PAINANI
PAINANI

PAINANI · RUN / LOCAL

56 · Río Negro, Argentina

Refugio Frey

Run 20 km out and back from the Cerro Catedral car park to a stone hut at 1,700 m beside Laguna Toncek, after filing the free, obligatory Nahuel Huapi trekking registration.

Trail runningOut and back
20.2 kmDistance700 mElevation gainHardSite gradeSan Carlos de BarilocheNearest base

Site grade

HardFeatured

Twenty kilometres with 700 m of official gain and a steep rocky finish; the trail is always clear and needs no special skills, but the tourism office budgets eight hours for walkers and the park closes it to trekking outside December to April.

The experience

The round trip is 20.2 km on Wikiexplora's track, with 700 m of official gain concentrated in the final climb. The forest miles are runnable; the stone staircase to the hut is not, and comes back at you first on the descent.

The hut is named for Emilio Frey. It sleeps 40, serves meals, and sits on the shore of Laguna Toncek, whose turquoise water the tourism office describes as cold.

The hut belongs to the Club Andino Bariloche, whose office in town handles hut information and links to the park's trekking registration. Bariloche's mountains are walkable because of the club's huts, and Frey is the one every visitor hears about first.

Where the sources disagreeRegistration with Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi is obligatory and free for any trekking in the park, and the park says it must be filed within the 48 hours before departure, with the forecast checked and trail closures verified: its January 2026 notice states this in one sentence. The Club Andino gives the hut's season as December to April; Wikiexplora treats May to November as ski-touring terrain, with the ascent taking six to seven hours on snow. Fires are banned on mountain trails; stoves only. To sleep or eat at the hut, book on the refuge's own site. Two published figures for the hut's altitude, 1,700 and 1,740 m, and two for the gain, 700 m official against Wikiexplora's 1,056 m, sit side by side; none is a survey.

Trail path

The line
you follow.

StartCerro Catedral car park, Villa CatedralFinishCerro Catedral car park, Villa CatedralDirectionOut to the hut on the traditional trail and back the same way. The ridge route over Cerro Catedral is a summer-only alternative for the return.
  1. 01Villa Catedral car park
  2. 02Forest traverse
  3. 03Footbridges
  4. 04Steep final climb
  5. 05Refugio Frey and Laguna Toncek

Route sections

01 · The Ski-Base ExitVilla Catedral to the forest traverse
The trail leaves beside the car park under the lifts and enters the forest. It is signed, always clear, and the easiest running of the route.02 · Colihue CorridorForest traverse to the footbridges
Forest and walls of colihue cane, with metal footbridges over the streams. Rolling, runnable, and where the hours go if you stop for every view.03 · The Stone StaircaseFootbridges to Refugio Frey
The path steepens onto rock and stone for the final climb. Wikiexplora calls this the demanding part; the hut appears late, on the shore of Laguna Toncek, under granite spires.04 · The Long Way HomeRefugio Frey to Villa Catedral
Three hours for walkers in season. The steep rock comes first, then ten kilometres of forest at whatever pace your legs have left.

Weather profile

What the sky
is likely to do.

Patagonian mountain weather at 1,000 to 1,700 m. Wind and cold fronts arrive fast even in summer; the trail holds snow from May to November, when Wikiexplora doubles the ascent time. Summer days are long.

Season & timing

Managed seasonThe Club Andino lists the hut and its trail as December to April. The tourism office says the hut is also open in winter for those equipped for snow.Best windowJanuary to March, on a morning with a clear forecast, starting from Villa Catedral at first light so the stone staircase is done before the afternoon wind.SurfaceForest footpath through colihue cane, metal footbridges, rocky sections, a steep stony final climb to the hutDirectionOut to the hut on the traditional trail and back the same way. The ridge route over Cerro Catedral is a summer-only alternative for the return.

Signature moments

What you will
remember afterwards.

01

Leaving the ski lifts behind for the forest

02

Metal footbridges over clear streams

03

The first sight of the granite needles

04

The hut on the shore of Laguna Toncek

REGISTRATION

48 H

File the free trekking registration within 48 hours of leaving

The park's own words, January 2026: before going to the mountain it is obligatory to complete the trekking registration within the previous 48 hours, consult the forecast and verify possible trail or area closures. The form is online at nahuelhuapi.gov.ar and linked from clubandino.org.

Access & logistics

AccessVilla Catedral is the base of the Cerro Catedral ski area, reached by city bus or car from Bariloche. The traditional trail starts beside the car park. The Bariloche tourism office also describes an alternative start from the Lago Gutiérrez ranger post in Villa Los Coihues, served by bus 50.PermitsObligatory, free trekking registration with Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi, filed online within 48 hours before departure. No fee for the trail.BookingsTo sleep or eat at Refugio Frey, book on refugiofreybariloche.com. The hut sleeps 40.WaterStreams cross the trail in the forest; the tourism office asks for at least 1.5 litres per person on the Lago Gutiérrez variant. Carry your own capacity.FoodMeals at the hut in season. Nothing on the trail. Cafés and shops at Villa Catedral.Mobile coverageSignal at Villa Catedral; do not rely on it in the valley or at the hut.DurationThe tourism office gives 4 hours up and about 8 hours round trip. Wikiexplora gives 3 to 4 hours up and 3 down in season, 6 to 7 up on snow.

Key hazards

  • ▲Fast weather changes and wind above the forest
  • ▲Snow on the trail from May to November
  • ▲Steep rock and stone on the final climb
  • ▲Cold water in Laguna Toncek
  • ▲Long return with the steep section first
  • ▲No fires permitted; carry a stove

SafetyOrientation only. Always use current official maps, alerts and safety guidance. File the registration, check the forecast and closures, carry a windproof layer and a stove, and turn around at the first sign of a front.

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Official sources

Last verified 2026-09-16 · Record CETC-RUN-056 · Orientation only. Always use current official maps, alerts and safety guidance.

Photograph: Justraveling.com · CC BY-SA 4.0