Col Rodella (2,484 m a.s.l.) is one of many green peaks that surround the town of Canazei on all sides – a well-known resort in the Italian Dolomites. The summit offers breathtaking views of the nearby giants – the rocky wall of Piz Boè (3,152 m a.s.l.) and the soaring Langkofel (3,181 m a.s.l.). Col Rodella also boasts a wide choice of mountain huts: one is located just below the summit, the other directly on it. The top can be reached in two ways: via a trekking variant or a short via ferrata. This post will focus on the first of these routes. You are cordially invited!
Table of Contents
- Start from Marmolada Camping
- Panoramic Madness!
- Col Rodella Summit (2,484 m)
- Descent through Dozens of Huts…
- Return to Canazei
- Trip Map
Start from Marmolada Camping
Today’s excursion begins around 8:40 AM. We set off directly from our campsite – Marmolada Camping in Canazei, located at an altitude of approximately 1,440 m a.s.l. For the first dozen minutes, we walk through the streets of this charming Alpine town. The village looks like a picture – colorful facades of roadside houses, ubiquitous bright flowerbeds, all surrounded by a multitude of monumental, rocky peaks.
Less than 1.5 kilometers after leaving the campsite, we leave the buildings of Canazei and take hiking trail no. 530. At this point, we begin the actual ascent – initially on an asphalt road, later on a dirt road, and finally on a charming forest path. The incline is significant from the very beginning and remains so until the end. Reaching Col Rodella requires overcoming as much as 1,000 meters of elevation difference over a distance of only 4 kilometers. For comparison, the ascent to Rysy from Morskie Oko has very similar statistics. However, while we hike largely on rock to reach the highest peak in Poland, here the ascent is purely trekking in character (unless, of course, you choose the ferrata variant). So you will get tired, but in my opinion – it’s definitely worth it.
We cover 500 meters of elevation gain on a charming forest path. The trail may not have anything particularly unique about it, but thanks to the intensely green vegetation, I remember the walk as an extremely pleasant experience.
Panoramic Madness!
We emerge into open terrain at an altitude of approximately 1,950 m a.s.l. The views from here are fantastic, stretching towards the south and southeast. Within sight, we have the whole of Canazei, the peaks surrounding the town, and, above all, our goal from yesterday – the Marmolada massif with the only glacier in the Dolomites. Everything looks delightful, but it soon turns out that Col Rodella has much more to offer. Just a few minutes later, an impressive panorama opens up before our eyes: the monumental rock wall of Piz Boè. What can I say – it’s simply like a fairy tale here. All that’s left is to lie on the grass, face the afternoon sun, and feed on this extraordinary moment.
Hiking trail no. 530 continues through a vast Alpine meadow, but now takes the form of a worn dirt road. In this way, laboriously climbing the steep slope, we reach the first mountain hut on today’s route – Rifugio des Alpes (2,440 m a.s.l.). And there? We are amazed once again… By the hut, another stunning view appears before our eyes – this time of the soaring mass of the nearby Langkofel peak (3,181 m a.s.l.). The mountain looks simply fantastic, as if taken straight from a postcard or a promotional folder. A big, really big wow!
Col Rodella Summit (2,484 m)
Rifugio des Alpes is located in the immediate vicinity of the upper station of two chairlifts, which, I suspect, makes it a very popular and crowded place in the winter season. Today, however, the hut is quite empty, and we don’t spend too much time there either. Col Rodella is now very close! Before we reach the summit, we pass among isolated buildings of the ski infrastructure, where we encounter… a marmot! Although the rodent flees immediately upon realizing our presence, for a short moment it looms before our eyes. We freeze in silence for a longer while, wanting to encourage the animal to show its face again. The marmot remains unyielding, however, and we must continue our ascent.
Gaining the last meters of elevation gain doesn’t cause us much trouble – an elegant, paved sidewalk has been laid to the very top of Col Rodella. Shortly before the summit, we notice a turn to the left – to the access path for the via ferrata. The iron road was established through the rocky north face of Col Rodella. The ferrata is very short, but it is not among the easiest – difficulties reach C/D (on a scale from A to F). According to the online guide bergsteigen.com, you should reserve about 40 minutes for the passage. You can find the detailed topo at this link.
We reach the summit of Col Rodella (2,484 m a.s.l.) at a quarter to 1 PM, about 4 hours after leaving Canazei. At the very top, there is another mountain hut – Rifugio Col Rodella. The second floor of the building is a large observation terrace offering incredible views in all directions. The panorama includes dozens of differently shaped peaks, but as is usually the case, the highest ones garner the most attention – Punta Penia, Piz Boè, and Langkofel. In the hut, we take a short break for tiramisu and a sip of nourishing espresso. By the way, wherever you go in the Dolomites, coffee is very affordably priced. We pay about 1.5 euros for an espresso, which is significantly less than in most mountain huts in some other countries.
Descent through Dozens of Huts…
From Col Rodella, we descend back to Rifugio des Alpes. However, we then change things a bit and take hiking trail no. 529. We descend the southern slopes of Col Rodella, accompanied by a fairy-tale view of the soaring towers of the Langkofel massif. Interestingly, we have as many as… three more mountain huts within sight! If there’s one thing you can’t complain about here, it’s the tourist infrastructure. Moreover, wherever you look, you see vast, open meadows and ski lifts climbing up them. One thing is certain – Canazei must be a top-tier winter resort.
At an altitude of approximately 2,300 m a.s.l., we turn right – into hiking trail no. 557, part of the long-distance Alta Via 9. Over a short distance, we pass Baita Miara Hütte, Rifugio Salei, and the Carlo Valentini Hut. At the last-mentioned hut (or perhaps more of a restaurant?), we turn right into hiking trail no. 655.
Return to Canazei
Ahead of us is a longer descent section, involving the loss of 730 meters of elevation difference over a distance of 6 kilometers. For several dozen minutes, we walk along a beautiful dirt road, established directly through green, grassy meadows. From the upper part of the route, the view of the Marmolada massif is most impressive; from the lower part – Piz Boè. Despite the fact that we have already looked at both mentioned mountains quite a lot today, the panoramas continue to amaze and prompt compulsive use of the camera app on the phone.
At an altitude of approximately 1,750 m a.s.l., after about 3 kilometers of walking from the last crossroads, we reach the first buildings of Canazei. Hiking trail no. 655 passes by the lower station of the Pradel – Rodella gondola lift and then disappears into the forest again. Now a final kilometer of noticeable elevation loss awaits us – alternately among trees and open meadows.
In this way, the trail leads us to the floor of Val de Antermon (a valley so narrow that it wouldn’t be a mistake to use the word “gorge”). For the next one and a half kilometers, we descend along a gentle dirt road. It seems to be a fairly frequented section, as we pass numerous groups of tourists on our way. However, you have to be careful of cyclists, a quite large number of whom descend the road at significant speed. We emerge from the valley directly among the main buildings of Canazei. We welcome the end of the trekking with relief, because the weather forecasts for this afternoon are being confirmed and the first drops of rain are already falling from the cloudy sky.
We finish the route in a charming pizzeria in a premises opposite Marmolada Camping. The rest of the afternoon is spent devouring pizza and indulging in relatively cheap Aperol. Personally, I choose the variant with speck – a local Tyrolean variety of ham. In the evening, we return to our campsite and begin preliminary packing. It happens that this is our last night under the Italian sky. Tomorrow, all that remains for us is to reach the last planned mountain – Piz Boe – and a long return to Poland.
Returning for a moment to Col Rodella summit – I recommend the mountain to you with all my heart. We chose the peak quite spontaneously – because it looked good from Canazei and was reasonably close, which was important in the context of rainy forecasts for the afternoon. Besides, yesterday we were on the rocky Marmolada and today we felt like something a bit more green. Col Rodella met expectations, and even, to be honest, exceeded them slightly. The views were out of this world, and the coffee in the hut tasted excellent.
Date of the trip: August 15, 2025
Trip statistics: 14 km, 1,050 meters of elevation difference
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