Parking
Start at the paid Glen Doll Ranger Base car park at the head of Glen Clova. From the B955, follow the minor road toward Glen Doll; DD8 4RD is the closest postcode. Toilets, including accessible toilets, are beside the Ranger Base.
Overview
About Dounalt Trail
Why go
- White Water and larch forest lead to open Glen Doll views.
- The loop includes a historic stretch of Jock’s Road.
Heads up
- Rough, muddy patches and shallow fords make footing variable.
- Fairly steep slopes and a stepped bridge interrupt the broad gravel track.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Cairngorms map
Full mapElevation259–430 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 Dounalt 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
Glen Doll and Corrie Fee0:00 / 0:28
“You're coming up on Glen Doll, the road end for the walk to Corrie Fee.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cairngorms Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Fight for Jock’s Road
- Loch Brandy from Milltown of Clova
- The Curlew’s Curved Bill
- Loch Muick from Spittal
- 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 Dounalt Trail
The loopThe Dounalt is a 5¼-mile (8.
The Dounalt is a 5¼-mile (8.3 km) loop from Glen Doll Ranger Base, taking about three hours at a moderate pace. It follows White Water through larch forest, shares part of Jock’s Road, then crosses the glen and returns beside the burn. The route opens to views up Glen Doll before turning back into the trees.
Route and effortFrom the Ranger Base, take the track toward Jock’s Road and follow White Water upstream.
From the Ranger Base, take the track toward Jock’s Road and follow White Water upstream. Near the forest edge, cross the wooden bridge and return down the opposite side of the glen; a short connector closes the loop back at the earlier fork. Expect a few fairly steep slopes along an otherwise mostly broad gravel route.
Footing and crossingsThe surface is uneven gravel with rough, rocky and muddy stretches.
The surface is uneven gravel with rough, rocky and muddy stretches. A bridge with steps and several shallow fords add more uneven footing, so allow the full three hours rather than treating this as a quick forest stroll.
White Water and Jock’s RoadThe river and larch forest shape the walk, with craggy slopes and open views as the trees thin.
The river and larch forest shape the walk, with craggy slopes and open views as the trees thin. The shared stretch of Jock’s Road was an old sheep-droving route to Braemar; cattle rustlers and whisky smugglers also used it.
Wildlife and dogsRed deer may appear on the slopes above the route, and autumn can bring the sound of roaring…
Red deer may appear on the slopes above the route, and autumn can bring the sound of roaring stags. Dogs are welcome; signage at the glen entrance asks that they be kept on leads.
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.
