Lake Soraga

Lago di Carezza takes the crowds, and this lake stays quiet. The bank is given over to a park laid out for picnics, with grass running down to the water and the mountains standing behind it, and the whole place is kept scrupulously clean. No trail runs round the shore, so walking here means the meadow beside the water: out, a spot chosen, then sitting. The same stretch is used for cycling, and people arrive that way too and treat the lake as a stop rather than a destination.

• Toilets: none at the lake, and nothing mapped within 800 m of it.
• Swimming: there is no bathing spot on the shore; the park alongside is set up for picnics.
• Shade: very few trees stand on the bank, so in strong sun there is nothing to sit under.
• Drinking water: the nearest public drinking water is about 600 m from the lake.

Two asphalt car parks sit 160 and 170 m from the shore, and that is the whole of the walk in. The lake also lies on a stretch used for both walking and cycling, so a good part of the traffic here arrives on foot or by bike along that route rather than by car. The nearest bus stop is in Moena, under a kilometre off, with the rest on foot.

Better: an overcast day, or one you come to with a hat and something to sit on.

Avoid: hot, cloudless weather.

There are very few trees on the bank and no shade to sit in, so strong sun decides how long you last here. The water reads turquoise either way, and the mountains behind it hold the view.