In the mountains with children: 8 toboggan runs in South Tyrol

For a unique sledging experience, head to Vipiteno in the Isarco Valley. This South Tyrolean resort boasts the longest toboggan run in Italy: a 10-kilometre track that starts at an altitude of 1860 metres on Monte Cavallo and goes all the way down to the valley with an altitude difference of 910 metres.

The lifts are open from 8.30 a.m. to 4.15 p.m., but the long toboggan run in Vipiteno is also open at night on Fridays, thanks to the gondola lift and lighting that operate until 10 p.m.

Just a stone's throw from Sterzing there is a little sledging paradise: Racines (or Ratschings), nestled between the valleys of Valgiovo, Val Racines and Val Ridanna.

There are 6 main toboggan runs, including a 5-kilometre track within the Racines-Giovo ski area, but the longest toboggan run in Racines is the one renamed Cima Incendio at Ridanna/Masseria: 6.4 km long with a unique panorama all around.

If you prefer evening runs, the Waldeben and Atscherwiesen slopes are illuminated every evening.

Sledges can be hired at all lift valley stations or in the mountain huts.

Guaranteed fun for adults and children in Obereggen, at the foot of the Latemar.

The experience of going down the slope with the majestic Dolomites in the background is unique.

If you love sledging, you can count on one slope where you can whizz for hours in the snow: the Obereggen slope, which is 2.5 kilometres long and can be reached comfortably with the Ochsenweide cable car. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, the slope is illuminated until 10 p.m. for even more impressive descents.

The Ski Center Latemar also offers a large Baby Park and the Alpine Coaster Gardonè with a fast two-seater bobsleigh on rails that operates in both summer and winter.

Ortisei, in the heart of Val Gardena, is home to an important landmark for tobogganing enthusiasts. The Rasciesa toboggan run starts at an altitude of 2,100 metres at the station of the new funicular, and descends 6 kilometres to 1,477 metres.

You can decide to go down it over and over again in its entirety or just concentrate on the first part thanks to the intermediate station, which allows a quick ascent even from halfway up the slope.

If you don't have a sledge with you, you can hire one, either single or for two people, at the valley station.

3 kilometres of toboggan runs through the high mountain meadows and forests of the Piz Sorega plateau await you for breathtaking descents in San Cassiano.

You can take the Piz Sorega cable car and quickly reach the starting point of the slope at an altitude of 2,000 metres. The finish is right in San Cassiano, and the maximum gradient to face to return to an altitude of 1,537 metres is 15%.

For an even more fun day out for the kids, don't miss the large playground in San Cassiano, the Alta Badia Movimënt, which is open in both summer and winter.

Adults and children alike will have fun on the Grünboden toboggan run, which can be reached via a modern cable car from the centre of Plan, at an altitude of 1,627 metres in Val Passiria.

The descent is adrenaline-fuelled, but suitable for everyone: from an altitude of 2,000 metres, the toboggan run leads down 6 kilometres to the village, with an altitude difference of 383 metres. Before returning home, however, don't forget to taste the delicious South Tyrolean handmade chocolate.

Those who love sledging list Bressanone as one of their focal points for skiing holidays.

This is thanks to the extremely long RudiRun toboggan run, which starts on the Plose at 2,050 metres and goes up to 1,067 metres after a run of 9.5 kilometres.

The run, which is also open at night during the Plose Night, will remain closed for the first part of the 2022-2023 winter season, but the good news is that there is no shortage of alternatives: the 6.3-kilometre-long Rossalm-Valcroce toboggan run, the 6.4-kilometre-long toboggan run from the Geisler Alm and the shorter but equally exciting Spelonca toboggan run.

5 kilometres in length, 600 metres in altitude difference and an excellent cable car connection: this is the Croda Rossa toboggan run, which is perfect for sledging with the whole family.

It starts at the top station of the Prati di Croda Rossa ski area in Moso and goes all the way down to the valley station. It' s impossible not to do the run 2-3 times because of the convenience of the cable car, which takes you back to the start of the slope in no time at all.