The Tre Cime loop from Rifugio Auronzo: toll road and parking, the 10 km circuit, the Locatelli view, and how to sleep inside the postcard.
Updated: 2026-07-22
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Effort
Easy-moderate
Time needed
3.5-4.5 h loop
Getting there
Toll road to Rifugio Auronzo, or bus
Best light
Late afternoon on the north faces; sunrise from Locatelli
Three vertical stone towers rising out of a gravel plateau: the Tre Cime are the symbol of the whole range, and the loop around them is the most famous day walk in the Dolomites. It is genuinely doable for most people: around 10 km with modest climbing, on wide, obvious trails.
The classic views come in order: the south faces from Rifugio Auronzo where you park, Lavaredo and the Forcella from the east, and then the full north-face panorama from Rifugio Locatelli (Dreizinnenhütte), the one on every poster.
The normal start is Rifugio Auronzo at 2,320 m, reached by a private toll road from Misurina (car toll roughly 30 EUR, paid per vehicle; in peak weeks a reservation system can apply, check the current rules before you drive). A seasonal bus also runs up from Misurina and Dobbiaco if you would rather skip the parking scramble. Just before the toll gate, roadside Lago Antorno mirrors the Tre Cime for a free warm-up photo.
The road opens when the snow clears, normally June to October. Outside those months the plateau is winter terrain.
Walk the circuit counter-clockwise: an almost flat first stretch to Rifugio Lavaredo (30-40 min), a short climb to Forcella Lavaredo with the first big north-face reveal, then a high traverse to Rifugio Locatelli at 2,405 m for THE view (about 1.5-2 h from the start). The return leg passes war tunnels and the little lakes below Langalm before closing the loop at Auronzo.
Budget 3.5 to 4.5 relaxed hours plus photo time. There is no exposure; the altitude and afternoon storms are the only things to respect.
Day visitors see the Tre Cime at noon, in flat light, sharing the trail. If you sleep at Locatelli or Auronzo you get the two hours everyone else misses: the north faces burning red at sunset and a sunrise with nobody on the trail. Locatelli books out months ahead for exactly this reason, so check dates early and have Auronzo or Lavaredo as fallback.
Tap a marker to see how to get there, then open it in the planner with your start already set.
Staffed huts closest to this spot. Sleeping up here is how you get the sunrise and the empty trail.
Easy to moderate: about 10 km with roughly 400 m of total climbing on wide, well-marked trails. Most reasonably fit visitors, including families, complete it in 3.5 to 4.5 hours. The start is at 2,320 m, so pace yourself.
Around 30 EUR per car to drive from Misurina up to Rifugio Auronzo. Rules and prices are set seasonally and peak days can be regulated, so check the current arrangement before you go, or use the seasonal bus from Misurina or Dobbiaco.
Rifugio Locatelli (Dreizinnenhütte), facing the north walls across the plateau. It is about 1.5 to 2 hours on foot from the Auronzo parking. Sleeping there means sunset and sunrise on the faces; book well ahead.
Yes. The plateau links naturally toward Sesto in the east and the Cadini group to the south, and our planner can build a multi-day route with Auronzo, Lavaredo or Locatelli as one of the nights.
Heading for Tre Cime di Lavaredo? These guides cover the practical side of walking and sleeping in the Dolomites.
