Hike along the Vadena Trail to the Monticolo Lakes

The central location between the Valle dell'Adige valley and the Oltradige area guarantees many hours of sunshine even during the winter in the low mountain range between Vadena and Monticolo, an area known for its beautiful lakes. From the small car park near the hamlet of Mairhof (Mover) in Vadena, we follow path no. 5A, known as the Vadena Trail (Pfattnersteig).

Walking past old walls, the route soon climbs quite steeply up the mountain. Clearings among the rocks open up views of the valley several times along the way. After a while, we reach a chestnut grove. Here, South Tyrolean artist Sieglinde Tatz-Borgogno has created a memorial site for her mentors. The path merges into a forest road, and the terrain levels out. We arrive at the north-eastern shore of the Big Monticolo Lake and turn right towards the Small Monticolo Lake.

Surrounded by the late autumn silence, we are almost completely alone on the circular lake trail. After passing the small lake, we continue hiking along the western side back to the Big Monticolo Lake. In the south, just below the car park, we cross the path that leads through the reeds via wooden bridges. The route back down to the valley follows trail no. 5 (starting on the "Stazione RAI" forest road), which leads directly into the village of Vadena.

We walk a few hundred metres along the road to the Mairhof car park, where our late autumn circular hike ends after almost three hours, bringing us back to Vadena (Pfatten).

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Author: AT

Experienced: December 2016
Last updated: 2026

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