commit to a date, check the live Dolomites webcams to see current snow cover at altitude.
Practical tips
- Book everything the day before at the latest. Toll-road slots and the 444 shuttle both require advance online reservation; neither can be bought on the day in peak season.
- Reserve hut beds months ahead. Locatelli in particular sells out its summer weekends almost as soon as booking opens. Day walkers need no reservation — only overnight guests.
- Carry 1.5 litres of water per person. The loop is high, open and almost shadeless; refills are available at the huts but there are no springs on the trail itself.
- Beat the crowds by timing, not luck. Start before 08:30 or after 15:00, or walk the loop clockwise against the flow — the western leg via Langalm is far quieter than trail 101.
- It is genuinely family-friendly. The stretch to Rifugio Lavaredo is manageable with an all-terrain pushchair, and children used to three or four hours on their feet can do the whole circuit. The only sustained effort is the climb out of the Rienza valley.
- Respect the altitude. The entire loop sits above 2,200 m: weather turns quickly, and a warm layer and shell belong in the pack even on a blue-sky morning.
- Bring some cash. The alms and smaller huts do not always take cards.
- Footwear matters more than fitness. The surface is gravel, scree and rock the whole way; trainers cope in dry weather, but ankle support pays off on the descent into the Rienza valley.
- Photographers: stay the night. The tripod shots of the north faces at first and last light are only realistic from an overnight at Locatelli or Auronzo — day visitors are back at the car park long before the good light.
Beyond the loop
If the standard circuit feels too short, the area rewards a longer plan. The Sentiero Bonacossa (path 117) traverses the wild Cadini di Misurina between Rifugio Col de Varda (2,115 m, reached by chairlift from Misurina) and Rifugio Auronzo, passing Rifugio Fonda Savio (2,367 m) en route — about 7.5 km and five hours, with short aided sections where a via ferrata set is recommended. Directly from Locatelli, the wartime tunnels of Monte Paterno (the De Luca–Innerkofler route) offer a historic ferrata with a head torch as mandatory kit. Across the valley, Rifugio Bosi on Monte Piana sits amid one of the most moving open-air First World War museums in the Alps, with the Tre Cime as backdrop.
Planning the rest of your trip
The Tre Cime loop is a half-day commitment, which leaves room to build a proper itinerary around it. Our complete guide to hiking in the Dolomites covers trail grades, hut etiquette and multi-day options, and the Dolomites travel guide handles bases, driving and where to stay. Book your access slot, start early, and give yourself time on the Locatelli terrace — it earns its reputation.
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