Gretchen Stuppy Carlson
The beautiful Selva Di Val Gardena region in Italy is the perfect mountain region for cycling in the Dolomites. We spent most of our time in the Dolomites hiking, but reserved one day for biking and after lots of research, decided that one of the best places for our group to try cycling in the Dolomites were the mountain paths above Selva Di Val Gardena.
We visited the Dolomites during the summer of 2022 and below I will share everything you need to know to help plan the perfect day of biking in Italy.
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You can find more posts about our time exploring in the Dolomites at the links below:
- The Beautiful Lago Boe Hike from Passo Campolongo
- Complete Guide to the Tre Cime Hike and the Option for the Paternkofel Via Ferrata
- Complete Guide to the Stunning Lago Di Braies Hike
- The Hike to Rifugio Croda Da Lago: A Complete Guide to Sleeping in an Italian Mountain Hut and Lago Federa
- The Best Arabba Summer Activities: A Gorgeous Mountain Town in the Heart of the Dolomites
- The Legendary Dolomites in the Summer: 1 Week Dolomite’s Itinerary
If you are looking for more resources on cycling in Italy, check out this book: Mountain Biking in Dolomites.
Overview of Biking in Selva di Val Gardena
After extensive research, we chose to bike in Selva di Val Gardena because you can rent bikes in town and bike directly from here into the mountains. The trails offered a variety of challenges for our group and we had several options for places to eat in the mountains.
The area caters to bikers and there are many places right in town to rent bikes and an extensive trail network in the mountains. We rented our bikes from Intersport Rent Nives and made a reservation about 1 month in advance since we were a group of 9 with several kids. We chose to rent ebikes so we could cover more ground. This was a great decision since we were able to bike about 30 miles over the day with kids ages 10-15. We passed many other bikers throughout the day and the majority of these bikers were also riding ebikes.
Most trails are wide open roads or gravel routes with a few areas with single track. There were a couple steep sections but the ebike made it easy to climb. Once we climbed above the town, the trails passed several mountain huts and places to eat as well as plenty of friendly cows and increasingly epic mountain views. There are many chairlifts that operate in the area and you will find lots of hikers on the trails as well.
We stopped for a late lunch at the Panorama restaurant and before heading downhill and returning to the bike rental shop at the end of the day.
Renting Bikes in Selva di Val Gardena
There are many places to rent bikes in the Selva di Val Gardena region. We highly recommend Intersport Rent Nives. The shop is right in the center of town and you can park your car in the underground parking garage for the day. We reserved our bikes online in advance and they were ready and waiting for us when we arrived. The staff was very responsive and emailed us back quickly. Check in was quick and efficient and the bikes were all in excellent condition.
We chose to rent ebikes. This was the first time we’ve ridden ebikes, but we highly recommend ebikes in this area as you can still get a good workout but will be able to cover significantly more ground. Most people biking in this area were riding ebikes although there were a few mountain bikers as well.
The bikes we rented offered several options for intensity and you could adjust the boost on the bike as you went along. We rode all day and even the bikers that used a boost all day still had over 40% of their battery left. The only negative with the ebikes is if you aren’t able to bike on a steep uphill these bikes are incredibly hard to push uphill. There were a few places where Freja (10 years old) had trouble with the steep slope and gravel and pushing her bike up the hill was incredibly hard.
The bike shop is open typically 0800-1900 with an hour lunch break, but double check the website to confirm the seasonal hours.
Biking Route from Selva di Val Gardena
Below you can see a map of some of the hiking routes in the mountains around Selva di Val Gardena. There are several trails that are just for hikers, but many of the trails in this region are open to bikers. You can get a paper version of the map from the bike shop. The trails are generally well marked and there are maps at several places along the way. Note that there are several different sets of mapped trails on the mountain which does make it a bit confusing at times.
Our general route started in Selva di Val Gardena and followed the blue marked trail to the southwest. This trail gradually ascended and we made our way up to the Panorama Restaurant. From here we made our way downhill towards Ortisei St. Ulrich. From here we turned back east to Selva di Val Gardena.
Many of the trails look like the path in the photo below, and in very few places were the trails directly uphill and steep. There are a few other trails with more challenging routes, but nothing was specifically technical.
Where to Stay and Eat in Selva Di Val Gardena
The Dolomites are a huge region with roads that take a long time to drive on. If you are planning to spend time cycling in the Dolomites and plan to visit Selva di Val Gardena, you can either choose to stay nearby in town or stay further away and drive into town. Below are a few driving distances.
- Cortina d’Ampezzo to Selva di Val Gardena: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Venice to Selva di Val Gardena: 3 hours and 30 minutes
- Arabba to Selva di Val Gardena: 1 hour
- Bolzano to Selva di Val Gardena: 1 hour
We stayed in Arabba since it is a realatively central location in the Dolomites. We stayed at the reasonal Appartamenti Home Service. Our apartment slept 5 comfortably in two bedrooms and we could easily walk to town for dinner or to get on the lifts.
Booking.com has many options for places to stay in the area and we also found a few great spots in Selva di Val Gardena when we were looking at Arabba.
Where Else to Try Cycling in the Dolomites
When we started researching places for cycling in the Dolomites, we were overwhelmed with the amount of options, but we found limited information available. Every town seems to have a bike shop and there are many bike routes both for mountain biking and road cycling and also downhill opportunities. If you are traveling with your family, many of these routes are appropriate for kids and families.
Look at the Pustertal Cycle Path or the Toblach-Cortina Cycle Paths.
If you are looking for other bases for biking, you may want to consider Alta Badia, Corvara, or Cortina d’Ampezzo. Most regions that cater to skiing, also offer summer opportunities for biking.
This article from Cycling Weekly has some good information for planning.
Best Time of Year for Cycling in the Dolomites
The best time of year for cycling in the Dolomites is May-November. By May most of the trails are free of snow. The Dolomites get less rain that other parts of the Alps making it a pleasant place to bike even during the summer when thunderstorms are frequent in the mountains. Summer temperatures in the lower valley regions can reach up to 28 degrees C in the summer months, but biking up into the mountains offers cooler temperatures.
We visited and biked in early July and found the conditions comfortable and the trails dry.
Have you been biking in Italy? Where is your favorite place for cycling in the Dolomites? Drop a comment below.
