Skating the Reschensee and Haidersee (Italy), glorious between the mountains

Skating the Reschensee and Haidersee: in the far north of Italy lie two lakes beside an impressive mountain pass. These almost adjoining lakes freeze over in nearly every winter. The inviting natural ice offers skating every day.

Natural ice in Austria or Italy

Skating enthusiasts are keen to look at alternatives when it does not freeze at home. Many head for the Weissensee in Austria, for instance. Italy offers natural ice too.

That means the region around Reschen (Resia), a stone's throw from Austria. Here you have a good chance of fine skating days. There is skating on both the Reschensee and the Haidersee.

Skating the Reschensee and Haidersee: what matters to know

With two lakes you would expect two places for recreational skating, but that is not always so. Sometimes only one of the two is ‘available’, that is, skateable. It depends on the preparation .

• De Reschensee, also known as Lago di Resia, is a reservoir. The water level can vary. The means to prepare the ice may be lacking. In that case you end up at the Haidersee.
• The Haidersee – Lago di San Valentino alla Muta – is a smaller natural lake. With ‘smaller’ an understatement, given a volume of water some 20 times less. You can often skate here.

You could cautiously draw a parallel with the small lake and the large lake of the Weissensee. Only there the lakes do form one whole. And in the Reschenpass the wind blows far more often.

The Alternative Dutch 11-City Tour and weather extremes

We visited Passo Resia back in 2012 as well. We were to take part in an Alternative Dutch 11-City Tour there. Our tour day was cancelled because of the extreme cold, tens of degrees below zero.

That was an extreme, mind you. At the same time it may have been the writing on the wall. These days no Alternative Dutch 11-City Tours are organised there any more. The place proves less suited to 200 km.

On average the Reschensee is several degrees colder than the Weissensee. Even so, you can skate there beautifully – dressed properly . The sun shows itself now and then. And then it is pure pleasure.

On our visit in 2022 we were lucky. Six days in a row in full sun, with black ice on the Haidersee and fine temperatures. A gem, and an exception too, that warmth. So Reschen offers weather extremes of various kinds.

The tower in the lake

Finally the setting is a serious plus. In the Reschensee stands a tower in the lake. The buildings and people of the time had to make way for the reservoir; only the listed tower remained.

The result is an unreal scene, with that handsome tower rising from the ice. A sight that absolutely belongs on your list if you are staying in this region.