Parking
Car visitors should park in Nethy Bridge, then follow the waymarked paths from Explore Abernethy Visitor Centre; toilets and local information are available there.
Overview
About King’s Road Trail, Nethy Bridge
Why go
- River and pinewood scenery with Cairngorm views
- A route with a local timber-working story
Heads up
- Often wet, muddy and rooty
- Several road crossings and seven steps
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Cairngorms map
Full mapElevation215–245 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 King’s Road Trail, Nethy Bridge, 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
Explore Abernethy and the River Nethy0:00 / 0:35
“You're coming up on Explore Abernethy, the small visitor centre inside Nethy Bridge Community Centre. Stop here for forest maps and a look at the wildlife sightings board before choosing a walk.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cairngorms Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Castle Roy and its Courtyard
- The Redstart’s Quivering Tail
- A Flood for the Timber
- The Treecreeper’s Upward Spiral
- 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 King’s Road Trail, Nethy Bridge
The village loopKing’s Road is a moderate 3-mile (4.8 km) loop from Nethy Bridge; allow about 1½ hours.
King’s Road is a moderate 3-mile (4.8 km) loop from Nethy Bridge; allow about 1½ hours. It follows the River Nethy into Scots pine forest, with Cairngorm views. Most of the route is gravel or earth on gentle slopes, but roots and wet, muddy patches make footing uneven. You’ll cross a few quiet roads and climb one flight of seven steps.
A working forestThe path enters through an old tree nursery, which closed in 1984 as natural regeneration…
The path enters through an old tree nursery, which closed in 1984 as natural regeneration overtook replanting. Nearby, an 1860 lade carried water from Duack Burn along King’s Road to power Duack Sawmill. Scots pine from this forest was used for ship timber, railway sleepers, buildings and pitprops; the route passes through a landscape shaped by timber working and regeneration.
Listen in the canopyWatch and listen for falling pine cones: red squirrels or Scottish crossbills may be feeding…
Watch and listen for falling pine cones: red squirrels or Scottish crossbills may be feeding overhead, though sightings are never guaranteed. Begin at Explore Abernethy Visitor Centre in Nethy Bridge; it has toilets and local information. Car visitors should park in the village and follow the waymarked route. Keep dogs on a short lead or under close control from April 1 through August 31 to protect ground-nesting birds.
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.
