A small mountain lake below the Sorapiss, on the road to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. You can walk round it in under an hour.
Lake Misurina (Lago di Misurina) is a natural lake at 1,754 m in the Dolomites of northeast Italy, part of Auronzo di Cadore in the province of Belluno. It lies about 14 km by road from Cortina d’Ampezzo, close to the start of the Tre Cime toll road, and a flat 2.6 km path runs right round it.
1,754 m
The figure most sources use, Olympedia among them. One gives 1,756 m.
2.6 km
About 1 km long and 300 m wide, and no more than about 5 m deep.
14 km
By road over Passo Tre Croci. Allow 15 to 25 minutes.
1956
The Cortina Winter Olympics held their speed skating on the frozen lake.
Misurina is the largest natural lake in Cadore. The reservoir at Auronzo in the valley below is bigger, but it is man-made. Misurina is glacial in origin, fed and drained by the Ansiei stream, and today a concrete wall with a small sluice holds its south shore.
The setting is the draw. The Sorapiss (3,205 m) fills the view to the south, the Cadini di Misurina rise to the east, the Cristallo frames the lake, and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo are visible from the shore. On a still morning or at sunset the peaks lie reflected in the water. Auronzo’s official tourism site calls it the “pearl of the Dolomites”, a marketing name rather than a title.
History adds to it. The big building on the south shore opened around 1900 as the Grand Hotel Misurina, and in 1956 the Winter Olympics held their speed skating on the frozen lake. It is also the last stop before the Tre Cime toll road, which starts just to the north near Lago d’Antorno.
The path round the lake is about 2.6 km and almost flat, with roughly 20 m of climbing, so most people take 30 minutes to an hour.
It mixes paved sections, natural path and wooden footbridges, and the return stretch runs beside the road. Most of it is fine for buggies, though a few stretches are stony. The official tourism site also lists a playground by the lake.
For reflections, come early in the morning or near sunset, when the water is calmest and the day-trip groups have gone. One local blog suggests walking anticlockwise so the Cadini are reflected ahead of you on the far side.
In summer you can usually hire wooden rowing boats or pedal boats, which may stop in strong wind. In July 2026 an opposition councillor reported “no hire” signs because of the low water, so check on the day. The Col de Varda chairlift leaves from the shore for Rifugio Col de Varda at about 2,100 m, roughly mid-June to September.
Lago d’Antorno is a much smaller lake about 2 km north of Misurina, a little higher at around 1,870 m, right beside the Tre Cime toll road. The classic photo of the Tre Cime reflected in still water is taken here, not at Misurina.
An easy trail loops round it, the Albergo Chalet Lago Antorno stands on the shore, and the Dolomitibus Tre Cime shuttle stops beside it. Italy for Movies lists Antorno among the locations of Solo: A Star Wars Story(2018).
In the best-known version of the legend, Misurina is the spoiled daughter of King Sorapiss. She wants the magic mirror of the fairy of Monte Cristallo, and the fairy’s price is that the king becomes a mountain to shade her garden. He agrees. As he turns to stone, Misurina falls from his shoulder and dies, and his tears fill the lake. Other versions have her tears filling Lago di Sorapis instead. The earliest dated version found is Claudio Baglioni’s 1975 song “Il lago di Misurina”, which made the story famous.
The lake freezes in most winters. Ice usually forms between late November and mid-December and melts in March and April, and it is thinner than it used to be. Signs in Italian, German and English ban walking on it, so stay off unless the town has opened it for an event. In past winters that has meant a public rink and snow polo.
Around the lake there is a small ski area, part of Dolomiti Superski, with the Col de Varda chairlift and a drag lift at La Loita. There are cross-country loops near La Loita and snowshoe routes towards Lago d’Antorno. The Tre Cime toll road is closed in winter, and public buses from Auronzo run only in summer and over Christmas.
Misurina is on the main road between Cortina, Auronzo and Dobbiaco, and the road is open all year.
Most hotels at Misurina line the road along the west and north shore, on the water or a few minutes’ walk from it. For an early start at the Tre Cime there is a chalet hotel at Lago d’Antorno and rooms at Rifugio Auronzo. For restaurants and a town around you, stay in Auronzo di Cadore, 24 km down the valley, or in Cortina d’Ampezzo, 14 km over Passo Tre Croci.
Five well-reviewed day trips from Venice that give you between one and three hours at the lake, and a guided Tre Cime loop that starts there. The tours page has all 18 tours that visit the lake.
9 hours
The most-reviewed Misurina day trip from Venice: a small-group minivan run via Pieve di Cadore and the Auronzo dam to a lunch stop of over two hours at the lake, then an hour in Cortina.
from$166
Check availability10 hours
The cheapest way to the lake from Venice: a coach day that crosses the Tre Croci pass from Cortina to give you two hours at Misurina, with a last stop on the Auronzo dam.
from$111
Check availability10 hours
Gives the lake the longest slot of any Venice day trip, about three hours, in a Mercedes van capped at eight guests, with Cortina before and Lake Auronzo after.
from$207
Check availability5 hours
Meets at Misurina and drives you up the toll road (fee included) for the classic 10 km loop around the Tre Cime from Rifugio Auronzo, with a guide who covers the geology and First World War history.
from$146
Check availability9 hours
A budget small-group loop of five or fewer guests that takes in Lakes Auronzo and Misurina, a Tre Cime viewpoint and Cortina, with a drone clip of you thrown in.
from$116
Check availability8 hours
A long-running Venice day trip that stops at Lake Santa Croce, Pieve di Cadore and Lake Auronzo on the way up, then leaves you about two hours at Misurina for lunch and a walk.
from$196
Check availabilityPrices and ratings were taken from GetYourGuide and can change. Booking through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.
Misurina is the base for some of the best-known sights in the eastern Dolomites.
The three towers above Rifugio Auronzo, the highest 2,999 m. The loop from Rifugio Auronzo is about 10 km and takes 3 to 4 hours.
The spiky group east of the lake. Hiking blogs put the viewpoint 30 to 35 minutes from Rifugio Auronzo on trail 117. The last stretch is exposed and loose.
About 2 hours each way on trail 215 from Passo Tre Croci, between Cortina and Misurina, with short exposed sections on ladders and cables.
About 35 km away, roughly 40 minutes by car. In 2026 drivers needed a booking from 1 July to 15 September, 9:00 to 16:00.
The lake, its legend, and the peaks and huts you reach from it.
The Tre Cime di Lavaredo loop is a walk of about 9.5 km and 400 m of climbing around three peaks, taking most people 3 to 4 hours.
Rifugio Auronzo is the hut and car park at the end of the Tre Cime toll road, 2,320 m up.
The Cadini di Misurina viewpoint is a short walk from Rifugio Auronzo, the car park at the end of the Tre Cime toll road.
Most people reach Lake Misurina by car.
The best-known Misurina story is a folk tale: a spoiled princess, her giant father Sorapiss turned to stone, and a lake made of his tears.
Rifugio Locatelli, called Dreizinnenhütte in German, is a CAI hut at 2,405 m facing the north faces of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo.
Rifugio Lavaredo is a private mountain hut at 2,344 m under the south faces of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo.
Monte Piana is a mountain plateau about 4 km north of Lake Misurina where Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops faced each other from 1915 to 1917.
Col de Varda is the Cadini slope above the south end of Lake Misurina.
Rifugio Fonda Savio is a mountain hut at 2,367 m on the Passo dei Toci ridge, in the middle of the Cadini di Misurina and about 2.6 km east of Lake Misurina as the crow flies.
Where to stay at the lake, parking and what to book ahead.
Stay on the lake at Misurina for water views and the shore walk from your door.
Park in the pay car parks on the west and north-west shore, or at the Genzianella car park at the north end.
Other lakes and hikes, getting here from Venice, and when to come.
Lago di Braies (Pragser Wildsee) is a 1,496 m lake in South Tyrol, about 35 km by road from Lake Misurina.
Lake Sorapis (Lago di Sorapis) is a turquoise lake at about 1,925 m under the Sorapiss, reached only on foot.
The best-known Dolomites lakes are Braies, Sorapis, Carezza and Misurina.
The best hikes in the Dolomites near Misurina are the Tre Cime loop (about 10 km, 3 to 4 hours), the short Cadini di Misurina viewpoint walk and the Lake Sorapis trail (10.5 km, 4 hours, with exposed ledges).
The easiest way from Venice to the Dolomites is the Cortina Express bus, which runs five times a day all year and takes 2 hours 10 minutes to 3 hours 10 minutes from Venice to Cortina d'Ampezzo.
The best time to visit the Dolomites for hiking is mid-June to late September, when the lifts, mountain huts and summer buses all run.
The best things to do in Cortina d'Ampezzo are riding the Tofana cable car to 3,244 m, walking the First World War trenches at Cinque Torri and Lagazuoi, and strolling Corso Italia.
The top things to do in the Dolomites are hiking the Tre Cime di Lavaredo loop from Lake Misurina, walking around lakes such as Braies, Sorapis and Carezza, riding lifts to Seceda or Lagazuoi, driving the high passes and trying a via ferrata.
For 3 days in the Dolomites, base yourself in Cortina d'Ampezzo or at Lake Misurina: day one for Cortina's cable cars, day two for the Tre Cime loop and the lake, day three for Lake Sorapis or Lago di Braies.
Auronzo di Cadore is the town in the Ansiei valley that Lake Misurina belongs to, 24 km below the lake by road, or 25 to 35 minutes' drive.
It is not a swimming lake. The official Auronzo tourism page does not mention swimming, and no bathing-water designation for the lake could be found. The water is cold, the lake is no more than about 5 m deep, and in summer 2026 the level was low after a leak in the south-shore wall. Rowing boats and pedal boats are the usual way onto the water.
About 2.6 km on an almost flat path, so allow 30 minutes to an hour. It mixes paved sections, natural path and wooden footbridges, and the return stretch runs beside the road. It is mostly fine for buggies, with a few stony stretches.
Yes, if you are in the eastern Dolomites. The walk round takes under an hour, the lake is on the way to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, and the Sorapiss and the Cadini di Misurina rise straight above it. Go early or at sunset for calm water. Expect a lower lake than in older photos: on 21 July 2026 the council put the water 84 cm below the spillway.
There is no official ranking. By Google searches, Lago di Braies (Pragser Wildsee) leads the lakes checked for this site: about 8,100 searches a month in the US for "lago di braies", against about 2,900 for "lake misurina" and 2,400 for "lake sorapis" (2025 to 2026 data). Misurina has its own claims: it is the largest natural lake in Cadore, and the 1956 Winter Olympics held their speed skating on its ice.
It depends on what you want to do. For hiking and the Tre Cime, avoid November to late May: the toll road is closed (it opened on 23 May in 2026), most huts are shut and buses are cut back. If you dislike crowds, avoid weekends in July and August, when the car parks at Misurina fill early and the Tre Cime shuttle had long queues in July 2026. Late November to mid-December and March to April are in-between weeks when the ice on the lake is unsafe.
By car it is about 14 km from Cortina d’Ampezzo over Passo Tre Croci, about 20 km from Dobbiaco and about 24 km from Auronzo di Cadore, on roads that stay open all year. Dolomitibus line 50 runs up from Auronzo, and line 51 from Cortina in high season. Without a car, a day trip from Venice, about 170 km away, is the simplest way to see it.