Piano Battaglia in winter: skiing, snowshoes, snow and roads

Piano Battaglia, at about 1,600 metres in the municipality of Petralia Sottana, is the only mountain resort of the Metropolitan City of Palermo and the only one with ski lifts: a chairlift, a drag lift, a magic carpet and 3 runs totalling 4.5 km on Monte Mufara (Metropolitan City of Palermo). Snow lasts on average 6 to 8 weeks a year. From Palermo it is about 97 km.

At a glance

• Altitude: about 1,600 metres on the plateau; the chairlift climbs from about 1,560 to about 1,830 metres.
• Lifts: Mufara two-seater chairlift, Mufaretta drag lift, Marmotta magic carpet.
• Runs: Giovanni Falcone (blue), Paolo Borsellino (red), Vincenzo Mollica (black), 4.5 km in all.
• Operator: Palermo Energia, a company of the Metropolitan City, for the 2025-2026 season. In July 2026 the Metropolitan City published a tender to award the lifts as a concession.
• Prices and opening: price list on the Palermo Energia website. For winter 2026-2027 they have not been announced yet.
• Before you go: Meteomont bulletin, plateau webcam, news on the lifts opening.

Will the lifts open in winter 2026-2027?

As of 19 October 2026 nobody knows for sure. In July 2026 the Metropolitan City of Palermo launched an open procedure to award the management of the ski lifts and some buildings at Piano Battaglia as a concession. We have found no news on the outcome.

The last two seasons show that both snow and red tape matter:

• 2024-2025: after a year without skiing because of poor snow, the lifts reopened on 28 December 2024. They ran from 9 am to 4 pm on weekdays and until 4.30 pm on Sundays, public holidays and the days before them (Balarm).
• 2025-2026: the season was due to start at the end of December. Between bureaucratic delays and thin snow, the lifts restarted on 2 February 2026 (Balarm). In January the chairlift had received technical clearance, but the snow had melted.

We keep the up-to-date status of the lifts, with source and date, in our Snow in the Madonie section and on the page Skiing at Piano Battaglia, where you will also find last season’s price list.

Runs and lifts

Lift or run	What to know
Mufara chairlift	two-seater, from about 1,560 to 1,830 m, up to about 850 skiers an hour
Mufaretta drag lift	button lift for the intermediate area
Marmotta magic carpet	for beginners and children
Giovanni Falcone run	blue
Paolo Borsellino run	red
Vincenzo Mollica run	black

Data from the Metropolitan City of Palermo, report of July 2026. The three runs together measure 4.5 km and come down the slopes of Monte Mufara, which reaches 1,865 metres (OpenStreetMap).

Worth knowing if you come from abroad: it is a small resort, good for a day. The lifts were renewed between 2012 and 2017.

When there is snow

According to the Metropolitan City, snow covers Piano Battaglia for about 6 to 8 weeks a year. Recent seasons have started between late December and February, but some winters have had no skiing at all.

Before you drive up, check three things:

1. The Meteomont bulletin, Italy’s national snow and avalanche bulletin. It comes out every day at 2 pm and also covers the Sicilian mountains, where the data is collected by the Forestry Corps of the Sicilian Region.
2. The plateau webcam, set up by Weather Sicily with the parish of Madonna delle Nevi and listed by the Ente Parco.
3. The mountain forecast on our weather page.

Snowshoeing at Piano Battaglia

With snow, the forest tracks and trails around the plateau become snowshoe routes. One of the classic guided outings climbs to the top of Monte Mufara through the beech wood: in January 2024, for example, a nature guide offered it as an easy-to-moderate walk of about 3 hours (Balarm). Local guides and associations run them: look for them a few days ahead, because they only go ahead if there is snow. Routes and tips are on our page Snowshoeing in the Madonie.

The Italian Alpine Club (CAI) grades snowshoe routes as EAI, on three levels:

• EAI-F (easy): average slope under 10 degrees, height gain usually within 400 metres, no steep slopes above. Avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe are recommended.
• EAI-PD (moderate): slopes between 10 and 15 degrees, possible passages near steep slopes. Transceiver, shovel and probe are essential.
• EAI-D (difficult): slopes up to 25 degrees on terrain that can release avalanches. Ice axe and crampons may be needed.

Pizzo Carbonara in winter is a different story. Our Pizzo Carbonara trail page warns that you need snowshoes or crampons and experience of snowy mountains.

Sledging and snow with children

The plateau has areas to play in the snow, go sledging and walk with snowshoes: the Metropolitan City lists them among the resort’s recreational areas. The Marmotta magic carpet is meant for beginners.

On peak days the plateau fills up. Arrive early and keep children away from the ski runs.

Getting there in snow

Two provincial roads lead to Piano Battaglia (Metropolitan City of Palermo):

• the SP54, from the Cefalù side (Collesano, Isnello, Piano Zucchi) and from the Petralia Sottana side;
• the SP119, from Polizzi Generosa and the Palermo-Catania motorway, up to Portella Colla: closed by a landslide since February 2026.

From	Km	Main roads
Palermo	89	A19, SS113, SP9, SP54
Cefalù	45	SP54 bis, SP9, SP54
Catania	152	A19, SS120, SP54
Petralia Sottana	16.5	SP54
Collesano or Isnello	23	SP9, SP54

We calculated these distances on OpenStreetMap with OSRM, without snow or traffic. Road closures and notices are on our page about roads in the Madonie.

Snow chains and winter tyres. We have not found an order from the Metropolitan City for winter 2026-2027. Carry them anyway. On 5 January 2025 many cars that had driven up without chains or suitable tyres blocked the road for hours, including coaches and emergency vehicles (LiveSicilia). The mayor of Petralia Sottana announced checkpoints lower down for the following days.

Coaches. In winter 2023 an order of the Metropolitan City limited coach permits to 45 on weekends and public holidays, to be requested from the Comune of Petralia Sottana (BlogSicilia). If you are organising a group trip, check whether the limit applies.

Parking. The Metropolitan City lists 13 car parks along the SP54, SP113 and SP119, from Piano Zucchi to the Faguare car park, including Portella Colla, the skiers’ car park and the Grifone.

Where to stay and eat

On and around the plateau the Metropolitan City lists:

• the Rifugio Giuliano Marini, a few metres from the plateau, with 68 beds;
• the Rifugio Il Grifone, on the SP54 a few hundred metres from the entrance to Piano Battaglia, which serves food;
• the Ristoro Lo Scoiattolo, in the middle of the plateau.

The Rifugio Luigi Orestano, on the other hand, has been closed since 2008, again according to the Metropolitan City.

If you prefer to sleep in a village, Petralia Sottana is 16.5 km away: see where to stay in Petralia Sottana and where to eat in Petralia Sottana.

Piano Battaglia without skiing

Even without skis the day fills up. From the plateau start the Battaglietta-Portella Colla geology trail, about 5.2 km with 12 stops, and the Filippo Arena nature trail on Monte Mufara. With little snow you can walk them.

On Monte Mufara the European Space Agency has chosen the site for the world’s first Fly-Eye telescope, designed to track asteroids: according to the Metropolitan City the project is under construction.

If you like the idea of coming back in spring, Piano Battaglia is also the starting point of the Sentiero Italia CAI to Petralia Sottana. Other activities in the area are under Things to do in the Madonie.

Safety on snow

On the first opening weekend of the 2024-2025 season the Sicilian Alpine and Cave Rescue was called out 5 times (Balarm). In case of an accident call 112 and ask for medical rescue in a mountain environment: the operator passes the call to 118, which alerts the mountain rescue.

The other basic rules are in our guide to the CAI scale and trail safety.