Altopiano di Piné: The Green Lakes That Trento Forgot

There's something mildly paradoxical about the Altopiano di Piné: it lies just 20 kilometers from Trento, reachable in less than half an hour by car or by regular bus, yet it maintains a quiet that many more remote valleys have lost. The reason is simple: tourists arriving in Trentino look north, toward the Dolomites, toward the famous passes. Piné looks east, discreetly.

The three lakes and their secrets

Lake Serraia, Lake delle Piazze, and Lake Terlago form a glacial lake system at 960 meters elevation. The water of Serraia shifts to emerald green during the central hours of the day due to microscopic algae living in equilibrium with the peaty lake bed. In summer you can swim freely — there are no bathing establishments in the ordinary sense, just grassy shores and families with children. Lake delle Piazze is more secluded, reachable on foot in 40 minutes from the village of Baselga di Piné through a Scots pine forest that smells extraordinary during the warm hours.

The skating center and the forgotten winter

Piné hosts the Olympic Skating Center of Baselga, one of Europe's most important long-track facilities, where national teams train. In winter the plateau transforms: abundant snow, well-maintained cross-country trails, none of the queues that plague the Dolomite resorts. A day pass on the cross-country trails costs less than 15 euros. The atmosphere is that of a sport practiced, not sold.

Eating and sleeping without spending too much

Baselga di Piné has a handful of trattorias where the lunchtime set menu — barley soup, a local meat main course, dessert — costs between 12 and 16 euros. Agritur farmhouses on the plateau's heights rent rooms overlooking Lake Serraia for prices that rarely exceed 65 euros per night in high season. The bus from Trento (Trentino Trasporti line) is frequent and takes 35 minutes: useful for avoiding parking on summer weekends, when the plateau receives a few more visitors.