Day ten of our Italian adventure started with the familiar rhythm of a transition day—packing cubes getting stuffed back into Osprey backpacks, kids corralling their Deuter packs, and one last sweep of our Val Gardena apartment. After managing some laundry (a luxury when you find a place with an actual dryer!), we coaxed our rental car out of the garage where it had been hibernating for a few days and pointed ourselves toward Cortina.
But here’s the thing about transition days: they don’t have to be wasted hours behind the wheel. Since we couldn’t check into our new place until after four, we decided to squeeze in a hike. And what a hike it turned out to be.
Finding Cinque Torri
Just outside of Cortina lies Cinque Torri—the “Five Towers”—a cluster of dramatic rock spires that rise up like ancient sentinels guarding the valley below. You can take a lift up and explore from there (this is ski country, after all), but after spending a small fortune on lift passes earlier in the trip, we were ready to earn our views the old-fashioned way.
Mark had been scouting parking spots using various maps and overlander websites, and we managed to snag a spot along the road right at the top of a gorgeous meadow. From there, we walked down through the wildflowers and into the forest to begin our climb.
The Climb Up
I’ll be honest—it was more humid than I expected, and steeper than my legs appreciated. By US standards, at least. Europeans would probably call it a gentle stroll. We took our time, drank plenty of water, and let the kids set the pace as we meandered through forest that honestly looked a lot like trails back home.
Gradually, the trees gave way to rocky outcroppings. The canopy thinned. And then we came around a ridge and the trail delivered us onto a saddle, and suddenly—views. Everywhere.
The lift station sat off to our left, and trails branched in multiple directions. We could have gone right toward another pass and refugio a few miles out, but the sky was looking increasingly threatening. Dark clouds were building, and we could hear distant rumbles. Par for the course in the Dolomites this time of year, but not something to ignore when you’re up on an exposed ridge.
Bunkers, History, and Imagination
We headed left toward the spires themselves, stopping first at a refugio for lunch. (Pro tip: always have a euro coin handy for the bathroom—one euro per person, every time. Worth every cent.)
What makes Cinque Torri truly special isn’t just the geology—it’s the history woven into these rocks. During World War I, this was a military installation. Soldiers stationed here had commanding views of the valley below and the opposing positions across the way. As you hike through the spires, you encounter the earthworks they built: bunkers carved into hillsides, old jail cells, trenches, and fortifications.
Interpretive signs explain what you’re seeing, but for the kids, this was pure magic. They ducked into bunkers, pretended to be soldiers, and marveled at the views those men once had. And then they realized what we all realized: those soldiers were absolute mountain goats. Getting from one side of the installation to the other meant scrambling up, over, and across terrain that had us all breathing hard.
How fast can you finish the loop?
We pushed deeper into the ravines between the massive towers, the kids exploring every nook and cranny. It was quiet back there, dramatic, the kind of landscape that makes you feel very small in the best possible way.
And then, from somewhere behind me: “I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!”
Of course. We were at the absolute furthest point from the refugio. And this wasn’t a spot where you could duck behind a tree—too exposed, too many other hikers around. So we booked it. And I mean booked it.
We spotted another refugio down over the hill—looked like an inn you could actually stay at—but instead of descending, we charged up the grade back to our refugio. It was not graceful. But it worked out, because just as everyone finished their business, the clouds rolled in and the first drops of rain started falling.
The Descent and Drive to Cortina
Time to go. We hustled back down the way we came, wanting to get below the treeline before any real weather set in. The descent was quick—maybe too quick for our knees—but we made it to the car just as things started to rumble more seriously overhead.
The drive to Cortina was stunning, winding up and over a mountain pass with views that made us grateful for every white-knuckle moment on Italian roads. By day nine, we’d mostly made peace with the passing rules (or lack thereof), so it wasn’t quite as nerve-wracking as those first days. Mostly.
Getting into Cortina itself was… an adventure. Construction everywhere, narrow one-way roads, and if you miss your turn? Enjoy your five-to-ten minute detour to loop back around. We missed our turn twice before finally making our way up to Cadini Misurini, where our rental was tucked into the hillside.
Our Cortina Home Base
The apartment was worth every wrong turn. Private, quiet, nestled into the mountain with a garage underneath (essential in snow country) and an interior connection to the unit. We were in the attic—two bedrooms, a beautiful modern kitchen, a balcony overlooking a garden below. The kids claimed the bunk room immediately.
Like most places in the mountains, there was no air conditioning, but it didn’t matter. We opened the Tyrolean windows at night—those clever ones with shutters that open different ways depending on how you turn the handle—and let the cool mountain air do its work. By the time we settled in with groceries we’d grabbed on the way, it felt less like a rental and more like home.
This was the one place during our trip where we cooked most of our meals. After so many rifugios and restaurants, there was something wonderful about quiet evenings in, watching the clouds drift over the mountains from our balcony.
Tips & Info
- The Hike: Anello Cinque Torri via Bai de Dones on AllTrails. You can take the lift up or hike from the road—we preferred hiking for the full experience.
- Parking: Look for pullouts along the road below the ski area. Mark used overlander websites and mapping apps to scout spots in advance.
- Bathroom Currency: Keep euro coins on you. Refugio restrooms typically cost €1 per use.
- Weather: Afternoon storms are common in the Dolomites during summer. Start early and keep an eye on the sky. We cut our exploration short and were glad we did.
- Packing Gear: Our Osprey backpacks with packing cubes were game-changers for a two-week trip. The kids’ Deuter packs worked great too. Highly recommend this system for family travel.
- Driving in Cortina: Give yourself extra time. One-way streets, construction, and narrow roads mean missed turns are basically inevitable. Stay calm and enjoy the scenic detours.
- Accommodation: Look for places slightly outside town for more privacy and better value. A 20-30 minute walk to town is worth the trade-off for peace and quiet.
- Cooking In: Stock up on groceries if your rental has a kitchen. After days of eating out, a quiet meal at “home” is a wonderful reset.
Cinque Torri wasn’t the biggest hike of our trip, but it might have been one of the most memorable. History, dramatic landscapes, a bathroom emergency that became a family legend—what more could you ask for from a transition day?