San Cassiano:Ski resort guide and where to stay

What is San Cassiano like?

San Cassiano is one of the Alta Badia villages, in the Ladin-speaking Dolomites of South Tyrol, at 1,537 m. It sits at the foot of the Lavarela and Conturines massifs, and the tourist office lists the views from it as the Sas de Pütia, the Gherdenacia, the Sassongher and the Sella group.

The village has the Piz Sorega gondola into the ski area, the Alta Badia cross-country centre, and on its edge the Fanes-Senes-Braies Nature Park, part of the UNESCO Dolomites. The tourist office makes much of the Ladin idea of bëgnodü, hospitality.

If you want Alta Badia's skiing from a smaller base, with the Lagazuoi run coming back to the lifts nearby, San Cassiano is the village to look at. If you want the Sellaronda from the door, look at Corvara or Colfosco instead.

Skiing in San Cassiano

San Cassiano skiing is part of the Alta Badia ski area: 130 km of pistes between 1,300 m and 2,800 m, served by 54 lifts, according to the tourist office. Of those pistes, 74 km are blue, 47 km red and 9 km black, which is why the area suits intermediates. Alta Badia is one of the areas of Dolomiti Superski, which puts 1,200 km of pistes and 450 lifts on one pass. The tourist office says that from this season a helmet is compulsory on all slopes, at every age.

San Cassiano ski area

The way up is the Piz Sorega gondola, an eight-seat cabin lift with a capacity of 3,000 people an hour, run by Movimënt, the lift company for the plateau above the village. It has a long history: the first Piz Sorega lift was a single chair built in 1961, and the gondola replaced a four-seat chair in 2004.

At the top is the plateau that connects San Cassiano with Corvara and La Villa, served by interconnected lifts including the Piz La Ila gondola and the Pralongià chairlift. A red run and a blue run come back down from Piz Sorega to the valley station, so the village is linked both ways.

Is San Cassiano on the Sellaronda?

No. The tourist office lists the Sellaronda's five resorts as Corvara, Colfosco, Arabba, Canazei and Selva di Val Gardena. From San Cassiano you join it by skiing across the plateau to Corvara, and you need the Dolomiti Superski pass, not the Alta Badia pass alone. The circuit is about 40 km, 26 km of it on pistes, and the tourist office suggests allowing around six hours.

The Lagazuoi run

San Cassiano's own speciality is the run from the Lagazuoi. The cable car from the Passo Falzarego climbs to 2,730 m, and the Armentarola piste comes down 8.5 km through the Fanes-Senes-Braies Nature Park, past the Conturines. Near the bottom, a horse-drawn tow takes skiers from Sas Dlacia to the Armentarola lift and back into the Alta Badia lifts; it is not included in the ski pass. The lift company also notes that the buses and taxi-buses from the valley up to the Passo Falzarego are not included in the ski pass, so check the current timetable before setting out.

San Cassiano piste map

The tourist office publishes the Alta Badia ski map as a PDF (the 2025/26 edition at the time of writing), with San Cassiano and Piz Sorega on the same sheet as Corvara and La Villa. Its lifts, slopes and snow page shows which lifts are running on the day.

Lift passes

The Alta Badia pass covers the 130 km of pistes across San Cassiano, Corvara, Colfosco, La Villa and Badia. The Dolomiti Superski pass covers the Sellaronda and the other Dolomites areas. Prices change with dates and length of stay, so we do not quote them: see the tourist office's ski pass page.

Ski school San Cassiano

The Ski and Snowboard School San Cassiano, at Str. Surega 34, teaches skiing and snowboarding at all levels; the tourist office lists its 2026/27 season as 1 December 2026 to 9 April 2027. The Cross Country Ski School Alta Badia is based in the village at Str. Sciaré 10, with a season listed from 10 December 2026 to 11 April 2027. For private lessons the tourist office also lists a freelance instructor in San Cassiano, Heini Clement.

Where to stay

The tourist office's San Cassiano accommodation search covers hotels and guesthouses, apartments and residences, B&Bs (garni) and farm stays, and filters by date.

San Cassiano hotels

Among the hotels the tourist office lists in the village are Hotel La Stüa, Hotel Villa Al Sole, Hotel Steinrösl.

Apartments and B&Bs

Residences listed include Residence Dolomieu, Residence Ciasa La Rô and Residence Bosco Verde. Garni and B&B options include Garni Ciasa Roby and Garni Irsara. For a farm stay, App. Les Pizades is in the farm category.

San Cassiano for families

The ski school teaches children as well as adults. Remember the helmet rule for every age. Off the snow, the Piz Sorega gondola is the start of the Tru Liösa Foram sledge run, according to the lift company.

Things to do in San Cassiano

The Alta Badia cross-country centre is in San Cassiano, with its own school, for classic and skating skiing. Sledging from Piz Sorega and the Lagazuoi run are the other winter specialities. The Scotoni hut, inside the nature park, is listed by the tourist office.

Eating and drinking

San Cassiano restaurants

On the mountain, the huts on the Piz Sorega plateau and along the Lagazuoi run are marked on the ski map. In the valley, Alta Badia's two Michelin-starred restaurants at the time of writing are La Stüa de Michil in Corvara and Porcino, both a short drive away. The village's own restaurants and bars are in the tourist office's listings.

San Cassiano in summer

In summer the Piz Sorega gondola carries walkers up to high-level trails and to the Bear Park on Piz Sorega. San Cassiano hiking runs into the Fanes-Senes-Braies Nature Park and up towards the Lagazuoi, where the mountains carry traces of the First World War front.

In the village, the Museum Ladin Ursus ladinicus, at Str. Micurá de Rü 26, is about the cave bear Ursus spelaeus ladinicus, with original bones, teeth and skulls, a complete skeleton and the geology of the Dolomites. It opens from 1 May to 1 November, Tuesday to Sunday; check its website for current times. See the tourist office's hiking pages for routes and lift dates.

How to get to San Cassiano

By car, roads reach Alta Badia from the Brenner, from Lienz in Austria, and from Cortina d'Ampezzo or Agordo to the south; buses and taxi-buses run on from the valley to the Passo Falzarego. Winter tyres or snow chains are required in season.

By train, the nearest station is Brunico (Bruneck), about 30 km from the valley, with regular buses. Bressanone and Bolzano are about 65 km away. The South Tyrol Guest Pass gives free travel on regional public transport, and the valley has taxis and the Cortina Express connection.

Bolzano is the closest airport. Venice, Treviso, Verona, Milan, Bergamo, Innsbruck and Munich are the alternatives, with shuttles and public transport to Alta Badia.

Innsbruck to San Cassiano

Innsbruck is one of the airports the tourist office lists. The road route from the north is over the Brenner into South Tyrol, then east into the Val Badia; airport shuttles also run. Check current shuttle timetables before booking flights.

Weather, snow and webcams

San Cassiano is at 1,537 m and the ski area climbs to 2,800 m, so the Lagazuoi and Piz Sorega can look very different from the village. The tourist office runs all three feeds.

• San Cassiano webcams (tourist office)
• San Cassiano weather (tourist office)
• San Cassiano snow report, open lifts and slopes (tourist office)

When to visit San Cassiano

Alta Badia's ski season runs from December to April; the ski school lists 1 December 2026 to 9 April 2027 for its own season. Cross-country skiing depends on snow in the valley, so it is surest in midwinter. The Ursus ladinicus museum and the summer lifts belong to the May to October months.

San Cassiano vs Corvara

Both are Alta Badia villages on the same pass and the same lifts, a plateau apart.

Choose San Cassiano if you want a smaller base, the cross-country centre and the Lagazuoi run close at hand.

Choose Corvara if you want the Sellaronda from the door and more of the valley's restaurants and shops.

What's nearby

• Corvara

  Alta Badia's main village, on the Sellaronda, reached over the Pralongià plateau.

• Colfosco

  Alta Badia's other Sellaronda village, below the Passo Gardena.

• La Villa

  Alta Badia village at the foot of the Gran Risa World Cup run, linked over the plateau.

• Armentarola

  Where the horse-drawn tow from the Lagazuoi run reaches the Armentarola lift.

• Passo Falzarego and the Lagazuoi

  Cable car to 2,730 m and the start of the 8.5 km run to Armentarola.

• Selva di Val Gardena

  Val Gardena's Sellaronda village, over the Passo Gardena.