Cortina-Calalzo by bike with a toddler: detailed itinerary

When your toddler is too heavy to carry on your back for a hike, what do you do? You put them on a bike seat! If you are in Cortina or in the Italian Dolomites, going from Cortina to Calalzo by bike with your toddler is a great way to spend a day.

On this 34-km bike path, you’ll cross 6 villages while you enjoy the gorgeous peaks and forests along the Old Railway. But the best part is, it’s all downhill! It’s perfect for couch potatoes like me (and possibly, you!).

Keep reading to find out about the Lunga Via delle Dolomiti bike path from Cortina to Calalzo and lots of useful tips.

The bike path from Cortina to Calalzo: key info

Here are some facts about the bike route from Cortina to Calalzo:

• Length: 34 km approx.
• Time: 3 hours by bike. In total, 7-8 hours for an easy ride, lunch, and return by bus
• Altitude in Cortina: 1227 m
• Altitude in Calalzo: 752 m
• Difficulty: easy
• Best period: mid-April to mid-October
• Towns along the way: Cortina d’Ampezzo (start), San Vito di Cadore, Borca di Cadore, Vodo di Cadore and Peaio, Venas di Cadore, Valle di Cadore, Tai di Cadore, Calalzo di Cadore (finish)
• UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites mountains along the way: Tofana, Cristallo and Croda da Lago (in Cortina), Pelmo (in San Vito and Borca)
• Google Maps detailed map here

The bike route that goes from Cortina to Calalzo is called “Lunga Via delle Dolomiti”, the Long Trail of the Dolomites, along the Ampezzo and Cadore valleys in Veneto region, Italy (as opposed to the “Alta Via”, the High Trail, which is a trail on top of the mountains).

The Lunga Via follows the former railway tracks: the Dolomites Railway used to connect Calalzo in the south, to Cortina in the middle, to Dobbiaco/Toblach in the north, but it was closed in 1962-64. We did the Cortina-Dobbiaco by bike last summer and it was great, but quite different from the Cortina-Calalzo.

You may also hear about it with other names: the Long Trail of the Dolomites , Dolomites Bike Road or Cycle Path (ITA: Ciclovia delle Dolomiti or Ciclabile), Former Railway (ITA: ex-ferrovia). It is also very common to read Cortina-Calalzo Cycle Path.

How long does it take? The distance from Cortina to Calalzo is 34 km, from bus station to bus station, which are very close to the bike rentals I recommend. Google Maps says it takes 1 hour and 50 minutes, but it took us 3,5 hours, from 9.30 to 13 (with a few stops for pictures and snacks). Then lunch, and 1 hour by bus back to Cortina: in total, from 8.30 AM to 4 PM, 7 hours and a half.

Here’s the good news: it is almost all downhill! It’s probably the easiest bike ride in the Dolomites and one of the best bike rides with a toddler, and it’s still very scenic.

That’s why I chose it: because I am a tired mom with little energy left and not fit for physical activities at all, so the only hikes I do are hikes for couch potatoes. I would never EVER cycle uphill from Calalzo to Cortina, not even with an e-bike, because there is no relief ever! I do NOT recommend it at all to couch potatoes like me: we would hate it from start to finish – actually we wouldn’t finish it.

Just a few, short parts are uphill: feel free to get off your bike and push it. Darek was strong enough to bike up these stretches, but I wasn’t, and that’s ok.

Also, I’d say 90% of the bike path is paved decently, and the rest is gravel and dirt. Some of it goes through trees, some across meadows. There are just a few tunnels, and only one is “long” – you’re out in less than a minute. Overall, I’d say most of the bike path is open to the elements.

The signs are quite frequent, albeit small: it’s a brown rectangular sign with a bike and “E1” written on it. There are also bike signs painted white on the tar.

As you will notice on the map, few parts of the track run near the road, but it is always separated by guard rails and safe.

When crossing a town, sometimes the bike path runs through the town, e.g. in Peaio, sometimes it passes parallel to it, and just one town is completely skipped (Pieve di Cadore, which is on top of a hill but the bike path runs at the bottom of the hill). Whether you admire the town from above, or whether you get up and close to the traditional buildings, it is always a very pretty view.

Are there any cafès, toilets, water fountains on the route? There are a few cafès, few fountains and no toilets at all (except for the ones in the bars). The bike rental in Calalzo at Parco Giochi Tennis Marmarole has a café. Anyway, my advice is not to count on the cafès, have snacks in your backpack instead, and stop to drink and refill your bottle every time you can.

One last thing about the final town of Calalzo: the train/bus station and the scenic lakes are downhill compared to the rest of the town. If you don’t want to have lunch at the Lagole Lake (with your own sandwiches brought from Cortina, or at the Chalet restaurant), and if the café at the station is closed like the day we were there, you would have to walk uphill to the main road, where there are a couple of cafés/restaurants and a supermarket. Google Maps says it’s 900 meters or 11 minutes, but under the hot midday sun and with a toddler in your arms, it’s going to feel (or be!) much longer than that.

Bike and bus

The reason why this bike trip is suitable for couch potatoes is that you can ride your rental bike downhill to Calalzo, and take a bus uphill back to Cortina!

Theoretically, there are two ways for this to work, but in reality there is only one:

1. The Bike and Bus option “Trenobus” by Dolomitibus (search in the “extraurbane” intercity menu or the “stagionali” seasonal section) in 2022 used to run only on Saturdays, and there wasn’t any bus in the afternoon to come back to Cortina. This option did not work for this trip – but hopefully they will provide it in the future.
2. The Papin bike rental: rent your bike from one of the Papin bike shops and its partners, and you can return it at a different location! For this trip, the bike rental in Cortina is Jgor Ski and more (map here) and the bike rental in Calalzo is Parco Giochi Tennis Marmarole (map here) (just keep the payment receipt from Jgor and show it in Calalzo when you return the bike). This is the option that works: get your bike in Cortina, return it in Calalzo, and catch a bus back (here is the flyer with all the useful info)

Of course, we chose to rent through Papin and take a bus back. You can make your bike reservation online (recommended in August); however, we passed by the shop the day before we planned to ride (mid July), and they told us they had plenty of bikes available on spot, so we didn’t book in advance.

How did we plan our bike day-trip from Cortina to Calalzo by bike and bus? Google Maps said it would take 1 hour and 50 minutes to reach Calalzo, so I calculated twice as much for us: at least 3 hours. We wanted to take the 2 o’clock bus back, so our plan was made: rent the bikes at 8.30, depart at 9, reach Calalzo at 12ish, return the bike, have lunch at the nearby lake, catch the bus at 2 pm when Alex would be having his afternoon nap, arrive back in Cortina at 3 pm.

How did it actually go? My estimate was quite accurate: we ended up leaving 30 minutes late, and it took us 3,5 hours instead of 3, so we caught the bus at 2.50 pm instead ofr 2 pm. To sum up, we left from home at 8.30, cycled from 9.30 to 1 pm, had lunch, took the bus at 2.50 pm, and we were back in Cortina at 3.45 pm. That means 3,5 hours of cycling and a total of 7,5 hours for the whole day trip.

What is the right bike to go from Cortina to Calalzo with a toddler?

• As I said before, we rented from Papin Bikes because they allow you to return the bike to the shop in Calalzo.
• We chose normal bikes instead of electric bikes because we were going downhill, so we wanted them lightweight and we did not need the extra power.
• We chose a child bike seat for Alex, behind Darek, because we thought he enjoyed our bike trip to Dobbiaco the previous summer.
• However, the shop assistant at Jgor Ski And More recommended the child bike trailer, as it is safer and more comfortable for kids. While it may as well be, one thing is for sure: there’s a short part of trail, south of Cortina, that is definitely not suitable and would force you to ride on the road from the Pian da Lago fork to the Area 51 restaurant or to the Acquabona Park (map here, see how the green line of the bike path is next to the road).
• If you never bike, I recommend you ask for a padded seat cover. It really makes a difference on your sitting bones. You have to bring it back to the Jgor shop in Cortina.
• You can also rent helmets and locks.
• Make sure you ask the shop assistant how the bike gears work, because the trail includes downhill, flat, and a little bit of uphill. Knowing how to change gears helps a lot! I underestimated it, and paid the price with lots of swearing and short breath 🙂
• We asked to leave Alex’s stroller at the shop, and we picked it up when we came back (to return the padded seat cover).

How is the bus from Calalzo to Cortina with a toddler?

• A child of 4 years or less can ride on Dolomitibus buses for free with one paying adult (look for the “Condizioni di viaggio”, link here)
• There aren’t any child seats on the bus. Alex sat on Darek’s knees and fell asleep on his shoulder.
• You can buy tickets on board.
• As of July 2022, you have to wear an FFP2 mask on board all public transport in Italy. I didn’t have it; luckily my friend gave me one, as there aren’t any shops around Calalzo station and they wouldn’t have let me board.
• Dolomitibus buses depart from the parking lot in front of the train station. There is a toilet inside the station, a cafè (that was closed) and a ticket office (open in the mornings, and one afternoon every two). Do not count on it for anything except of the toilet.
• The road leading to the town is quite a steep climb.

What to pack for the Cortina-Calalzo bike trip

Just like for any other hike, try to pack just what you will need. Even though you’re cycling, a heavy backpack will hurt your shoulders and back anyway, and it will make you super sweaty. Also, test your backpack with everything inside it, even the hoodie you might be wearing when you leave.

In your backpack, you should have:

• Plenty of water, to refill at the fountains
• Small snacks like cereal bars
• Fruit (if your toddler is like Alex, a box of apple pieces, washed grapes in a box, banana in a plastic bag should work. Avoid fruit that will get smashed and make a mess)
• Sandwiches/lunch as compact as you can – or have a look in advance at where you could stop along the way or in Calalzo for lunch. You’ll be sweaty, tired, and in no mood to search for food.
• Plastic bag to collect your trash
• Sunscreen (apply every time you stop)
• Hand sanitizer and tissues and facemask if required on public transport
• Sunglasses
• Diaper change essentials: 2 diapers, wipes, and towel to lay them down on
• Wallet with cards and cash
• Phone
• Battery bank and cable (if your phone will need it)

What should you wear? Well, check the Arpav weather forecast, the most trustworthy site for the weather forecast in the Dolomites, and check both Cortina and Calalzo because in Calalzo it might be significantly warmer! (Translate the Italian version with Google, it’s much more detailed than the English version).

• On a summer day, wear shorts and a t-shirt/tank top, good socks and comfy sneakers. Possibly a hat. Most probably, it will be very warm, around 30C.
• If there’s a chance of rain, pack a hoodie. If it will definitely rain, don’t go.
• In spring and autumn, wear long trousers if the temperature goes below 20C.
• A toddler should also wear shorts and t-shirt. Whether in the seat behind a parent or in the trailer, I don’t think they will get much wind and feel cold.

How much does it cost?

Here is a summary of the expenses of the Cortina-Calalzo bike trail:

• Access to the trail: free
• Water refills from fountains: free
• Bike rental: at Jgor Ski and More, one Papin mountain bike cost 20-29 EUR, plus 6 EUR for returning it to another shop.
• Bike accessories: helmet 2 EUR, child seat 4/5 EUR,
• Dolomitibus ticket from Calalzo to Cortina: 5 EUR bought on board (free under 4 years old)
• Food: as much/little as you decide. Home-made sandwiches 5-7 EUR per person, maybe 10-15 EUR per person for a sandwich and drink at a café. The Chalet Lagole by the lake looked a bit nicer but the menu is not online.

Useful tips

Here are a few other things to keep in mind:

• As you go downhill, it will get warmer! Keep hydrated and take extra layers off.
• On a hot summer day, depart from Cortina latest at 9 am, so you should be in Calalzo at 12 or 1 pm. Avoid cycling in the hottest hours, when you’ll be tired and your toddler might get frustrated.
• A backpack with an external pocket for your water bottle is a good idea. (I used my Eastpack and it was not convenient at all, plus it made my back super sweaty).
• Use a necklace-style phone holder for quick shots with a clean lens without stopping! I kept tucking my phone in my bra: the lens was dirty with sweat and sunscreen, and a few pictures are totally out of focus because of that.
• Pay attention to the signs, both on vertical poles by the road and also painted on the bike trail. On a couple of occasions, it’s easy to take the wrong turn. 
• If you decide to pack your lunch, do not leave it until the morning of the trip. The nearest grocery stores where you can buy bread, ham, cheese, basic stuff, are Cooperativa department store and Conad – they are not conveniently located and you’ll waste time and patience. Instead, buy the ingredients the day before and prepare them at home.

A few useful words that you will encounter:

• Bicycle is “bicicletta”, pronounced “bee-chee-kleh-tah”;
• Water is “acqua”, pronounced “ah-queue-a”;
• Fountain is “fontana”, pronounced “phon-tah-nah” with a British accent;
• Drinkable water is “acqua potabile” and you just need to read it (don’t worry, all fountains have drinkable water)
• Bus is “autobus”, pronounced “ah-oo-toh-booze”
• Station is “stazione”, pronounced “sstah-tzeeo-neh”
• How long until we get there is “puff puff agh uuggghh” and other bikers and hikers will answer “sí sí vai” which means keep going 🙂

Detailed itinerary of the Cortina-Calalzo bike trip

Cycling from Cortina to Calalzo on a hot summer day was fun and enjoyable. I was quite tired, sweaty and sunburnt by the end, while Darek was pretty fine, and Alex had his usual ups and downs of laughter and tantrums. The person that enjoyed this trip the most was our friend Adam, a passionate cyclist and photographer.

Departure

We left from home at 8.30, passed by a grocery store to buy sandwiches, and walked to the ski and bike rental shop along the Old Railway.

At Jgor Bike Shop, it took approx. 30 minutes to choose the bikes and accessories, set the height of the seats, lock the child seat in place, pay, change a diaper (of course), and go.

Cortina d’Ampezzo

It was 9.30 when we left from Cortina center. It was already quite warm on this mid-July day!

Make sure to stop and turn around, to see the bell tower and the Pomagagnon mountain!

On your right are the massive Tofana mountain, and the graceful Croda da Lago.

In front of you to the left is the Sorapis mountain, and further on the triangular-shaped Antelao, the highest mountain in the area at 3263 meters.

PRACTICAL TIP: Within the boundaries of Cortina, the Old Railway is heavily used by pedestrians and cyclists alike. The painted line that divides the path in two fades away, but it’s important to respect it: going south, cyclists should keep to the right side, and pedestrians to the left.

The scenery is amazing! Fresh and full of energy, we soaked in the beauty of the Dolomites. We crossed meadows as well as small neighbourhoods composed of pretty, traditional homes.

Almost at the southern border of Cortina, the bike path bends right into the road descending into the area of Pian da Lago (right after the bus stop “Acquabona”, map here). You’ll quickly see the sign pointing to a narrow, gravel path to the left, leading up into the trees and back on the proper bike trail. This was the first time I climbed off the bike and pushed it by hand, and it was not the last! 😀

Note: if you rented the child bike trailer, it might not fit on the trail (or be a bit of a nightmare). It’s easier to stay on the road for 750 meters, and get back on the bike path at the parking lot when it’s wide and flat again.

The border between the towns of Cortina and San Vito is at Dogana Vecchia, the “Old Customs House”. We got there at 10.20 after 7,2 km. I thought we would be much faster than that, but we did stop to take lots of pictures.

San Vito di Cadore

After Cortina is the town of San Vito di Cadore: in the valley of Ampezzo there is only Cortina, while in the long Boite valley of Cadore area there are many towns.

Before reaching San Vito, there is the neighbourhood of Chiapuzza, with its own old picturesque train station.

The large mountain on the right is called Monte Pelmo: because of its squarish shape and isolated position, it is nicknamed “God’s Armchair”.

You’ll pass right by the main square and the church in the center of San Vito. Keep the left to stay on the bike path.

After the center, there is another old station building: the perfect stop for postcard pictures!

It was almost 11.00, so we stopped for a snack in the shadow of some trees, for 15-20 minutes. Just 12,8 km in 1,5 hours! One-third of the distance in half the time I planned. We had to hurry a bit!

Borca di Cadore

At approximately 11.15 we arrived at the town of Borca di Cadore. Again, a cute old train station and a beautiful view.

On the way to the next town, the bike path runs next to the road, but there is a metal barrier to separate them.

Vodo di Cadore

At 11.25, we were at the small Vodo old station, which is now a café. The town of Vodo is on the right.

Compared to the pointy, Austrian-looking roofs of the stations until here, the Vodo station looks much more standardized and Italian.

This is the half-way point, at 17,6 km from Cortina! It took us 2 hours to get here. According to Google Maps, we should have been already at the destination in Calalzo!

Shortly after, we went through an underpassage to the other side of the main road and reached the fraction of Peaio di Cadore: we crossed the town by the old, traditional San Rocco church, and continue on the other side of the road towards the real Vodo di Cadore.

Make sure you follow the signs and don’t end up in the country road green with grass like I did: the actual bike path is well maintained and it’s on the left 😀

Venas di Cadore

At 11.50 we reached the center of Venas di Cadore, after a nice stretch between the trees.

This time, the town was on our left, and the bike path runs below it. As usual, lots of traditional timber houses with colorful flowers on the balconies (even though, the more we go south, the more we notice that stone or brick houses become more frequent than timber ones). The valley opens up to the right, green and lush with a forest that tries to reach the peaks of the mountains.

On the way to the next town, there is a tunnel that is well-illuminated but still somewhat surprising and a little scary. It takes just one minute to go through it. Right afterwards, before the bridge, I recommend following the sign to a fountain of delicious fresh water, a short way down the left, in front of a very picturesque house (in Italian: fontana).

Valle di Cadore

At 12.10, we were at the edge of the following town. The Cadore Valley opens in a very majestic way to the right, as you reach the town of Valle.

The pointy bell tower of the Church of San Martino is perched on a cliff on the other side of the town, overlooking the green valley that stretches until blue mountains in the distance.

Finally, right before the old train station, there is a café, bar Saetta! Unfortunately we were in a rush, so we stopped at the station for a 15-minutes snack and some sunscreen before continuing.

Tai di Cadore

Basically, there is no separation between the towns of Valle and Tai. We cycled between houses and crossed narrow streets until we reached the main road, the first with lights and a zebra in a long time.

At 12.40 we were at the station of Tai-Pieve di Cadore (Tai is a fraction of Pieve di Cadore, which is located on top of a nearby hill, so the bike path doesn’t cross this town). Opposite there is a cute café, and behind it the town center. Notice how round the roof of the bell tower is? I’m not knowledgeable enough about architectural styles of churches and bell towers, but I find it an interesting change.

Calalzo di Cadore

We continued straight along the bike path until Calalzo, which is a considerably larger town than all the others. At 12.50 we entered the outskirts.

As the bike path actually becomes a road where also cars drive, the sign “E1” with the bike icon becomes smaller and smaller. Follow the directions to the train station “Stazione Calalzo”.

We had to pull out our phones and check Google Maps the location of the Parco Giochi Tennis Marmarole, where the bike rental is (map here). The owner put up some signs years ago, but they were not approved by the municipality and they took them down.

We got to the bike rental in Calalzo at 12.59! We showed the receipt of the Jgor rental shop in Cortina, returned our bikes and gear, picked Alex up, and in 15 minutes we were off.

To sum up, compared to the 3 hours that I expected, it took us 3 and a half hours. Also, considering it was 95% downhill cycling, I felt exhausted, sunburnt, thirsty, hungry, and sleepy. On the other hand, Darek and Adam didn’t look particularly over-tired, and Alex was hungry but not cranky.

Lagole Lake in Calalzo

Time for lunch at Lagole Lake (map here)!

Luckily, LUCKILY, we did not listen to the bike rental guy who said that the road to Lagole is steep, but feasible by bike. Yes, it’s short, but IT IS WAY TOO STEEP for a normal bike with a tired and sweaty couch potato on it (probably also for an electric bike). I would have been pushing the bike up and cursing all the way. Instead of cycling down to the Lagole Lake, then going back up to the shop to return the bike, and then going to catch the bus, it is much better (and shorter) to return the bike first, then walk down to the lake, and finally walking back up to the station.

From the bike rental shop, it’s a 10-minutes downhill walk until Lago di Lagole. Go down the road along the curve until you see stairs to the right that cross above the rail tracks. The bus/train station is right ahead, but now you have to climb up the stairs and down to the other side.

The steep road on the right leads to this unbelievably blue lake. There are benches and tables around it, as well as the Chalet Lagole Dolomiti restaurant between the tiny Lagole Lake and the larger Calalzo Lake.

We got there at 1.25 pm, and we quickly decided that we wanted to enjoy it calmly: we would catch the 2.50 pm bus, instead of the 2 pm bus. We knew we might risk an overtired and cranky Alex who usually naps at 1.30 pm, but we decided to try.

We ate our sandwiches, walked along the lake, drank a coffee at the Chalet, took some pictures… It was great to take it slow. If we had more time and energy, we would have walked all around the lake and looked for some waterfalls that should be somewhere around.

Back from Calalzo to Cortina

Satisfied with spending 1 hour at Lake Lagole, at 14.20 we walked back up the steep road and across the train tracks. It took just 10 minutes, but I was breathless again – especially because Alex is heavy in my arms!

In those 15 minutes of wait at the station, I finally went to the toilet, and we waited in the warm  hall. It must have been 30 degrees, but at least we were out of the sun.

The bus arrived, we bought tickets on board, sat down, and we all fell asleep within 5 minutes (luckily Alex was on Darek’s lap, so I was enjoying a little comfort and oxygen). Since I suffer from motion sickness, I felt very relieved that I slept through the whole hour of ride and managed to recover some energies.

Once we arrived at the station in Cortina, Alex was still asleep, so Darek waited on a bench with him. Adam and I walked 5 minutes to the Jgor rental shop to give back the seat padding and pick up Alex’s stroller.

It must have been 4.30 when we made it home: just enough time to shower, put on some nice clothes, and head to the center for an aperitivo 🙂

Final thoughts on cycling from Cortina to Calalzo with a toddler

We had a great time and we strongly recommend this active day trip in Cortina in the summer! Going by bike from Cortina to Calalzo with a toddler is pretty easy, very enjoyable, and the panorama of small towns and landscape is absolutely gorgeous.

Ask your questions in the comments, and I’ll do my best to answer and help you plan your trip! Remember to check out my guide to Cortina and my other posts about the Queen of the Dolomites.