What Tourists Visiting Italy's Dolomite Mountains Should Know Before Hiking To Take Photos

Farmers living in the northern Italian Alps have had it with social media influencers trespassing on their land to get the perfect selfie angle with the majestic Dolomite Mountains in the background. Now they are taking unexpected measures to curb the crowds — installing turnstiles and charging €5 per person (about $6) to access the most Instagrammable viewing points. The problem is especially pronounced in locations in the vicinity of Monte Seceda. The 8,264-foot pinnacle in South Tyrol (also known as Alto Adige, South Tyrol is a fairytale region of cliffside vineyards and castles in the Alps) offers stunning views of the Dolomites' Odle Peaks. Another hot spot, Drei Zinnen (Three Peaks), is an imposing rock formation known for its beautiful lakes and excellent ski slopes. It has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2009.

Since the farmers installed turnstiles in summer 2025, as many as 4,000 tourists pass through them on any given day. It's no wonder locals were peeved about the ever-increasing toll their presence was taking on the landscape. The only wrinkle to the farmers' new turnstiles might be the Italian law, which mandates free access to natural landscapes like the Alps and the Dolomites. But in many cases, getting there requires traipsing across privately owned land — and farmers say they haven't heard a peep from the authorities yet. Italian championship snowboarder Georg Rabanser, who owns land on Seceda, is among the locals who are taking matters into their own hands. According to a CNN report, Rabanser told La Usc, a regional magazine, "So many people come through here every day, everyone goes through our properties and leaves trash." He continued, "Ours was a cry for help."

When the first turnstile went up in late July 2025, landowners expected the Italian government to clamp down on their grassroots initiative. While a few local tourism agencies have called on authorities to order the removal of the turnstiles, and local governments have begun legal battles over their implementation, the response from the national government has been muted.

One regional tourism board assigned park rangers to direct tourists away from private property, and the governor of South Tyrol has publicly implored the Italian government to institute regulations to stem the influx of visitors and protect the alpine ecosystem. In the meantime, Mother Nature will soon be putting a temporary kibosh on the social media phenomenon. When winter snow starts to fall, trails that are relatively easy to hike in the summer become more challenging, if not altogether impossible, to traverse. Only time will tell if traffic will pick up again in the spring.

If you ever go to the Dolomites, avoid the lines and the angry landowners and seek out the road less traveled. Just a few miles from the thousands-strong queues of people waiting to pay a couple of euros for a quick shot of the same vista everyone else is capturing, visitors exploring the nearby village of Ortisei are strolling through the most beautiful little town of the Dolomites. The friendly village known for hospitality centers on a pedestrian-friendly hub lined with shops, cafés, and restaurants. Plus, it offers a direct cable car connection to Seceda. Ortisei is also a central location for exploring the region's vineyards and wineries, including Zöhlhof, an organic winery in the Eisack Valley, and Kellerei Bozen in Bolzano. A short drive north of the Dolomites, you can also visit Brixen, a storybook mountain town in the northern reaches of Italy.