A mountain lake with views across the Lastoni di Formin valley, with multiple access points its a perfect half day hike. Surrounded by trees and the spire of Becco di Mezzodi, the solitude is worth the hike's incline.
Now we did this hike mid afternoon at the end of May, it was warm enough and not crowed so in my opinion the best time! I am going to be honest with you, the route we took was the easiest but I have to say the last half a hour is a leg killer... This is not always a hikers first pick when visiting the dolomites but I find it hard to see why. It's a very secluded alpine lake in the foot of Croda da Lago and is extremely peaceful, with a refugio hut with amazing food, its an ideal afternoon hike.
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Lago di Federa Hiking Guide
Summary: A circular afternoon hike to an alpine lake Distance: 8.5 km circuit Time: 4 hours Max elevation: 2,100 metres Difficulty: Medium Best time: Early June |
There are various routes you can take and this lake is part of a larger hiking route called Croda Da Lago hike, however as we only had an afternoon we picked the most direct. I would recommend checking out the other variations if you have more time!
Lago di Federa Hiking Route
We started the hike going in slightly the wrong direction, instead of following the 437 trail south we went north...now this actually is not a bad trail you end up at the top of Cinque Torri (the small double pointed rock below), which is beautiful! It would have been a lovely looped trail however we came here for the lake so we turned round and headed back to where we started.
The small off road lay-by parking is big enough but also small enough in high season for it to get busy fast. There is a large sign and wooden railing so you know where the start of the trail is (however we choose to ignore this and go the other way, please don't do this!)
The start of the hike passes along some streams and wooden bridges on a gravel path and is very easy going for around 45 minutes. It then gets steeper and you cross your final wooden bridge over a very fast flowing river. You then come across a cross road, where you can go straight on or right, the fastest route is straight on via trail 434.
The path then has an incline the rest of the way and it becomes very rocky underfoot. There are rock slide sections which you have to switchback on yourself, so take your time here. After around 50 minutes you come to your first picture stop, The Val Negra viewpoint at 2,048 meters. Here you can see the view over the wonderful Cortina.
Once you have made it this far it is a short walk along an alpine forest through some gates, which keep the cow in their pastures so make sure you stick to the trail here, to the lake. It is a very easy going downhill path but it can get a bit marshy if it's rained recently so watch your footing.
You then come out at the top of the lake near the towering Croda Bassa Da Lago, follow the trail to the right of the lake to the Croda da Lago Refugio hut. You can walk all the way around the lake which I recommend doing as the view changes drastically depending on where you stand. You then follow the same trail all the way back to the car park.
Lago di Federa Alternative Route
Now you can take the longer but more scenic route to the lake - follow the same road as the previous hike but keep going for another 15 minutes, you then come across a church and a car park on your left. This is the start of three different hiking trails but you want to take Trail 436 which takes you to Forcella Ambrizzola pass. Now if you look on the Tabacco 03 map, the distance does not look any different, instead of going around the top of Croda da Lago mountain range you come from the bottom hugging Ponta Lastoi de Formin and Spiz de Mondeval.
It takes around and hour and a half to this point and then you have another 45 minutes to the lake.
Lago di Sorapis Kit Essentials
Hiking equipment |
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Hiking boots - Scarpa Women's Ranger 2 GTX Activ Lite Walking Boots |
Hiking backpack - Osprey Women's Tempest 34 Daysack |
Hiking poles - OEXX-Lite Trigger Trekking Poles |
Keeping hydrated - Osprey Hydraulics™ LT 2.5L Reservoir |
Must-have lightweight jacket - Jackpine Recycled Insulated Jacket |
Dolomites maps and guides |
Physical map - Tabacco Cortina d'Ampezzo 03 |
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