San Pellegrino, Where is my sparkling water?
It wasn’t till this January before I realized there are actually two San Pellegrinos in the north of Italy. One, Passo San Pellegrino in the Dolomites between Moena and Falcalde. And the second one, San Pellegrino Terme, the home of the sparking water located north of Bergamo between Lake Garda and Lake Como. So bad news for the skier-sparkindge-connnoseiurs - they are not the same place.
Today we’re obviously talking about the one in the Dolomites.
Getting to Passo San Pellegrino
Passo San Pellegrino is a mountain pass sitting between the towns Moena in Val di Fassa and Falcalde in the Veneto region. Depending on which side you’re coming from, there are two ways to access it.
If, like us, you’re coming from the Fassa/Fiemme side, you simply make your way to Moena, and then on the roundabout right after the tunnel, you take a turn for San Pellegrino. You drive past the Alpe Lusia ski area (we haven’t been yet) and you follow the mountain road up to the pass. The road from this side is not too bad.
If you’re coming from the Veneto side, you need to make it to Falcalde, and then climb up to the pass. We’ve actually taken this route when we were coming back from Cortina d’Ampezzo and let’s just say it wasn’t the best choice. The road up to the pass from that side is really steep and there are many switchbacks that are just not fun.
If you’re coming through Falcalde, there’s actually no reason to climb the pass. Yuu can park by the Molino-Le Buse gondola, and reach the pass on skis - it’s all connected.
Parking at Passo San Pellegrino
First things first: it’s all free and there’s plenty of space. With that said, if you’re coming from the Moena said, we recommend being more patient than us and driving past the first few options all the way to the Col Margherita cable car. That parking spot is the most strategically situated one.
All the free parking options at Passo San Pellegrino - take your pick.
Skiing at Passo San Pellegrino
Generally, there are two connected areas divided by the road.
San Pellegrino
The San Pellegrino area is on the north side of the road. There are 2 main chairlifts and the runs go down on the south slopes of Cima di Costabella (2,765m) and Cima dell’ Uomo (3,010m).
The runs there are not the steepest, nor they are the longest. But what they lack in difficulty, they make up with quality and scenery. They are nice and wide and you’re skiing under some serious mountains which makes up for a real alpine feeling.
The area wasn’t too busy when we visited so we clocked in a few top-to-bottom laps before moving on and we had a lot of fun.
One thing to keep in mind is that this part of the area is all south facing. That means it will be nice and sunny the whole day, but on the other hand, the snow quality might not be the best, especially on a warm day in the afternoon.
TODO: Insert dirtbag lunchbreak
Falcalde
The other part of thw whole ski area is on the mountain south of the road and above the town of Falcalde.
You can reach it by taking the connecting blue 44 from the bottom of the Gigante chairlift. The run crosses over the road and takes you to the bottom of the Col Margherita cable car.
The cable car goes to the top of Col Margherita (2,549m) and once you exit, a beautiful view over the plateau above Falcalde opens up in front of you.
From there you have two options.
You can cross the plateau towards Falcalde. There are some fun wide not-so-steep runs there and a ton of open skiable terrain in case there is fresh snow. Ultimately you can ski down all the way to Falcalde, by either linking the red 27 and 30 (almost 6km) or by taking the scenic, over 11.5km long, blue run no 20. That one unfortunately didn’t have enough snow when we visited and was closed.
Ski like you mean it at Passo San Pellegrino
Alternatively, from the top of Col Margherita, you can take one of the steep blacks or reds going back to the cable car station at the pass.
They are all wide and about 3km long. They are also all on the north side of the mountain so they usually have the best snow. On top of that, if you’re a fast skier, you can beat the cable car down and you never have to wait - infinite laps! This part is probably the best skiing the whole area has to offer.
Passo San Pellegrino for beginners
If you’re only getting the hang of skiing or snowboarding, Passo San Pellegrino is honestly a great area to go to.
The whole part north of the road is great for beginners. It’s the go-to place for the ski schools of Moena and there are great ski-school facilities on the bottom part of the mountain.
If you’re a little more porfficient in your pizza-french-fries, you can even take the Costabella chairlift and then take the 3km long blue run all the way down.
On the Falcalde side, there is also a ski-school center right above the Le Buse-Molino gondola top station. That’s a great option in case you’re staying in Falcalde because you can take the gondola up to reach the easy terrain and you can also take it down at the end of the day.
Dining and apres ski at Passo San Pellegrino
The whole area is actually pretty rifugio rich so we’re sure you won’t have any troubles finding a spot. But here are a few higlights:
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Chalet Cima Uomo is as alpine-glamorous as it gets. It has a huge south facing patio, outside bar, and DJ. The ultimate apres ski setup. And you can even stay there overnight.
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Baita Paradiso is where we went for our afternoon beer. It’s very cozy and it also has a nice sun terrace. It’s even a bit higher and more to the west, so it gets the sun even longer than Chalet Cima Uomo. Great choice if you’re looking for something more authentic and alpine.
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Snow Thrill is a lively bar by the west-most parking lot at the bottom ofthe Costabella chairlift. It’s nothing fancy, but it checks all the boxes for a great apres ski after a good day of skiing.
Where to stay at Passo San Pellegrino and Falcalde
We think there are more strategic places to stay - for example Moena - but there are a few hotels directly at the pass.
TODO: San pellegrino map
And you can obviously choose Falcalde as your base if you want to stay on the Veneto side and have a bit more options for accomodation and dining.
TODO: Falcalde map
Summary: Is San Pellegrino Worth It?
Although smaller, it’s a nice area tucked away from the more popular valleys in the Dolomites. It’s definitely worth visiting a couple times duringthe season if you want to escape the crowds or if you simply want to change things up.
We definitely recommend it over some of the small yet busy areas in the main valleys like for example Alpe Cermis
Work in Progress
This section is still being crafted. Check back soon for more content!
