Trailence

Hiking - Malinvern Refuge and Lake Malinvern

Easy, not very taxing excursion to Lake Malinvern, passing through Malinvern Refuge, the ideal destination for those wanting to take a relaxed walk, perhaps with young children along.

After a long tract along the bottom of the Vallone di Riofreddo, among the evergreens, the path leads upward through open ground to the broad basin filled by Lake Malinvern's intensely blue waters.

From the parking lot in Vallone di Riofreddo, 1518 m asl, follow the unpaved road south. The road is initially unpaved, then alternates between paved and unpaved and finally becomes mostly asphalted or in cement.
Continuing on without taking any of the trails on either side of the road, one comes directly to the Malinvern Città di Ceva Refuge, better known as Rifugio Malinvern (1839 m, 1 hour and 15 minutes from Vallone di Riofreddo, 1518 m).
Backtracking a few meters, take the trail (on the left) downhill to the south, passing over the Rio Freddo on a small bridge. On the opposite slope, the path heads north, climbing steadily. Passing by a fork to the left, the climb continues with a couple of long midslope tracts and a series of elbow turns through a sparse patch of larches, along the foot of a rock face.
On reaching the ridge over Lake Malinvern, do not take the small path that goes up to the Laghi della Paur; shortly afterward, the path you are on turns right (southwest) and leads down to Lake Malinvern (2123 m, 1 hour and fifteen minutes from Malinvern Refuge).

Location
Vinadio
Type
Out and back
Distance
10.50 km
Duration
≈ 3h50
Ascent
717 m
Descent
717 m