Best trails in Cairngorms National Park
Situated around the mountain range of the same name, the Cairngorms National Park is a striking natural landscape. The area is characterized by lakes, rivers, moors, and enormous Munros (mountains above 914 meters in height).
Visitors flock to the park for a variety of activities, including walking, cycling, mountain biking, climbing, and canoeing. The park contains nine National Nature Reserves within its boundaries. As with all large natural areas in the UK, visitors here are sure to see a variety of birds and unique vegetation.
Top trails
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Trail reviews for Cairngorms National Park
Cloudy day great for hiking. Green Loch is beautiful. The view top of the peak are really good. Some steep climbs. Mostly moderate hike. Highly recommend for a full Cairngorms experience
Really nice hike. Great views of the cairngorms. No castle views.
An awesome trail taking and loch views and the top of a mountain with views towards Kingussie and the Cairngorms. The trail is in fantastic condition curated throughout and easy on the feet no boots required.
The ugly sister of the Cairngorm mountains. The one people only climb on their 282 journey, but I really enjoyed this hike. I did this one solo. An easy climb and well pathed. Just long. About 14 miles in total. But can be done quickly if you get your head down! I only saw 1 other person that day and he had come across from Sgòr Gaoith. I may have been up there alone. So plan for that. Charge everything and carry plenty of supplies and clothing for all eventualities! It’s the Cairngorms. You can get all the seasons in 1 day. Prepare yourself for a really enjoyable hike though with lots of variety. A nice easy start through wooded areas, over rivers etc. Once you get out in the open be ready for a long, slow ascent before it plateaus for a pretty disappointing summit Cairn. Try climbing down to Lochann Am Bo for a nicer spot for lunch with stunning views! I didn’t take many pictures on the day as the weather was biblical. And my GPS stopped working half way through for some reason so it looks like I finished at the top. I descended in about 2 hours and 20 minutes (including a 20 minute lunch stop) though for a total time of about 5 hours or just over. The route down isn’t as well pathed, but it’s quicker! I wouldn’t go up this way though, it’s definitely a downhill path! I would advise trousers or gaiters/leg protectors as it gets quite bushy/shrubby and a bit muddy. I wore boots for this hike as I knew the weather wasn’t going to be great, which was the right choice for my day, but trail runners would have been fine in hindsight and probably quicker! Parking at Glenfeshie is great. Plenty spaces. I’ve never had a problem parking here in the height of summer, at weekends, and its used for hikers and mountain bikers! Parking is paid by donation. Go get it!
As with most of the Cairngorms Mountains, this one is very clearly marked, and well pathed. It’s a bit of a hike in though. The trail is about 13/14 miles up and down. So prepare accordingly and give yourself plenty of time. I had beautiful weather going in, and hail stones at the top. I could barely keep my eyes open at points. So plan for all weather types on this mountain! A fairly easy climb. The last 200 metres ascent got quite technical, but I’m fairly new to mountain hikes (around 40 Munros) and I managed this no problem climbing solo as well. Parking is easy on the main road at the Deer Centre but you will need to pay. Contactless payment is available. Think it was around £5 for a full day. Also not far from local services in Aviemore and Coylumbridge. I stayed at Glenmore Campsite the night before which is literally across the road from where you park to start. Nice campsite, with a bar that does good food, and has nice, clean facilities. Expensive, compared to most campsites though (£43 for a pitch and electric hookup for my Campervan) but worth it for its convenience to Bynack More. Would be a lovely place to stay for a few days whilst doing the hike if that’s how you tackle the Munros in my opinion. I just stayed the night before as I live locally. A lovely mountain to climb and a good challenge due to the miles!
Was a very long day and tough on the legs, but a great way to summit three more of the Cairngorms. Parked at the Glen Feshie car park just before Achlean. Some good paths in parts, including the landrover track, but there are also some pathless sections and a few burn crossings. The trickiest areas were going up Monadh Mor from Tom Dubh and the boulders at Beinn Bhrotain. Would imagine it could be pretty boggy on the Moine Mhor plateau during wetter periods, but it was dry for us. Navigation would need to be good in poor visibility as well.