Why this ride
A 222 km round trip from Bolzano - roughly 4 h 11 in the saddle. On the way it passes Lake Carezza, Canazei, Passo Pordoi and Arabba. The highest point is about 2,250 m.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Great Dolomites Road starting at Bolzano
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 222 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 11
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Road summary
A alpine grand route from Bolzano, Italy to Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, via Lake Carezza. Key character: Dolomite towers; passes; villages. Surface: paved.
Scenic road chapters
Great Dolomites Road
Water arrives beside the road and stays for 21 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go — slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 21 km
- Named road
- Great Dolomites Road
- Pass
- Passo Costalunga
Great Dolomites Road
For 4 km this is Great Dolomites Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it. Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 4 km
- Named road
- Great Dolomites Road
- Pass
- Passo Campolongo
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Bolzano
Bolzano lives with two languages and does so with a certain comfortable pride. It lies in a wide valley at the meeting of three rivers in South Tyrol, surrounded by steep slopes of vines and apples, with the pink limestone peaks of the Dolomites rising to the east. Until 1919 it belonged to Austria, and German is still the first language of most people in the province, though Bolzano itself is mostly Italian-speaking. Signs are in both, the cooking mixes dumplings and strudel with pasta and espresso, and the city feels like a conversation between two cultures.
Read the complete Bolzano write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bolzano is where the day begins. Next is Lake Carezza.
2. Lake Carezza
Lake Carezza, Karersee in German, is the Dolomites' most famous small piece of water, a pool of improbable emerald and sapphire that sits in a bowl of dark spruce beneath the jagged teeth of the Latemar. It lies at about 1,500 metres on the Great Dolomites Road, close to Nova Levante, and it is small enough to walk around in ten minutes. That is part of its charm and part of its problem: in summer, the walkway is crowded, and the best time to see it is early morning, when the water is still and the Latemar is reflected perfectly in it.
Read the complete Lake Carezza write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lake Carezza comes up 16 km in. Next is Canazei.
3. Canazei
Canazei is a small Ladin town at the head of the Val di Fassa, and the first impression is of towering rock. The Marmolada, the highest peak in the Dolomites at 3,343 metres, rises to the south-east with its glacier, while the cliffs of the Sella group fill the northern horizon, huge walls of pale dolomite that glow pink and orange at sunrise and sunset. The Dolomites were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2009, and no one who stands here is likely to wonder why.
Read the complete Canazei write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least 36 km in you reach Canazei. Next is Passo Pordoi.
4. Passo Pordoi
The Pordoi Pass is the highest on the Sella Ronda, at 2,239 metres, and the road from Arabba climbs it in thirty-three hairpins that are among the most photographed in the Alps. The road is wide, the surface is generally excellent and the bends are well graded, so it is one of the most enjoyable climbs in the Dolomites, a place where you can find a rhythm and let the bike dance. At the top you come out beneath the vertical cliffs of the Sella, with the Marmolada glacier shining to the south-east.
Read the complete Passo Pordoi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Passo Pordoi, about halfway. Next is Arabba.
5. Arabba
Arabba is a small village in the heart of the Dolomites, and a crossroads of passes. It sits at about 1,600 metres on the upper Cordevole river, at the foot of the Pordoi, the Campolongo and the Fedaia, and its position makes it the natural halfway point of the Sella Ronda, the circuit around the huge Sella massif. The mountains here are the pale, jagged towers that make the Dolomites famous, and the whole range was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009.
Read the complete Arabba write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Arabba sits at 65 km, about halfway. Next is Cortina d Ampezzo.
6. Cortina d Ampezzo
The peaks of the Tofane, Cristallo, Pomagagnon and Sorapiss surround it, and the whole area is part of the UNESCO Dolomites World Heritage Site. The town has about five thousand residents, and many more in the holidays, with elegant shops, bars and a long history as a mountain resort.
Read the complete Cortina d Ampezzo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cortina d Ampezzo comes up 82 km in. Next is back through Arabba.
7. back through Arabba
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Arabba write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
98 km in you reach back through Arabba. Next is back through Passo Pordoi.
8. back through Passo Pordoi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Passo Pordoi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Passo Pordoi, about halfway. Next is back through Canazei.
9. back through Canazei
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Canazei write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Canazei sits at 130 km, late in the day. Next is back through Lake Carezza.
10. back through Lake Carezza
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lake Carezza write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Lake Carezza comes up 147 km in. Next is Bolzano.
11. Bolzano
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bolzano write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Bolzano. That is the ride.