Italy's National Parks

Lying high in the Dolomite Alps dotted by villages where German is the first language, Bellunesi encompasses a group of pyramid-shaped mountains that will remind American visitors of the Grand Tetons—especially if you take the Hollywood crowds of Jackson Hole and the Euro jet-set hordes of Venice to be roughly equivalent. Good roads and rail lines lead directly into the park, which, like the Tetons, gets considerably wilder once you leave the parking lot and get into the backcountry. There, on quiet but well-maintained trails, you'll see chamois, roe deer, ibex, mountain goats, and bears. Camping is not permitted within the park, but there are plenty of campgrounds at its gates. Feltre, a charming Alpine town near the southern entrance to the park, offers good restaurants and several small hotels; the best rates are in fall and early spring, on either side of the winter ski season and the summer getaway.

Lying high in the Dolomite Alps dotted by villages where German is the first language, Bellunesi encompasses a group of pyramid-shaped mountains that will remind American visitors of the Grand Tetons—especially if you take the Hollywood crowds of Jackson Hole and the Euro jet-set hordes of Venice to be roughly equivalent.

Good roads and rail lines lead directly into the park, which, like the Tetons, gets considerably wilder once you leave the parking lot and get into the backcountry. There, on quiet but well-maintained trails, you'll see chamois, roe deer, ibex, mountain goats, and bears. Camping is not permitted within the park, but there are plenty of campgrounds at its gates. Feltre, a charming Alpine town near the southern entrance to the park, offers good restaurants and several small hotels; the best rates are in fall and early spring, on either side of the winter ski season and the summer getaway.