Parking
The local paths map marks a car park by Boat of Garten Community Hall. Follow waymarked paths into the woods and join the Red Squirrel Trail to reach the Roe Deer junction.
Overview
About Roe Deer Trail, Boat of Garten
Why go
- A compact woodland circuit with both broad tracks and a smaller linking path.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Cairngorms map
Full mapElevation232–253 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
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 Roe Deer Trail, Boat of Garten, 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
Boat of Garten and the Spey0:00 / 0:27
“Boat of Garten is ahead, a good village stop if you'd like a meal and some time beside the Spey.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cairngorms Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Jay’s Hidden Oaks
- The Boat in Boat of Garten
- Loch Vaa and its Wooded Ridge
- Garten Woods and the Two Lochs
- 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 Roe Deer Trail, Boat of Garten
The loopThis moderate woodland circuit through Boat of Garten’s Deshar Wood is about 1.
This moderate woodland circuit through Boat of Garten’s Deshar Wood is about 1.9 miles, linking broad forest tracks with a smaller path off the Red Squirrel Trail. The listed distance is 1.5 miles, while tracing the complete mapped loop puts it closer to 1.9; allow about 50 minutes.
Finding the wayStart at the waymarked junction where the Roe Deer loop branches from the Red Squirrel Trail,…
Start at the waymarked junction where the Roe Deer loop branches from the Red Squirrel Trail, then follow the circuit back to that junction. The local paths map marks parking by Boat of Garten Community Hall; follow the waymarked woodland paths from there to the start.
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.
