Looking for an easy hike in Passo delle Erbe? Not every hike in the Dolomites needs to be a big one. After a full day of travel and still adjusting to the altitude at 2,006 meters, my friend Karrie and I decided to keep our first hiking day out of Passo Delle Erbe simple. We found a loop to Maurerberghütte, also known as Rifugio Monte Muro, straight from the Ütia de Börz.
If you are looking for an easy hike in the Dolomites near the Puez Odle Nature Park and close to Passo delle Erbe in the Dolomites, this is about as easy-going as it gets!
I created a super-simple blog post about our experience, in hopes that those who need it can read it! Keep reading to learn more about this simple hike we took!
READ MORE:
- Easy Day Hikes in The Dolomites: Val Venegia and Sentiero Marcio in Panegvaggio Nature Park
- Learn about the Fora Del Lupo Hike in the Dolomites
- Where to Stay in the Dolomites: My favorite Hotels
- Dolomites for the First Timers: A Guide For Planning
Starting Right from the Hotel
This is the part that makes this hike so easy to recommend. If you’re staying at Ütia de Börz, there’s no drive, no separate trailhead parking to find. The path starts right behind the hotel. You step out, and you’re already on the trail.
The trail itself is genuinely easy to start. Just simple uphill and downhill elevation gain right from the beginning- nothing technical.
It’s well-marked the whole way until you reach the Pè de Börz parking lot. The trail is shaded for a good stretch too, which I appreciated! There are also a handful of sculptures scattered along the early part of the trail that showcased local artists’ talent.
Once you reach Pè de Börz, the scene changes a bit. This is where hikers and drivers coming up the pass park their cars. It was honestly a bit chaotic.
From there, the climb up isn’t so bad. Along the way there’s a genuinely beautiful lookout point with views into Antermoia and Val Badia. It’s worth stopping for before you continue on toward the hut to admire the view.
You’ll be sharing this route with bikers, and I saw one car on the route up to the hut.
Skipping the Uphill Back with the South Tyrol Guest Pass
If you don’t want to hike back uphill at the end of the day, you don’t have to. That bus stop at Pè de Börz is a great bailout point. They post the summer schedule on the poll that says FERME.
Don’t be alarmed if the bus is a bit late getting to you, as the bus drivers are navigating traffic on the roads and sometimes it’s heavy farm equipment.
You can ride it for free using the South Tyrol Guest Pass, the same one Ütia de Börz gives every guest at check-in.
If you’re staying elsewhere in the area, it’s worth checking whether your hotel participates in the same program before assuming you’ll need to walk the whole way back.
Lunch at Maurerberghütte
The hike leads to Maurerberghütte, where we stopped for lunch. I ordered the Tris Canederli, a sample plate of three different dumpling types from their menu, along with an Aperol Spritz and a sparkling water.
The total came to about $35.23 USD, which is a bit on the expensive side for a mountain lunch, but the views made it worth it.
From the hut, you’re looking out over Antermoia and into the Puez-Odle Nature Park. It’s a stunning lunch with a view.
Service is fast at the hut. English/German/Ladin are spoken here, and the staff is wonderful.
Maurerberghütte is also a stop on the Dolorama Trail, a multi-day hut-to-hut trek through this part of the Dolomites, and you can actually book a room there directly if you want to do that route yourself.
It was a nice moment realizing we’d stopped for lunch at a hut that’s itself a waypoint on someone else’s hut-to-hut adventure!
Looping Down to Ütia de Pecol
From the hut, we picked up the loop back down toward Ütia de Pecol rather than retracing our steps, and this stretch turned out to be the real highlight of the day.
It’s about as Ladin as it gets out here, and hardly anyone was around, which I loved.
The trail rolls through open fields dotted with small huts, and the whole way you get non-stop views into the Puez-Odle Nature Park.
We stopped for an affogato before heading back, vanilla gelato drowned in espresso, exactly what you want after a morning on the trail.
Before you plan your own stop here, though, there’s one thing worth knowing: Ütia de Pecol is closed on Mondays, so double-check the day of the week before you count on it.
I wanted to add this note: both rifugios accept cash and cards.
Practical Notes
- Trailhead: The path is directly behind Ütia de Börz (for those of you leaving from the hotel), no driving required.
- Most trail apps and maps reference this route from the Pè de Börz parking lot instead, about a 10-minute walk from the hotel, so don’t be thrown off if your GPS suggests starting there. Same trail, just a slightly different starting point.
- Route: The trail is a loop up to Maurerberghütte (Rifugio Monte Muro), then down and around through Ütia de Pecol before returning.
- Ütia de Pecol itself has a terrace overlooking Sass de Putia (Monte Putia), a nice spot to sit if you want a second stop before heading back.
- Good for: A first hiking day, altitude adjustment, or anyone who wants a real Dolomites hike without an all-day commitment, and without the crowds
- Bring: I brought my Osprey bag and hiking poles came with me on this one, though it’s an easy enough trail that you could go lighter if you wanted
One more worth knowing about if you’re basing yourself here: the small village at the base of the pass, Antermoia in Italian, Antermëia in Ladin, and Untermoi in German, has its own hiking trails and is another good option to add to your Passo delle Erbe base if you want more than one easy day.
Why We Kept It Easy
We didn’t push for anything more ambitious that day, and I’d recommend the same approach if you’ve just arrived. After all, between the altitude and the previous day’s travel, a shorter loop with a proper lunch stop was exactly the right call. So there’s no shame in an easy day one.
Now, if you would like to continue beyond the hut to the summit of Monte Muro, this link lists the routes you can take in the area.
Is this hike worth it?
Absolutely, and I hope you found a new hike to see different perspectives of the Dolomites! Let me know if this helped you plan your vacation in the Dolomites; I would love to hear from you.
