Italy, Europe
3 Zinnen Dolomites
3 Zinnen Dolomites: 115km slopes, 31 lifts, Italy's steepest piste. Award-winning South Tyrol resort in UNESCO Dolomites. Five mountains, one pass.
Season 2025 - 2026
Opens
28 Nov 2025
Closes
12 Apr 2026
Days open
135
Annual snow
4m
The Overview
Michael Fulton
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
Rising dramatically in South Tyrol's eastern Dolomites, 3 Zinnen Dolomites offers 115 kilometres of perfectly groomed pistes across five interconnected ski areas within a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. Named after the iconic Tre Cime di Lavaredo peaks visible throughout the resort, this award-winning destination combines Italian hospitality with Austrian alpine precision in a trilingual region where Italian, German, and Ladin cultures converge.
The terrain spans Monte Elmo, Stiergarten, Croda Rossa, Monte Baranci, and Passo Monte Croce, with elevations reaching 2,225 metres ensuring reliable conditions across predominantly intermediate slopes. Notable features include the Holzriese run with its 71% gradient—Italy's steepest groomed piste—and the legendary 34-kilometre Giro delle Cime ski circuit traversing all five mountains on a single lift pass.
1070m
Vertical
82
Runs
86.4 km
Piste
4m
Annual snow
The Terrain
82 runs across 86.4 km of piste
3 Zinnen Dolomites spreads 82 runs across 86.4 km of piste of terrain. It leans beginner at 47%, with 39 beginner runs to find your feet and 7 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
Terrain split
82
runs
82 runs across 4 grades
Beginner39 runs · 47%
Intermediate36 runs · 44%
Advanced7 runs · 9%
Expert0 runs · 0%
Time it right
When to visit 3 Zinnen Dolomites
The 2025/26 season operates from 28 November 2025 through 12 April 2026, with optimal snow conditions from January through March when full terrain access typically extends across all five mountains. The resort's northern Dolomite position captures snowfall from both Dolomite storms and overflow from Alpine weather systems, delivering above-average precipitation compared to southern Dolomite resorts.
Comprehensive snowmaking covers 100% of marked runs, ensuring consistent grooming quality throughout winter despite the relatively modest 1,130-metre base elevation. Monte Baranci offers floodlit night skiing every Tuesday and Friday from 7pm to 10pm, whilst spring brings extended sunshine hours with morning freeze-thaw cycles maintaining excellent conditions on higher north-facing slopes through early April.
Season 2025 - 2026
28 Nov 2025
Opens
12 Apr 2026
Closes
135
Days open
4 m
Annual snow
Getting there
Getting to 3 Zinnen Dolomites, and where to stay
Set in South Tyrol's Hochpustertal Valley near the Austrian border, 3 Zinnen Dolomites stretches across five distinctive villages including San Candido, Sesto, Dobbiaco, Villabassa, and Braies, each offering authentic alpine character with medieval architecture and boutique accommodation. The resort sits approximately 100 kilometres from Bolzano Airport, 130 kilometres from Innsbruck, 170 kilometres from Treviso, and 190 kilometres from Venice, with multiple access options via the A22 Brenner motorway.
The Ski Pustertal Express railway provides direct connections to lift stations at Versciaco, whilst regular bus services link all villages eliminating the need for personal vehicles. As part of the Dolomiti Superski network, the local pass grants access to 1,200 kilometres of terrain across 12 interconnected ski regions throughout the Dolomites.
Where to stay
Search all stays →Hotels and lodges near 3 Zinnen Dolomites, powered by Stay22.
Latest News
From the SnowStash desk
Spain Moves to Ban Smoking at Ski Resorts Under New Tobacco Law
Spain's government has approved a draft tobacco law that would ban smoking across a wide range of outdoor spaces, including sports venues - a category Spanish winter sports media expect to cover ski resorts, potentially extending to slopes and lifts themselves. The rules would also apply to e-cigarettes and vaping devices, even nicotine-free ones. The bill still has to clear the Spanish parliament before any ban, signage, or fines can take effect.
22 July 2026
South Tyrol Approves New 16-Person Ciampinoi Gondola in Val Gardena
South Tyrol has approved a full rebuild of the Ciampinoi cable car in Selva di Val Gardena, replacing the current 12-person gondola with a 16-person cabin and a new mountain-station restaurant. Capacity is capped at 3,200 people an hour rather than the 3,600 the operator wanted, and 250,000 euros must go toward compensatory measures. No construction or opening date has been set, though the upgrade is partly aimed at clearing bottlenecks before the 2031 Alpine Ski World Championships.
22 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Hoshino Tomamu - Corporate Japan's Mountain Playground Revisited
Hoshino Tomamu is the ski resort equivalent of a conference hotel that happens to have excellent powder. Built for corporate retreats and package tourists, it offers genuine Hokkaido snow on surprisingly limited terrain - 29 runs spread across 585 vertical metres.
21 July 2026
La Thuile's New Cable Car Replaces Two Ageing Chairlifts
La Thuile is spending 38.7 million US dollars on a new 10-person cable car linking Les Suches to Chaz Dura, replacing the La Combe and Chaz Dura chairlifts after nearly forty years of service. Built by Leitner, the new cable car runs 1,950 metres to a top station at 2,576 metres, carrying up to 3,000 people an hour with a six-minute ride. It also improves the connection to La Rosiere in France via the Petit-Saint-Bernard Pass, and is on track to open for the 2026/27 season.
21 July 2026
The Remarkables Adds Scarpa Bowl to Its Inbounds Terrain
The Remarkables is adding new inbounds terrain for winter, bringing the Scarpa Bowl - known locally as the Toilet Bowl - into its lift-accessed network after years as backcountry-only ground. The roughly 500 metre run is reached by bootpacking from the top of the Sugar Bowl chairlift, with a shuttle picking skiers up from the road at the bottom. It's a smaller, faster addition than the resort's planned Doolans expansion, though the new terrain hasn't opened yet due to a lack of snow this season.
21 July 2026
Ski Portillo Cut Off After Storm Dumps More Than 4.5 Metres of Snow
Ski Portillo remains isolated after an extended storm buried the Chilean resort under more than 4.5 metres of snow, with both ground and air access suspended since Tuesday while crews monitor avalanche hazards and worsening weather. Resort officials say further snowfall is expected in the coming days and haven't set a timeline for reopening the mountain road. Once access resumes, the scale of the snowpack could set up a strong season at one of the Southern Hemisphere's most historic ski resorts.
21 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Lotte Arai - Japan's Corporate Ski Anomaly With 22 Metres of Annual Snowfall
Lotte Arai receives 22 metres of annual snowfall - exceptional even by Japanese standards - but its corporate ownership model and limited terrain create an unusual cost-benefit equation. Here's what the numbers actually mean on the ground.
19 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Banff Sunshine Village - Nine Metres of Snow and a Season That Runs Until May
Banff Sunshine Village sits at 1,660m base and receives 9.27m of snow annually. Inside Banff National Park, it offers a six-month season and terrain split that skews heavily advanced - though the crowds and lift infrastructure tell their own story.
18 July 2026
Lift system
The sophisticated lift network comprises 31 installations including the flagship Helmjet Sexten—a 10-passenger premium gondola representing the most modern lift technology in the Alps. The system features six gondolas, four eight-person chairlifts, four six-person chairlifts, one quad chair, one double chair, and eight surface lifts with a combined uphill capacity of 35,000 skiers per hour.
Recent infrastructure investments include the Porzen six-seater chairlift on Croda Rossa and the extended run from Signaue mountain station to Porzen valley station. Digital information displays, RFID access gates, and WiFi connectivity enhance convenience at major lift stations, whilst the seamless interconnection between Monte Elmo, Stiergarten, and Croda Rossa eliminates bottlenecks even during peak periods.
24lifts across 6 types
6
Gondolas
4
8-Person Chairs
4
6-Person Chairs
1
Quad Chair
1
Double Chair
8
T-Bars
3 Zinnen Dolomites lift system
3 Zinnen Dolomites is served by 24 lifts, listed here by type. Check which lifts are turning against the live conditions before you plan your first laps - early lifts and high-speed chairs get you to the best snow fastest.
More 3 Zinnen Dolomites intelligence: trail map, snow report, webcams, resort overview.