Dolomites Nature Parks: Which They Are and the Rules for Visitors

Which parks are in the Dolomites

The nine parks are not all of the same kind. In South Tyrol they are provincial nature parks, each protected by a landscape protection decree. In Trentino they are provincial parks with their own authority and park plan. In the Veneto there is a regional park, entrusted to the Regole d'Ampezzo, and a national park, the Dolomiti Bellunesi. In Friuli Venezia Giulia there is a regional park.

Area and year of establishment, as published by the park authorities:

• Sciliar-Catinaccio, South Tyrol: 7,288 hectares, established in 1974, the first of South Tyrol's seven nature parks
• Puez-Odle, South Tyrol: 10,729 hectares, established in 1978 and enlarged in 1999
• Fanes-Senes-Braies, South Tyrol: 25,485 hectares, established in 1980
• Tre Cime, South Tyrol: 11,878 hectares, established in 1981
• Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino, Trentino: 19,726 hectares, established by provincial law 18 of 1988
• Adamello Brenta, Trentino: 620.50 square kilometres since 2003, established by the same 1988 law
• Ampezzo Dolomites, Veneto: established by the Veneto Region in 1990
• Dolomiti Bellunesi, Veneto, a national park: just over 31,000 hectares, established by ministerial decree on 20 April 1990
• Friulian Dolomites, Friuli Venezia Giulia: 36,950 hectares, established by regional law in 1996

South Tyrol: Tre Cime, Fanes-Senes-Braies, Puez-Odle and Sciliar-Catinaccio

The Tre Cime Nature Park (Drei Zinnen in German) lies in the north-eastern Dolomites, between the Puster Valley, the Val di Sesto, the Val di Landro and the border with the province of Belluno. It covers forests, pastures and the Sexten Dolomites, including the Tre Cime di Lavaredo: 11,878 hectares in the municipalities of Dobbiaco, Sesto and San Candido. The visitor centre is in Dobbiaco (Toblach), in the Grand Hotel cultural centre, a 3-minute walk from the railway station. In 2026 it is open from 5 May to 31 October, Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am to 12.30pm and 2.30pm to 6pm, with free admission, and it houses a permanent exhibition on the Dolomites World Heritage Site. The north side of the Tre Cime, the side of the Locatelli hut, has its own page.

The Fanes-Senes-Braies Nature Park (Fanes-Sennes-Prags) is the largest of the four: 25,485 hectares across Dobbiaco, Braies, Valdaora, Badia, Marebbe and La Valle. It protects the limestone grasslands and karst landforms of the Braies Dolomites and the Fanes group: the Fanes and Senes plateaus, Prato Piazza, and lakes such as Lake Braies and Lake Dobbiaco. The visitor centre is in San Vigilio di Marebbe, at the start of the Val di Rudo, with free parking: in 2026 it is open until 31 October, Tuesday to Saturday, with the same hours as Dobbiaco. On 10 September 2026 the Province announced a complete renovation of the building, which dates from 2000: design work should start in spring 2027 and construction is planned for mid-2028. More on the park is on our page.

The Puez-Odle Nature Park (Puez-Geisler) runs from the Passo delle Erbe to the Passo Gardena and reaches Val Badia, Val di Funes and Val Gardena: 10,729 hectares across Badia, Corvara, Funes, San Martino in Badia, Ortisei, Santa Cristina and Selva. To the north are the Odle and the Sas de Putia; to the south the Gherdenacia and Sassongher plateaus, the Puez group with the Vallunga and the Cir group. The Province calls it an open book on the history of the Earth, for the rocks and layers you can read there. The visitor centre, open since 2009, is in Santa Maddalena in Val di Funes, a few minutes' walk from the Vergin bus stop: in 2026 it is open from 5 May to 31 October, Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am to 12.30pm and 2.30pm to 6pm. There is also an information point on the Dolomites World Heritage Site at Zannes.

The Sciliar-Catinaccio Nature Park (Schlern-Rosengarten) was the first nature park established in South Tyrol, in 1974: 7,288 hectares across Castelrotto, Tires and Fiè allo Sciliar. It includes the Sciliar massif with the Santner and Euringer peaks, the Catinaccio (Rosengarten) with the Catinaccio d'Antermoia at 3,002 metres, the forests around Siusi, Fiè and Tires, and the Val Ciamin. The visitor centre is in Siusi, at Piazza Oswald von Wolkenstein 6, a 2-minute walk from the bus station. The official page gives opening hours without a season: Monday to Saturday, 8.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 6pm, and in July and August also on Sundays from 9am to 12pm. There are also two information points, at Lake Fiè and at the Steger sawmill in Tires.

Trentino: Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino and Adamello Brenta

The Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino park covers 19,726 hectares in seven municipalities, 64 per cent of it in the municipality of Primiero San Martino di Castrozza. It was established by the Province of Trento with provincial law 18 of 1988, later replaced by provincial law 11 of 2007. To the east are the Pale di San Martino, with the Cimon della Pala, the Mulaz and the Vezzana. To the west is the porphyry of the Lagorai range. In between lies the Paneveggio forest.

There are three visitor centres, plus the house of the Vanoi ethnographic trail. In September 2026 the park publishes these hours, with no closing date. Villa Welsperg, the park headquarters at Castelpietra, is open from 28 September Monday to Friday from 9am to 12pm, and at weekends from 9am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 5pm. The Paneveggio centre is open only at weekends from 14 September, 10am to 1.30pm and 2pm to 4.30pm. The San Martino di Castrozza centre is open only at weekends from 7 September, 9am to 12.30pm and 3pm to 6.30pm.

Adamello Brenta is the larger of the two: since 2003 it has covered 620.50 square kilometres and includes the Adamello, the Presanella and the Brenta Dolomites. The park authority says it was created in the first provincial land-use plan, in 1967, together with Paneveggio, and that they were the first two provincial parks in Italy. The act that established it, together with Paneveggio, is provincial law 18 of 6 May 1988; since 2007 provincial law 11 has applied. In 2009 the Brenta group became part of the World Heritage Site, and since 2015 the park has been a UNESCO Global Geopark. It is also the park of the brown bear, to which the park rules give particular attention: how to behave is explained in our guide to Dolomites wildlife.

The park has seven visitor houses, each with its own theme. In the Brenta group there is the Lago Rosso house, on the shores of Lake Tovel, which explains why the lake used to turn red until 1964. It is open every day from 13 June to 27 September and at weekends from 1 May to 1 November, 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm, with free admission. The rest of the group is covered in our guide to the Brenta Dolomites.

Veneto and Friuli: Ampezzo Dolomites, Dolomiti Bellunesi and Friulian Dolomites

The Ampezzo Dolomites Nature Park was established by the Veneto Region with regional law 21 of 22 March 1990, on part of the ancient, undivided property of the Regole d'Ampezzo, which manage it. It covers the northern half of the territory of Cortina d'Ampezzo: the Tofana, the Cime di Fanes and the Lagazuoi, the Col Bechei, the Croda Rossa and the Cristallo. To the north it borders the Fanes-Senes-Braies park. On the Lagazuoi, the Tofana and the Cristallo, the park says, the lifts also run in summer. Nine strict reserves and eleven managed reserves cover 25 per cent of the area, and the paths and forest tracks add up to more than 300 kilometres, with 8 via ferratas and 6 protected paths. The Sorapis, the Nuvolau and the Croda da Lago are not part of the park: since 2003, part of these massifs has been protected as a Natura 2000 area.

The Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park is the only national park in this guide. It was established by ministerial decree on 20 April 1990, and the authority that manages it was created on 12 July 1993. It covers just over 31,000 hectares in 15 municipalities of the province of Belluno, between the Cismon and Piave valleys, up to the Val Pramper in Val di Zoldo. The mountain groups are the Vette Feltrine, the Cimonega, the Pizzocco, the Monti del Sole, the Schiara, the Talvena, the Pramper and the Spiz di Mezzodì. Its symbol is Moretti's bellflower, a flower endemic to the Dolomites, and the park is patrolled by the Carabinieri forestry unit. The park's natural history museum is in Belluno, at Piazza Piloni 25: it opens on Mondays from 3pm to 5pm, with free admission.

The Friulian Dolomites Nature Park was established by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region with regional law 42 of 30 September 1996. At 36,950 hectares it is the larger of the two parks in Friuli Venezia Giulia. It lies between the Valcellina, the upper Tagliamento valley and the Val Tramontina, in the provinces of Pordenone and Udine, and its headquarters are in Cimolais. Its valleys have no main roads and no villages: there are only a few valley-floor roads and service tracks. The symbol of the Val Cimoliana, the heart of the park, is the Campanile di Val Montanaia.

The rules in South Tyrol's parks

Each South Tyrolean nature park is protected by a landscape protection decree, and the decrees for the four Dolomite parks were issued under provincial law no. 16 of 25 July 1970 on landscape protection. For plants, fossils and minerals, provincial law no. 6 of 12 May 2010, the nature protection law, applies in all the parks. The Province sums up the rules on a single page, the same for every park.

The decrees also contain precise lists. In the Tre Cime park bikes are banned on seven paths or sections, six of which touch the Locatelli hut. One of them is path 101 between the Forcella di Lavaredo and the hut: if you are planning to ride the Tre Cime loop, you cannot cycle that section. In Puez-Odle bikes are banned on the Odle trail, the Adolf Munkel trail. In all four parks, permitted vehicles may not exceed 30 km/h.

Drones are covered at two levels: the parks' own ban and the geographical zones set by ENAC, Italy's civil aviation authority. Since 30 January 2023 South Tyrol's seven nature parks have been among 18 zones where drones under 25 kg may not fly, even small ones without a camera. Among the flights that cannot be authorised, the Province lists hobby flights, wedding shoots, advertising and social media.

• Dogs: allowed, of any breed and size, under close supervision and never roaming free; the Province recommends a lead
• Drones: banned; allowed only on behalf of the parks or for public-interest activities consistent with conservation, and by exemption for scientific research and technical surveys
• Tents: overnight stays in a tent are banned; the only exception is an alpine bivouac, which must be temporary and unplanned
• Fires: banned in the open, except for farming and forestry work and for traditional celebrations
• Bikes and e-bikes: banned on the paths listed in the decrees; the Province advises sticking to the official mountain bike routes
• Plants and flowers: all species are protected and may not be picked
• Mushrooms: picking is generally banned; it is allowed only for landowners and residents of the park municipalities, within limits
• Minerals and fossils: a special permit is needed, only for scientific or educational purposes
• Motor vehicles: banned in principle, except with exceptional permits
• Litter and noise: leaving any waste, including organic waste, is banned, as is disturbing the peace with needless noise

Dogs and drones in the other parks: where the rules differ most

With dogs the difference is clear. In South Tyrol a lead is recommended; elsewhere it is the rule. In Adamello Brenta and Paneveggio the park rules require dogs to be kept on a lead at all times, with exceptions for rescue work, guarding livestock and a few other working activities. In the Dolomiti Bellunesi, dogs on a lead are allowed everywhere except in the A zones, the strict reserves. The Ampezzo park and the Friulian Dolomites also ask you to keep your dog on a lead.

None of the parks in Trentino and the Veneto allows drone flights for fun. In Adamello Brenta, overflights are authorised only for public-interest and professional needs, not for private or hobby use. In Paneveggio, flying below 500 metres above the ground is banned without authorisation, and drones may fly freely only for rescue, surveillance and the park's own research, or with a permit for public and private works. In Ampezzo, drone flights are banned without written authorisation, which the park grants for nature documentaries, surveys, rescue and security, and which must be requested at least four days in advance. In the Dolomiti Bellunesi the park authorises drones only for activities in the park's interest, such as research or agreed filming. The Friulian Dolomites state that any overflight, including hobby or sports flights, must first be checked and authorised by the park.

Tents, fires, bikes and mushrooms outside South Tyrol

Here too each park has its own rules. Tents are the most restricted point, mushrooms the most varied. A summary of the rules, from the parks' own regulations:

For cycling outside the parks and on open routes, see our guide to cycling in the Dolomites.

• Adamello Brenta, tents: wild camping banned; only a single tent for an alpine bivouac is allowed, from sunset to dawn, where there is no accommodation and away from lake shores
• Paneveggio, tents: a single tent, from sunset to dawn, is allowed only for mountaineering, meaning opening or climbing a route; not for hikers on paths or via ferratas
• Dolomiti Bellunesi, tents: wild camping and bivouacking banned, except in an emergency; a bivouac on a rock face during a climb counts as an emergency
• Ampezzo Dolomites, tents: no camping with tents or campervans; there are parking areas in the valley, fixed bivouac shelters and huts
• Friulian Dolomites, tents: the park asks you to pitch one only in case of extreme necessity
• Fires: in Adamello Brenta only at authorised fixed fire points, in Paneveggio only in places set up by the park, in the Friulian Dolomites only in equipped areas, in Ampezzo never
• Fires in the Dolomiti Bellunesi: banned all year round, except on the fixed braziers in equipped areas; camping stoves and portable barbecues are not allowed either
• Bikes in Adamello Brenta: allowed on roads and forest tracks; banned on paths where the Province says so, and the park can add further sections
• Bikes in Paneveggio: banned on paths, meadows, pastures and in the woods, except on the routes the park designates for mountain biking
• Bikes in the Dolomiti Bellunesi: only on public roads, on the forestry and farm tracks of zones C and D, and on the designated routes in zone B
• Bikes in Ampezzo: no mountain biking on paths; cycle routes are marked in light blue on the park map
• Flowers: in Adamello Brenta picking wild plants is banned, while small berries may be gathered; in Ampezzo picking or damaging any plant is banned
• Mushrooms in Adamello Brenta: provincial rules apply, with limits for non-residents in the reserves
• Mushrooms in Paneveggio: the park rules reserve them for residents of the province of Trento and ban picking in the strict reserves
• Mushrooms in the Dolomiti Bellunesi: only residents, people born in the park municipalities and landowners, in zones C and D, up to 3 kg per person per day
• Mushrooms in Ampezzo: banned, even inedible ones, as are fossils, minerals and war relics
• Mushrooms in the Friulian Dolomites: a permit from the relevant authorities is required

The parks and the World Heritage Site are not the same thing

The UNESCO World Heritage Site, since 2009, is made up of nine mountain systems. The parks have their own boundaries, different laws and different histories. The Dolomites UNESCO Foundation says that almost the entire surface of the nine systems is protected: by national, regional or provincial parks, as a monument or as an SCI and SPA site. Its list of the parks that share the World Heritage territory includes the nine in this guide, plus the Bletterbach natural monument.

The two maps do not match, though. Adamello Brenta also includes the Adamello and the Presanella, but only the Brenta group became World Heritage. In Paneveggio, much of the eastern sector, the Pale di San Martino group, is World Heritage: the park describes it as a substantial portion of one of the nine systems. The South Tyrolean park pages, on the other hand, present each park as part of the Dolomites recognised in 2009.

The visitor centres also tell the World Heritage story: Dobbiaco has a permanent exhibition on the Dolomites UNESCO site, and Zannes has a dedicated information point. The nine systems one by one are on our Dolomites UNESCO page, and the places to see inside and outside the parks are in our guide to what to see in the Dolomites.