The question we get most often, over breakfast, is always the same: what is there to do around here? Short answer: you walk. Longer answer below, with one advantage we tend to take for granted, which is that from Lake Lavarone you set off on foot. No getting back in the car.
We are at 1,100 metres on the Alpe Cimbra, a plateau in southern Trentino, the quieter side of the Italian Alps. The lake is small enough to walk round in half an hour and clean enough to swim in: in summer the water sits at about 22 degrees, which for an alpine lake is close to scandalous.
1. The lake loop
The simplest one, and the best place to start. An almost entirely flat ring of about two kilometres through the reeds and past the jetties. Half an hour at a brisk pace, an hour if you keep stopping to look at the water, which you will.
- Length: about 2 km, circular
- Difficulty: easy, fine with a pushchair or a bike
- Best time: early morning, when the water is a mirror
- Dogs: yes, on the lead
2. Il Respiro degli Alberi
The name means "the breath of the trees", and it is a contemporary art trail through the woods where the works have not been hung on a wall but grown between the spruces. It works remarkably well with children, who stop asking how much further because there is always something to look at.
- Length: about 2.4 km, roughly two hours taken slowly
- Difficulty: easy, manageable with an off-road pushchair
3. The Great War forts
Lavarone was the front line. The Austro-Hungarian fortresses are still here, half swallowed by the forest, and Forte Belvedere is the best preserved on the entire alpine front: you go inside, down into the tunnels, and look out through the same slits they did. It changes how you see the landscape for the rest of the week. The full story is in what to see in Lavarone.
4. The Vaia Dragon trail
At Magre di Lavarone, in the middle of the forest, there is a wooden dragon seven metres high. It is not decoration: it is built from trees brought down by a storm, and the story behind it is worth the walk. About thirty minutes on foot from Cost. The whole account is in autumn on the Alpe Cimbra.
5. Up towards the mountain dairies
Climb away from the lake and you reach the pastures, and the malghe that still work milk in summer much as they did a century ago. This is the walk for people who like to earn their lunch. What to look for once you are up there is in where to eat on the Alpe Cimbra.
The beach, two ways. For the day: sunbed 8 euro, parasol 4 euro, booked by WhatsApp before 8pm the evening before. Or sleep here, and parasol and sunbeds come with the room, with the beach right below. Open until mid-September.
Practicalities
None of these needs technical kit: closed shoes with a decent sole, and water. Mornings out, afternoons back at the lake, which in summer is exactly where a day should end. If you are staying with us, all five start at the front door.
Frequently asked questions
What walks start from Lake Lavarone?
From the shore of Lake Lavarone you can walk the lake loop (2 km, easy), the Respiro degli Alberi forest art trail (2.4 km), the route to the Great War forts including Forte Belvedere, the Vaia Dragon trail at Magre, and the climbs up to the mountain dairies of the Alpe Cimbra.
Is the Lake Lavarone loop suitable for children?
Yes. The ring is about 2 kilometres and almost entirely flat, so it works with a pushchair or a bicycle and takes a little over half an hour at walking pace.
Can you swim in Lake Lavarone?
Yes. It is one of the cleanest alpine lakes in the region and the water reaches around 22 degrees in summer. The bathing season runs to mid-September.
How far is Lake Lavarone from Trento?
Lake Lavarone is on the Alpe Cimbra plateau in southern Trentino, about an hour by car from Trento and a little more from Rovereto or Verona.
