Ponte de Ru Curto - Rifugio Croda da Lago

Access to starting point:
Access from Gorenjska: Through the border crossings Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then on the highway in the direction of Vidma / Udine to the exit Tolmezzo. From Tolmezzo we follow the road in the direction of the settlement Ampezzo and mountain pass Passo della Mauria. The road then descends and brings us to a crossroads, where we continue left (possible also right) in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. At all next crossroads, we follow the signs for Cortina d'Ampezzo.
In Cortina d'Ampezzo then we follow the signs for the alpine pass Passo di Falzarego. This ascending road we then follow to a crossroads at an altitude of approximately 1400m. At the crossroads, we continue left in the direction of the alpine pass Passo di Giau and Marmolada. From the mentioned crossroads, we continue driving for another 4km, then a few hundred meters before the bridge Ponte de Ru Curto we park on the parking lot on the left side of the road.
From Primorska: We drive on the highway towards Venice / Venezia. At Portogruaro we leave the highway towards Venice and continue right on the highway towards Pordenone. At the next highway junction near Conegliano, we continue right towards Belluno. Near Belluno the highway ends and at the next crossroads we continue in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Further, we follow the above description.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we head left on the footpath following the signs »Rif. Croda da Lago«. The footpath first slightly descends and crosses the stream Rio Costeana. The path then turns left and mostly in a gentle ascent crosses the slopes towards the east. The path here runs through the forest, despite that occasionally a nice view opens up towards the Tofane. The path then turns slightly to the right and crosses another stream, then it starts to ascend slightly more steeply through the forest. The path then brings us to a marked junction.
From the left, the path from the bridge Pezie de Paru joins us, to the right leads the path through the valley Val Formin, we continue straight following the signs »Rifugio Croda da Lago«. From the junction, the path continues ascending through the forest and then turns somewhat to the left, bringing us below the eastern slopes of the peak Ciadenes. From the path, views towards the east also start to open up, where the mountain groups Cristallo, Sorapiss and Antelao stand out. The path then becomes flatter and crosses a pasture fence. Further on, we walk through the valley named Val Negra and occasionally descend slightly. Such a path then brings us to the lake Lago Federa. At the lake, from the left the path from the hut Rifugio Lago de Aial joins us and to the hut Rifugio Croda da Lago only some easy walking along the lake remains.

On the way: Cason di Formin (1845m), Lago Federa (2038m)

Trip can be extended to: La Rocchetta (1 h 40 min) , Monte Formin (2 h 5 min)