foliage time Dolomites

When is it foliage time in the italian alps and the dolomites?

Foliage season is a must visit time in the italian alps, today I’m taking you to a secret spot where foliage is just on another level, meanwhile I will disclose how to know when foliage time hits  🙂

When I say secret, it’s because these mountains are adjacent to the Dolomites, they’re probably less striking, so they get a lot less attention form visitors. I honestly think no one can resist their beauty once they visit!

The two main accesses to this mountain range are from Valsugana valley and Val di Fassa. The photographs that you find in this article were taken on the 10.26.2021 and foliage in the italian alps was about to enter the peak moment. I’m being very specific on the date beacuse the change of colours of the leaves follows, by definition, nature’s evolution. This means each year the timing will be different. For example this year (2024) it is quite difficult to predict the exact moment peak foliage season will come, since we’ve been having lots of rain (delaying factor, also favouring brighter colours), but warmish temps mixed with a few days of pretty cold ones. Warmer temperatures normally also shifts fall colours late in the season but also shortens it. I guess this will mean end of October, but again we’re getting quite extreme weather changes every few days, let’s hope sun shines a bit more during the day, so that we can enjoy deeper and brighter colours.

Kindergarden was shut that day, say I prepared the kids and set off on an adventure, the sun was too bright to simply stay home the whole day. I had the little one in the hiking backpack (then 9 m/o) and the hike needed to be short and easy for my eldest, then 5 y/o. Our destination was then set: lago delle Prese, in the Lagorai mountain range. As you can see the trees vary from a mixed of planted decidual ones and fir trees, to the larches around the lake. Larches must be my favourites in fall, they strike a fiery yellow, like flames up in the sky!

While the peak of the foliage season can last little, there’s quite some time to peacefully enjoy fall colours. Normally this time starts at the beginning of October up to mid November. This is the timing frame you should consider coming, while keeping an eye on the weather conditions in the months preceding your visit.

Know that:

– cooler nights and bright sunny days promote bright colours (hey climate change, please don’t touch our leaves 🙁 )

– early frosts (againg, becoming less and less of a thing) reduce red pigments

– early summer warming can easily lead to earlier fall colours, even more when combined with high temperatures

– severe drought (for example 2022) can heavily influence foliage, making the leaves fall before they turn colour, same thing for heavy rains and storms

It’s easy to keep track of local weather variations nowadays, Facebook groups and local tourism offices might surely help in deciding on when to visit the italian alps and the Dolomites. If you plan on having professional pictures taken for you, I always give my clients all my best advices to offer them the best experience.

Thinking about enjoying foliage colours here?