Pinzolo Ski Resort Italy
Pinzolo ski resort is in the Brenta Dolomites and is lift-linked with the better known Madonna Di Campiglio. Pinzolo is one of the eight ski areas that make up the Skirama Dolomiti Adamello Brento ski region, and as such is accessible to international guests that hold an Epic Pass. Pinzolo has 32km of pristine piste trails & a numerous gondolas to go with 5 chairlifts for comfortable ascents. The village has loads of wonderful, well-priced accommodation and can make a great alternative to staying elsewhere in the region.
Pros & Cons for Pinzolo Ski Resort
Pros
- Long skiable vertical of nearly 1,250m.
- Quality on-piste trails for intermediate skiers & snowboarders & some good ones for advanced riders (in good snow cover!).
- A fine lift system that, although slow in parts, serves the terrain comfortably.
- Generally uncrowded lifts & ski trails.
- Good value accommodation, food & drink in town.
Cons
- Ski terrain is predominantly below 2,000m altitude & has poor natural snow cover.
- Low elevation base areas often without natural snow.
- Limited freeride & expert terrain.
- Limited access to the backcountry.
- Lacklustre and crowded mountain restaurants.
- Not easy to get to by public transport.
Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)
- The town of Pinzolo will often not have snow due to its low elevation.
- Town is quiet after-hours.
- No ski-in ski-out accommodation.
- No valley trail to Pinzolo so a download on the gondola is required (but there is a trail to nearby Tulot - if there is enough snow on it!).
- Still reasonably ‘off the radar’ for international guests.
- Part of Skirama Dolomiti which can skied for free by Epic Pass holders - good for some, but maybe not so good for others!
- Advanced riders may find the resort interesting for only a day at most.
Skiing & Snowboarding, Lift & Terrain
Pinzolo's 32km of pistes & 13 ski lifts provide best for intermediate riders that enjoy the groomers. The upper mountain pistes are fun, particularly if you want to rip some superfast turns at Mach 3. The best of them was the winding, rolling piste #107. Whilst the long valley trail down to Tulot base area looks promising & is covered by snowmaking, its low elevation (800m in the valley) makes the bottom section an uninviting proposition. In full snow cover from top to bottom, we reckon it would be a supremely fun rollicking ride from summit to base. Any ski area with a base elevation of 800m is extremely low in Italy and will always have questionable snow these days. The Austrians to the north can barely get away it these days!
The lift system does the job well considering the terrain. A couple of chairlifts are quite slow, and none of the gondolas really cater for fat skis, but such is life. An adequate novice zone with two separate zones & long surface conveyors are located ‘above the snowline’, mid-mountain at Pra Rodont. A new upper mountain gondola connects the feeder gondola from town with the summit.
Check out the ski trail map for Pinzolo below.
Off-piste, there are a few options in the trees & off the summit area, but they are all short and one wonders how often they would be rideable given the dearth of deep, quality fresh snow here. It is simply not an off-piste destination, which is a shame. Often these small mountains have great freeride potential. Pinzolo, unfortunately, is not one of them. Looking at the mountain from both up close and from a distance, the best off-piste terrain appears to be on the steeper, sparsely treed south side of Doss del Sabion. A few hundred metres vertical of freeriding would be possible before a long traverse to get back to Pra Rodont. Whether this is the done thing is unknown to us. But looking at the mountain & considering how to make it interesting for freeriders, this was the one thing we came up with. If the snow is good all the way to Pinzolo, it is possible to ski all the way down via the forest and summer road network. There used to be a valley trail here in the good old days….
The connection by gondola to Madonna di Campiglio is a seamless 16 to 17-minute journey that is quite pleasant, but one wonders whether it is worth it. The gondola seems devoid of humans (not sure how they afford to run it), so use your imagination and go wild in that cabin for the duration. (Note that the two intermediate stations will have full view of whatever you get up too!). From the end of the gondola you can ski the lovely pistes of Madonna & beyond. Check out the ski trail map for the Ski Area Campiglio Dolomiti di Brenta, of which Pinzolo is a part of, combined with Madonna di Campiglio, Folgarida Marilleva & Peio. The interlinked ski region (Pejo ski resort is not lift linked!) includes 58 ski lifts & over 185km of ski trails.
Lift passes
Pinzolo & Folgarida-Marilleva, are part of the sandwich encasing Madonna di Campiglio, the ‘meat’ in the Ski Area Campiglio Dolomiti di Brenta (Brenta Dolomites Pass) which interlinks the three resorts by ski lift, piste & pass. The local Pinzolo lift pass is significantly cheaper than the Campiglio Dolomiti di Brenta.
For more diversity (including a glacier), & reasonable value if wanting to hedge your bets on a week-long jaunt in the region, the Skirama Dolomiti pass includes the aforementioned areas, plus the nearby Tonale, Pejo, Monte Bondone, plus Paganella & Folgaria. Of course, skiing any more than one of the Skirama Dolomiti locations on the same day is problematic, so it may behove one to simply buy the more affordable local lift passes at each location.
See the Skirama Dolomiti Resorts Map.
In addition, holders of a Vail Resorts Epic Pass (Epic Pass, Epic Adaptive, Epic Australia Pass, Epic Adaptive Australia Pass Holders, & Vail Resorts lifetime Pass Holders) receive seven complimentary, unrestricted, and consecutive days, in total, of skiing and riding at Skirama Dolomiti ski areas. Upon redemption of all seven days, Epic Pass Holders can then purchase discounted lift tickets at 50% off the window price. Epic Pass Holders must present their valid season pass card and photo ID at any Skirama Dolomiti ticket office where you will be issued a magnetic key card upon validation and receipt of a €5.00 refundable deposit per card. The deposit is refunded when the key card is returned in good condition. Pawesome!
Where is Pinzolo Italy?
Pinzolo ski resort is near the Brenta Dolomites in the Val Rendena, Trentino, north-east Italy. The town of Pinzolo is at the resort's base and by road is 60km (1hr) west of the Dolomites' city of Trento and 13km (20min) south of Madonna di Campiglio village & ski resort. Nearest international airports are Venice Marco Polo (VCE), Munich (MUC) and Milan Malpensa (MXP). Anyone coming from the UK or within Europe will find the airports at Innsbruck (INN) & Verona (VRN) quite useful. Get a private transfer to Pinzolo, rent a car, or take public transport on the train to Trento, then bus Pinzolo.
In order to make the most of a visit to the region we recommend having a rental car to get around to all the nearby ski resorts. For day-trippers to Pinzolo, both gondola base areas have ample free outdoor car parking available close to the lift. The main car park in Pinzolo is a rough gravel affair with a few potholes to negotiate, particularly later in the season!
Anyone staying in town can use the ski bus that circulates regularly throughout from about 8.20am to 6.00pm each day. It costs around &eur;2/day and tickets be bought on the bus. Kids under 10yr ride free with a paying adult, and anyone with a 5 out of 7-day ski pass also ride free. Pinzolo Accommodation
The village of Pinzolo is replete with high-quality, incredibly well-priced guesthouses (garni), small hotels (albergos), plus a host of larger hotels, most within a short walk or short bus ride of the main gondola lift near the centre of town. The village does make a cost-effective alternative to staying in the more high-falutin Madonna di Campiglio, but it is also far less interesting as a holiday destination, with very little going on beyond the few hotels & bars. There are a few things to consider when staying in Pinzolo. The village elevation is only 770m above sea level which is very low for Italy and as such it may not have snow in the town for much of winter. As a result there is no valley trail into the village anymore. However, the gondola from the village up to Prà Rodont (1,500m) is not too far from the centre of town, providing reasonable convenience.
In Pinzolo itself the following hotels & guesthouses are worth look. Right near the gondola base, its hard to beat the Casteluce Hotel Funivie, or the nearby (& higher standard) Dolomeet Boutique Hotel. A short stroll away are the superb Hotel Cristina and the exceptional 5-star Lefay Resort & SPA Dolomiti is on the other side of town, above the road, with views down the valley. For affordable lodgings, the fabulous Hotel Denny is both well located, highly rated and nicely priced.
Above the village, the road up to Madonna di Campiglio is intermittently lined with several exceptional overnight lodging options. The Albergo alla Posta has exceptional value rooms but is best for those with their own transport. At Fontanella, try the Panorama Hotel Fontanella and Bio Hotel Hermitage. This locality is well placed to get to either resort efficiently either by local bus or rental car.
Further down the valley from Pinzolo, the quiet village of Calerzone has the exceptionally well-priced Hotel Rio which includes a superb half-board (breakfast & dinner) option. Drinks at the bar are at prices so far removed from the high-priced Madonna di Campiglio that one could be forgiven for thinking you are in a different country. And that's a good thing.
Search & book here for all Pinzolo ski accommodation.
Connecting to Madonna di Campiglio and beyond by ski & lift is possible but quite the undertaking, and the local Line-5 ski bus may be the better option. The ski journey involves 2 gondola rides up from Pinzolo to the top of the ski resort at Dos del Sabion (2,100m), a gentle 2km ski down to Grual, a short chairlift ride up to Monte Grual (1,960m), then a second ski descent of 1½km down to Puza dai Fò (1,664m). From here the journey is completed on a long gondola via Fontanella called the Pinzolo-Campiglio Express which take around 16min to end up on the ski slopes in the Cinque Laghi sector at 1,749m altitude, just above the town of Madonna di Campiglio. Phew, that's a long journey which should take around 35 to 40min assuming no wait times at lift stations. To make the most of a day at Madonna di Campiglio, start early if going to do it.
Review
The Powderhounds visited Pinzolo in early March 2024. We were disappointed with what was on offer and were thankful our Epic Pass covered the price of the day ticket! Thats not to say you wont like it, its just that we didn't. Click on the review link in the left column (or top of the page if on a mobile) to read all the reviews.
See how Pinzolo & Madonna di Campiglio compare to the rest of the Italian ski resorts on the Italy ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.
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