Since June we have recorded seven high car parks in Val Gardena and on the passes, hour by hour. The season is over: this page lines up the figures from 1 June to 30 September 2026, and it updates itself from our series.
The clearest result: at Passo Sella, 199 spaces, the car park hit zero on 68 of 103 days, 66%. It never filled before 9am, and on full days it was full before 11am in 49 cases out of 68.
Where these figures come from
The Autonomous Province of Bolzano publishes the free spaces of some car parks in real time on its open data portal, but it does not keep yesterday's value. We record it: for every hour we keep the lowest number of free spaces, the moment of greatest pressure.
The period runs from 1 June to 30 September 2026: 120 days and 770 daily readings across all car parks, of which 572 are usable. We left out 198: 189 days on which a sensor stayed on the same value for the whole day, which is not a measurement, and 9 on which a car park showed as full even at night. The Passo Gardena sensor never gave a valid reading.
Passo Sella, month by month
Passo Sella is the bottleneck: the car park at the start of the Sassolungo circuit. Over the season it filled up on 68 of 103 valid days. The worst month was August, with 25 full days out of 29.
September closed with 13 full days out of 23 (57%), against 86% in August: a clear drop, though still above June (29%).
- June: 6 full days out of 21 (29%), never full before 10am, average 2.3 hours full
- July: 24 full days out of 30 (80%), full before 10am on 9, average 3.3 hours full
- August: 25 full days out of 29 (86%), full before 10am on 13, average 3.7 hours full
- September: 13 full days out of 23 (57%), full before 10am on 2, average 2.8 hours full
Days the car park filled up, month by month
What time it fills up, on full days
What time it fills up
On full days the car park reached zero most often between 10 and 11 (25 days). It was already full before 10am in 24 cases out of 68, and it never filled before 9am.
The series is hourly, so the times are one-hour bands in local time: a minute-by-minute figure would be a precision the data does not have.
- Between 9 and 10: 24 days
- Between 10 and 11: 25 days
- Between 11 and 12: 17 days
- Between 12 and 13: 2 days
When space comes back
Space came back sooner than you might think: in 44 full days out of 68 there were free spaces again by 1pm, and from 14pm onwards we never found it full. People who went up early come down at midday.
It is a real option for a short walk or lunch at a hut, less so for a long route: the afternoon shortens the day and brings the storms.
The days of the week
The most crowded day was Saturday (87%), the least crowded Tuesday and Friday (50%). Even the quietest day filled up in 50% of cases: avoiding the weekend shifts the odds, it does not guarantee a space.
- Saturday: 13 out of 15 (87%)
- Sunday: 12 out of 16 (75%)
- Wednesday: 10 out of 14 (71%)
- Thursday: 9 out of 14 (64%)
- Monday: 10 out of 16 (63%)
- Tuesday: 7 out of 14 (50%)
- Friday: 7 out of 14 (50%)
The worst days
The longest spell full was 5 hours. It happened on 15 days: 5 in July, 9 in August and 1 in September.
The other car parks in Val Gardena
A few minutes from the pass the picture changes. For the other car parks we only give how often they filled up, not the time: their sensors have irregular readings. Plan de Gralba also shows some "full" readings late in the evening, which are very likely sensor errors. Routes and fees are in the guide to parking at Passo Sella.
- The Mont Sëuc garage in Ortisei: full on 49 of 117 valid days
- The Centralpark garage in Selva, 218 spaces: never full in 29 valid days
- Monte Pana, 340 spaces: full on 9 of 118 valid days
- Sciuz, 82 spaces: full on 29 of 115 valid days
- Plan de Gralba, 400 spaces: full on 8 of 90 valid days
What these figures do not say
A full car park counts cars, not people, and it does not say how many drove on after finding it full. The sensors cover South Tyrol only: Tre Cime, Braies, Misurina and Fedaia are not in this series.
It is one season, not yet a historical comparison: whether 2026 was worse than past summers we will know by recording the next ones. The raw data are open, with a CC BY 4.0 licence, on our data page.
Frequently asked questions
How often was the Passo Sella car park full in summer 2026?
On 68 of 103 valid days between 1 June and 30 September, 66%. The worst month was August, with 25 full days out of 29.
Was September quieter than August?
September closed with 13 full days out of 23 (57%), against 86% in August: a clear drop, though still above June (29%).
What time should I arrive at Passo Sella?
Before 9am: before then it never filled up. On full days it was already full before 10am in 24 cases out of 68. Otherwise from the early afternoon, when space comes back.
Which day of the week is the least crowded?
Tuesday and Friday, full on 50% of valid days. The most crowded was Saturday, at 87%.
Where do I park if Passo Sella is full?
Plan de Gralba and Monte Pana, a few minutes away, filled up far less often; from both you reach the pass with lifts and a stretch on foot. Routes and fees are in our Passo Sella parking guide.
Where do these data come from?
From the open data portal of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, which publishes the free spaces in real time: we record the hourly series, which the source does not keep, and count only valid days. The data are open on our data page.