Dolomites biking: San Candido to Lienz with kids

This summer, fifteen people from our family did some fantastic Dolomites biking: we cycled 26 miles from San Candido, Italy to Lienz, Austria. On the bike ride, we were surrounded by majestic peaks, and we cycled not far from some of Italy’s most famous – and most difficult – cycling routes. Yet our route was easy enough for the kids: it was a gentle downhill the entire way (well downhill virtually the entire way) and it was along a very well-marked bike path. Not only that, there was a cookie factory en route. Several people told me it was the highlight of their trip.

We’d had a late night the day before, and people didn’t want to get an early start, so we arrived in San Candido just before lunch and bought sandwiches from a local deli, which we munched on as our rental bikes were organized. We’d booked our bikes online ahead of time at Papin Sport, but the path wasn’t busy that day (a Thursday in July – high season) so we needn’t have worried. The path is very popular and San Candido bike shops have lots of inventory!

Dolomites biking: the group sets off

Our group, in the photo above, ranged in age from 2 to 70, so we rented one trailer (for the 2 year old), one trail-a-bike (for the 5 year old) three kids’ bikes (for the 7, 9, and 11 year olds) and the rest were adult “city” bikes. It was a hot day, so we opted for the bikes with saddlebags and put our backpacks in them rather than keep them on our sweaty backs. Note how our path is completely flat (actually it’s a very gentle downhill) while giant mountain peaks surround us. The best of both worlds!

Scenery (Cookie factory!)

The scenery was amazing. It was a hot day, and about half of the path was shaded. We crossed rivers, went past cow pastures, saw small towns (but didn’t ride through any), and we had to stop at the cookie factory! Loacker isn’t a big brand in North America but in Europe it’s well-known. We stopped and bought cookies, which we then realized would melt in the heat, so then we sat down and ate them! There was also a gelateria and a place to get espresso, plus — of course — a large play ground for the kids.