Centro Lago

Refuges and ridges

Refuges that cook, above the lake: the Rifugio Menaggio, at 1,383 metres, is an hour and three quarters' walk from Breglia.

Duration: 4 h – 7 h
Effort: Demanding
Car-free: Needs a car
With children: Not ideal

MatthewGhera · CC BY 3.0

Benreis · CC BY-SA 3.0
Mario Falcetti · CC BY 4.0

How it works

The mountains start immediately above the lake: Monte Grona above Menaggio, San Primo above Bellagio, the Grigna above Mandello.

The refuges are open for most of the year, they cook, and many are a couple of hours from a point served by public transport.

Rifugio Menaggio on Monte Grona: about 1h45 from Breglia.
Monte San Primo from the Ghisallo: the view down both branches, with modest ascent.
Piani Resinelli and the Grignetta from Lecco and Mandello: historic climbing ground.
Always check the refuge is open before going up: many close on weekdays out of season.

WhereMenaggio · Bellagio · Lecco · Mandello del Lario

The trail in numbers

Length, climb, altitude and walking time calculated on the path's track. The track runs from Brunate to Bellagio.

Length: 32.8 km
Ascent: +1211 m
Descent: −1692 m
Lowest point: 210 m
Highest point: 1424 m
Walking time: 11 h 55

CAI gradeE · hiking: real path, steep stretches

With children
With a dog
With a pushchair
Little shade

At Bellagio, where the stage ends, the sun goes behind the ridge today at 16:44.

Start0.2 km from the Como–Brunate FunicularEnd0.4 km from San Giovanni pier

Trail status

No closures reported by the trail managers; last checked on 1 October 2026. Ordinances and landslides can close a path without warning.

Notices from the managers: CAI Como

Track © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); heights from Terrain Tiles (SRTM/EU-DEM). Time follows the DIN 33466 rule (4 km/h, 300 m/h up, 500 m/h down), without stops. The profile is exaggerated vertically. Sources: OpenStreetMap · Terrain Tiles