Valle di Daone: A Thousand-Plus Boulder Problems on Adamello Granite | Italy Climbing Crags

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Valle di Daone is a side valley of the Valle del Chiese in western Trentino, running up into the Adamello massif. Its floor is scattered with granite boulders that rolled off the valley sides thousands of years ago, and it is now one of the most popular bouldering areas in northern Italy. It is about 70 km from Arco, and many climbers fit both into one trip.

This post helps you decide whether it suits your level, which months to go, how to get there without a car, and where to park in summer. For a season-and-region comparison of Italian crags, see the series overview.

What kind of crag is it

Granite boulders strung along one road. Planetmountain says the valley starts at the village at 686 m and the road climbs 21 km to the Bissina dam at 1,700 m. The valley was first known for its ice falls, then for multi-pitch, and from the late 1990s people began cleaning boulders; "some have described it as a new Mecca for bouldering". 27crags calls it "the best boulder area in the north of Italy".

Rock and style. InfoBoulder describes crimps, roofs, rounded bulges, the odd pocket, and plenty of highballs. lacrux says the rock is compact granite or verrucano, and most problems sit between 6A and 7B.

Scale. The numbers vary a lot, because some sources count problems and some count boulders, and new problems keep going up (checked 2026-10-19):

Main sectors. theCrag's biggest are La Plana/Foresta (342), La Curva (284), Dos dei Aser/Casetta degli Alpini (245) and Nudole (146). The local Daone boulder blog says the boulders run from about 1,000 m at Foresta to 1,540 m at Nudole.

• La Plana (Boulder Park): a beginner area set up by the municipality. lacrux says obstacles around the boulders were cleared, landings levelled with mulch, and three Fontainebleau-style circuits marked: two for adults and one for children. The yearly Gramitico bouldering meet is held here (Oliunid).
• Dos dei Aser / Casetta degli Alpini: wooded and cool even in summer, with almost no walk to the first boulders, according to Oliunid; the hardest problems in the valley are here too.
• Nudole: a meadow at about 1,550 m with boulders right by the big car park. Oliunid says the guidebook covers about 50 boulders, most reached on flat ground.

Who it suits. There is something for people new to outdoor bouldering (the Boulder Park) all the way to people trying 8B and 8C. Bring pads and be ready to judge your own landings; Oliunid warns that around Eye of the Cyclops, above La Plana, the boulders sit in thick vegetation and landings need more care.

When to go

Pick sectors by altitude. In summer go up to Nudole or the woods at Casetta degli Alpini; in spring and autumn the sunny low boulders work. Oliunid notes that Nudole is often much colder than the valley floor early in the morning.

The road closes in winter. The Daone boulder blog says the road near Lago di Boazzo is usually closed from late November to late May, so in winter you can only drive to the sectors up to Scalette; Casetta degli Alpini is at most 20 minutes' walk up the road from the barrier. Oliunid says "usually closed from October to May". Both are second-hand; no closure notice from the municipality was found, so check with the Pieve di Bono tourist office before you go.

River levels. The blog warns that Caos Blocchi means wading across the river, and the level changes, so the way back can be harder. The Fishman, by the river at Casetta degli Alpini, is only climbable when the water is low.

Getting there

Public transport

lacrux suggests the train to Trento or Brescia, then a bus into the Valle del Chiese. The Trentino Trasporti regional lines page lists B201 (Trento–Sarche–Tione), B215 (Tione–Pieve di Bono–Storo) and B212 (Pieve di Bono–Praso–Daone); click a line for the current timetable.

Buses stop at Daone village at the mouth of the valley. For the boulders, the Adamello Brenta Nature Park (PNAB) mobility sheet shows, taking 2026 as an example, one Val di Fumo Express a day only from 8 to 23 August: leaving Tione at 9:00, Daone 9:20, Pracul 9:32, Boazzo 9:45; back through Pracul at 18:03. Booking is required by 8:00 the same day, €6 return. The rest of the time it is hard to get around the valley without a car; 27crags also says to drive, or fly to Venice or Milan and rent a car.

Driving

The Daone boulder blog gives three approaches: from Brescia in the south, Trento in the east, or Dimaro in the north. From Daone village, follow the valley road up; the sectors are strung along it. InfoBoulder's directions: from Brescia towards Madonna di Campiglio, or from Sarche to Tione and then left towards Brescia.

Parking

The blog says most sectors have roomy roadside parking, especially Casetta degli Alpini and Nudole; for Foresta you can now drive across the bridge to a dedicated car park; Caos Blocchi has little space.

At Foresta, don't park past the no-entry sign. InfoBoulder's "Divieti" note says to leave your car outside the no-entry sign at Foresta (Pracul), because "le multe le danno veramente" (they really do hand out fines). That is a database note; the signs on site are what count.

In summer, no roadside parking above Pracul. Valdaone municipality's Ordinance 36/2024: from Pracul to the Pozzo Cava car park by Lago di Malga Bissina, stopping and parking anywhere outside authorised areas, on the road or the verge, is banned; the road closes to traffic once Pozzo Cava is full; from mid-June to mid-September marshals control traffic 7:00–18:00. The ordinance only covers 2024 dates, and no 2026 version was found. Nudole, Casetta degli Alpini and La Curva are all above Pracul, so in summer read the signs on site.

Paid and pre-booked parking. The PNAB parking page, taking 2026 as an example: the valley car parks are managed 8:00–18:00 every day from 30 May to 2 June and from 13 June to 20 September, plus the weekends of 6–7 June and 27–28 September; buy online by 6:00 the same day. When Bissina is full, cars are sent to Pracul and a free shuttle runs up. The camper area at Nudole is paid and only open in summer when the road allows (tourist board).

Rules before you go

No camping. Oliunid says camping isn't allowed in the PNAB nature park; the Nudole car park has clean toilets and many people stay there in campers (paid, see above).

No phone signal. The PNAB parking page warns that in the upper Val Daone and the whole Val di Fumo "phone signal is NOT guaranteed", and Oliunid says there is none in the woods either. Work out in advance where you would walk to make a call, and tell someone which sector you're in.

Landings outside the Boulder Park. The publisher says the Boulder Park has safety standards "più elevati rispetto alle altre aree" (higher than other areas); elsewhere you sort out your own landings and bring enough pads. The Versante Sud guide includes a ten-point code of good boulderer behaviour; Oliunid mentions controversy over the impact of large numbers of "careless" climbers, and local clean-up meets such as Clean for Climb.

Closures and bans. As of October 2026 there is no published climbing ban or bird-nesting restriction for the boulder sectors.

Rescue. Italy's emergency number is 112; 118 is medical and mountain rescue (italia.it). trekking.it's 2023 summary (second-hand) says the autonomous province of Trento charges a small fee for rescue even when you are admitted to hospital, so check that your insurance covers mountain rescue.

Routes by level

YDS and V-grade conversions follow the Mountain Project international grade comparison chart and are approximate; "approx." marks grades the sources give without a/b/c (such as 4 or 5+). The original grade is the one that counts.

Valle di Daone is a bouldering area. theCrag also lists two crags, Placche di Danerba and Parete del V tornante, and InfoBoulder mentions a few bolted or trad routes, but no public source lists their routes and grades, so the four sport levels below read "Not listed in sources". The problems are in the last section, in four Font groups.

Beginner: up to 6a (YDS 5.10a and below)

Not listed in sources.

Intermediate: 6a+ to 6c+ (YDS 5.10b–5.11c)

Not listed in sources.

Advanced: 7a to 7c+ (YDS 5.11d–5.13a)

Not listed in sources.

Expert: 8a and up (YDS 5.13b and up)

Not listed in sources.

Bouldering

Font grades. lacrux says most problems are 6A to 7B. Names and grades come mainly from Planetmountain's problem list (names and grades only, no sectors), Oliunid's sector write-ups and InfoBoulder; where sources disagree, both grades are shown.

New to outdoor bouldering (Font 6A and below). Public sources don't name individual easy problems. The obvious place is the Boulder Park at La Plana: lacrux describes two adult circuits and one for children, and the tourist board says it is signposted and "safe even for those without much experience outside the gym". The Daone boulder blog also mentions a boulder in the woods by the road at Casetta degli Alpini with "due linee facili" (two easy lines) for warming up.

Intermediate (Font 6A+ to 6C+)

Advanced (Font 7A to 7C+)

Expert (Font 8A and up)

Combining it with Arco

The Daone boulder blog puts the two about 70 km apart. If you want sport and bouldering on the same trip, a common plan is to base yourself in Arco and drive into the valley for a day or two; when Arco is hot and muggy in summer, Daone's higher sectors are cooler.

Where to look things up

• theCrag: Valle di Daone: problem counts and ascents by sector.
• 27crags: Val Daone: problem lists for 14 areas (topos are paid).
• InfoBoulder: Val Daone: list of hard problems and the latest first-ascent and repeat news.
• Daone boulder blog: a local climber's notes on sectors, parking and the winter road (mostly posts from around 2013).
• PNAB parking and mobility: dates of managed summer parking, online booking and shuttle times.
• Trentino Trasporti regional lines: current timetables for B201, B215 and B212.
• Guidebook: Grades and route counts here come mainly from online databases; the guidebook is the authority.
  • Daone Boulder — Oltre 1800 passaggi + 1 boulderpark in Val Daone (Stefano Montanari, Versante Sud, Luoghi Verticali LV 38, 2021, Italian, ISBN 9788855470476): 1,800+ problems in 10 sectors, with QR codes for parking and videos; lacrux calls it the third edition.
  • The earlier Daone Prog — Blocchi sul granito dell'Adamello (same author, Versante Sud), listed in Planetmountain's bibliography, has been replaced by the book above.

References

• Planetmountain: Valle di Daone Boulder
• 27crags: Val Daone
• lacrux: Daone: The bouldering paradise not far from Arco (2023)
• Madonna di Campiglio tourist board: Bouldering in Valle di Daone and the Acroriver
• theCrag: Valle di Daone
• Oliunid: Val Daone: three all-round bouldering areas in the heart of Trentino (2025)
• Daone boulder: Mappa Daone (in Italian)
• Daone boulder: Casetta degli Alpini (2013) (in Italian)
• InfoBoulder: Val Daone (in Italian)
• MadBoulder: Problem S (Boulder 7 – La Plana) 6b
• Versante Sud: Daone Boulder (2021) (in Italian)
• PNAB: Parking lot Val di Daone – Val di Fumo
• PNAB: Val di Daone – Val di Fumo mobility sheet (PDF)
• Comune di Valdaone: Ordinance 36/2024 (PDF) (in Italian)
• Madonna di Campiglio tourist board: Nudole camper area (in Italian)
• Trentino Trasporti: Val Rendena – Giudicarie – Valle del Chiese regional lines (in Italian)
• italia.it: Emergency and assistance numbers (in Italian)
• trekking.it: Paid mountain rescue (2023) (in Italian)