Parking
Start at Anagach Woods Car Park at the end of Forest Road, by the woods near Grantown-on-Spey.
Overview
About Anagach Red Trail
Why go
- A longer loop reaches into the heart of the pinewoods
- Mostly well-made paths with only short moderate slopes
Heads up
- Uneven earthy sections can get muddy after rain
- Colored route junctions need attention to the red markers
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Cairngorms map
Full mapElevation194–225 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Cairngorms alerts
- CautionStorm Boelo high windsStorm Boelo will bring extremely windy weather to the Cairngorms; take extra care and limit time outdoors. - The Park Authority expects the very windy weather to last until Monday 26 October.Official details
- ClosureGlenmore wildfire closures and dangerous treesWildfire damage has closed Allt Mor car park and the path to Sugarbowl/Utsi’s Bridge; keep out of the closed area.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Cairngorms Tour Guide
Your drive to Anagach Red Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Cairngorms National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Cairngorms audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Anagach Woods' All Abilities Trail0:00 / 0:28
“You're approaching Anagach Woods, where the All Abilities Trail offers a gentle way into the pinewoods.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cairngorms Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Grantown Square and Museum
- Two Sides of a River Bend
- When the Main Line Crossed Dava
- A Twelve O’Clock Caber
- 298 audio storiesacross Cairngorms’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Reindeer, Osprey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 260 trails, 90 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Anagach Red Trail
The longer Anagach loopAnagach Red Trail is the longer circular walk through the heart of the ancient pinewoods: 5.
Anagach Red Trail is the longer circular walk through the heart of the ancient pinewoods: 5.5 miles (8.8 km) from the end of Forest Road, with about 2½ hours on foot. Most of it is on well-made paths, with short moderate slopes and a few earthy, uneven stretches. The blue trail is the shorter choice at 2 miles and about an hour.
Keep to the red waymarksSeveral colored routes cross the woods, so pay attention where paths meet and follow the red…
Several colored routes cross the woods, so pay attention where paths meet and follow the red markers. The route line here is traced from the community leaflet map and is approximate; use the waymarks to confirm the way on the ground. Start by Anagach Woods Car Park at the Forest Road end.
Pines and wildlifeThe route passes through a mix of Scots pine and birch.
The route passes through a mix of Scots pine and birch. Red squirrels, crested tits and capercaillie live in the woods, though sightings are never guaranteed. Anagach was first planted in 1766 with trees from nearby Abernethy Forest; natural regeneration began in the early 1800s, and the woodland is now mostly self-seeded.
Dogs and capercaillieFrom April through August, keep dogs on a lead in eastern Anagach and stay on the paths to…
From April through August, keep dogs on a lead in eastern Anagach and stay on the paths to protect capercaillie. It’s a seasonal rule for this part of the woods, even if the red markers take you onto a quiet side path.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Cairngorms
159 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
63 sightingsReindeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
102 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
37 sightingsBlack GrouseMost seen around 4 AMSighting map
72 sightingsRed GrouseMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
82 sightingsPine MartenMost seen around 9 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Cairngorms. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
