Hike in Cortina: To Mietres From Rio Gere

Introduction

Let's discover together the mountain lodge "Rifugio Mietres" through this easy hike along the "Larieto" larch woods. Considering that it is a rather easy walk, we want to offer you an optional detour, short but intense, to reach the "Forcella Zumèles," an amazing scenic point overlooking Cortina d'Ampezzo.

You can find this hike to the "Rifugio Mietres" on the Tabacco Map 003 - "Cortina d'Ampezzo Dolomiti Ampezzane," along Path 211, with an optional detour on Path 204. Alternatively, you can see our route on Google Maps by clicking here.

This relaxing walk is suitable for everyone, even untrained people, elderly, and younglings. The optional detour to the scenic point of "Zumèles" is only for trained hikers, as it's quite physically demanding.

Path of the Hike

The hike begins at the spacious free parking lot in "Rio Gere." If you don’t know how to get there, we discuss it in detail in the chapter "How to Get There." Alternatively, by clicking its name, the location will open in Google Maps.

Once you reach the parking lot, cross the road and head toward the "Ristorante Rio Gere." From here, you will need to walk along the main road for about a hundred meters, descending toward Cortina. Stay off the roadway and keep an eye on passing cars.

When you reach the lay-by where trail 211 begins, cross the fence and follow the signs toward "Malga Larieto" and "Rifugio Mietres," continuing in the direction of Cortina and gradually moving away from the main road.

The forest trail alternates between moments when it's clearly visible and others when it's less so. If you have any doubts, look for the red and white trail markers painted on the trees.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, when the forest begins to thin out, you will see the "Larieto" pastures and its mountain lodge appearing in the distance. In Italian, the name of a wooden house surrounded by pastures is "Malga."

In summer, you might encounter some grazing animals. If you are afraid of cows, we suggest you completely ignore them. If you look at them, they might think you have food and approach to check.

Before reaching the construction, on the left, you will see the parking lot of the "Regola bassa di Lareto." If you want to shorten the hike, you can park your car here and reduce the walk by about a kilometer and a half, or one mile.

The parking lot is easily accessible from the main road by turning left just before "Rio Gere" and following the signs for "El Brite de Larieto."

Once past the parking lot, head to the restaurant "El Brite de Larieto," where a wooden sign will point you to Path 211, in the direction of "Mietres."

The walk goes along the forest for about fifteen minutes, without ever becoming too demanding. The road is wide and the surface is quite smooth, so it's also suitable for children and elderly people.

You will come across an intersection, marked by a wooden sign, indicating the "Rifugio Mietres" to the left. "Rifugio," in Italian, means mountain lodge.

If your idea is to just take a short walk, go left towards "Mietres" where you can relax, drink or eat something, on the beautiful scenic terrace.

If you feel you want to walk a little more, you can continue to the right, along Path 211, towards "Chiave" and "Cademai." The path continues pleasantly flat for about five hundred meters. This is also the direction you have to take if you want to take the detour toward "Forcella Zumèles."

After walking about twenty minutes you will see an intersection between Path 204 and Path 211, it's easily identifiable because of the bench and the wooden signage.

Here you have to make a decision. Your first option is to walk toward the "Rifugio Mietres," and finish the walk. The second option is to walk in the direction of the district of "Chiave," then turn around when you feel like it.

The third option is the hard one, that's also the more satisfying: take Path 204 and climb up to "Forcella Zumèles," to see a breathtaking panorama of Cortina and the Tofane Mountains.

Initially the road climbs with a tolerable gradient, so you can tackle it even if you are not fully trained. After about twenty minutes uphill, the vegetation will begin to thin out, and the tall trees will change to low mountain pines.

At the end of the woods, remember to turn around to enjoy the beautiful panorama over Cortina. From here, you will have a privileged view on Mount "Tofane," Mount "Pelmo" and the entire Dolomite area.

If you have energy left or are used to walking in the mountains, you can continue further along the steep Path 204 and reach "Forcella Zumèles" If you are curious, "Forcella" is an Italian word that means mountain saddle.

We don't want to show you too much with photographs, so as not to ruin the surprise, but the view is amazing. If you are exhausted, you can turn back towards the "Rifugio Mietres" at any given moment.

If you decide to continue, consider that the climb is really steep and that you may suffer from dizziness, because in some points the cliff is just at the side of the road. Anyway the effort will be amply rewarded by the panorama. Descend very carefully, being careful not to slip.

Once you reach the intersection between Path 204 and Path 211 turn left, to go back to the "Rifugio Mietres." "The crossroads is the same one you saw earlier, still well-marked by the wooden sign.

If you want to eat here, it offers a wonderful terrace with a view and a simple menu suitable both for hikers and those who are looking for a good high-altitude restaurant with a very respectable wine list.

Alternatively you can go back to the beginning of the hike. Here you will find the restaurant "El Brite de Larieto," we could define it as high-end agritourism, which uses local products and offers good cuisine, but with prices that are definitely not the ones of agritourism.

The two mountain lodges are both very popular and, during the peak season, it would always be better to book, if possible.

Curiosities

The name "Larieto" comes from the local dialect and literally means Larch forest. Larches are very common in Cortina d'Ampezzo, especially in the European Larch variant. The most fascinating characteristic of these trees is that they turn on a very intense yellow hue in autumn. If you have the opportunity to do this walk in autumn we assure you you will love it. The term "Brite" indicated the hut where the cheese was produced.

"Forcella Zumèles" is a crossroads of many mountain paths, as the one that goes to "Són Fórcia." On this road, on the evening of August 14th, during the celebration of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven, a large M-shaped bonfire is lit. It's visible from all over Cortina.

For those who want to make a big effort, "Zumèles" can also be reached from the center of Cortina. This hike is considered excellent training for those who want to train for Trail Running or vertical competitions, as it's possible to climb a difference in altitude of around 800 meters, 2,600 ft, in less than two hours.

How to Get There

The best way to reach "Rio Gere" is with a car. Once you arrive, you will find a large free gravel parking lot, which is the same one used by the ski lift facilities

If you don't have a car, you can consider taking a taxi. From Cortina to "Larieto" the cost should be approximately €30. Considering that prices could vary a lot, both for the type of vehicle and the number of people, you should always ask for a quote. Taxis can be found both in Roma Square and at the bus station, or you can visit the taxi official website.

Alternatively, you can take the bus n°30-31 heading towards "Passo Tre Croci," with the final destination "Misurina," and get off at the Rio Gere stop. This is a seasonal bus, operating from mid-June to mid-September.

For further information we recommend you to contact the Seam ticket office at the bus station. Attention, as the bus is active only in some summer months and the ticket office may be closed during lunch hours.

If you need any information there is a tourist information office. It is located in the town center, near the church.

Useful information

The walk from Rio Gere to Mietres can be done at any time of the year, even in winter, as the snow on the road is regularly packed. In this case, you should bring snow crampons to attach to your shoes, which will help you avoid slipping. The hike to "Zumèles" is only practicable in summer, as the snow is not packed and it's really steep.

If you decide to eat in one of the two mountain hut, they are usually open for most of the year. If you don't want to have bad surprises it's always better to call: in low season to check actual availability and in peak season to book.

Hiking clothing is not required, but considering that most of the road is gravel, we recommended sportswear and good shoes, which should be sturdy. For the detour to "Zumèles" you need mountain shoes. Always carry a backpack with, at least, some water, a snack, and a rain jacket. If you are new to hiking, you may want to read the page we wrote on how to tackle a mountain outing:

Safety tips for hikers Tips for safely going hiking in the mountains and prepare your backpack with all you need. Reading time: 8 min.

We want to emphasize that, in the territory of the Dolomites, there are rules to be followed. The main ones are:

• It is strictly forbidden to light fires.
• It is strictly forbidden to pick plants and flowers.
• Free camping is prohibited.
• It is prohibited to abandon garbage.
• It is mandatory to keep pets on a leash.

Always be responsible, and when in doubt, stop. CiaoCortina cannot be held responsible for any damage to things or people, variations, wrong paths, errors, or inconveniences that may occur along the route. For more information, click here.

Conclusion

We hope you liked this page on the walk from "Rio Gere" to "Larieto" and "Mietres" with an optional detour to "Zumèles." Before saying goodbye, we would like to mention that you can find other amazing hikes in Cortina and its surroundings by clicking here.

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