Parking
Park at Aviemore Youth Hostel for your visit; overnight parking is not allowed. Follow the path through the A9 subway to the reserve entrance, about 0.3 km and 10 minutes each way. Toilets are at the hostel.
Overview
About Viewpoint Trail, Craigellachie
Why go
- Wide views over Aviemore and the Cairngorms from the open rim
- A waymarked route that moves from birchwood onto open hillside
Heads up
- Long, steep slopes with loose gravel, steps and rough narrow sections
- No shelter on the open hill
Viewpoint Trail is a waymarked out-and-back in Craigellachie National Nature Reserve, climbing through birchwood to the open hillside above Aviemore. The trail is about 2¾ miles (4.4 km) round trip from the reserve entrance. Plan on roughly two to two and a half hours. It is strenuous: choose it for a sustained climb and a broad Cairngorm view, not for a gentle woodland stroll.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs it the climb for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Cairngorms map
Full mapElevation223–478 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 Viewpoint Trail, Craigellachie, 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
Craigellachie’s Viewpoint Walk0:00 / 0:28
“You’re nearing the access to Craigellachie Nature Reserve, where the Viewpoint Trail climbs through birchwoods to an open view over Aviemore and the Cairngorms.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cairngorms Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Strathspey Railway from Aviemore
- A Bat’s Feeding Buzz
- Rothiemurchus Centre, Food and Beaver Trail
- Geal-charn Mòr from Lynwilg
- 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 Viewpoint Trail, Craigellachie
Start at the reserve entranceThe distance starts on the reserve side of the A9 subway.
The distance starts on the reserve side of the A9 subway. Park at Aviemore Youth Hostel for the visit, then walk through the underpass to the entrance: 0.3 km and about 10 minutes each way on mostly firm gravel, with one rough stretch and a short steep slope. Add that access walk to the trail figures. Overnight parking at the hostel is not allowed; toilets are there.
The climbThe path rises through lower birch woodland before reaching the open hill.
The path rises through lower birch woodland before reaching the open hill. The higher sections keep climbing over gravel, steps and rocky ground, with uneven and narrow patches and loose gravel underfoot. Follow the Viewpoint waymarks and retrace the same corridor on the way back. The open hill has no shelter, and its weather can change quickly; leave extra time if you want to linger at the top.
Look out over AviemoreThe climb earns its view on Craigellachie's open rim: Aviemore and Strathspey spread below,…
The climb earns its view on Craigellachie's open rim: Aviemore and Strathspey spread below, with the Northern Corries and higher Cairngorms beyond. For a photo, keep some of the rough path or heather in the foreground with the town and mountain skyline behind it; that shows both the view and the hillside you climbed.
Dogs and a shorter walkDogs are allowed, but from 1 April to 31 July keep them on a short lead or under close control…
Dogs are allowed, but from 1 April to 31 July keep them on a short lead or under close control during the bird-breeding season, and follow any notices. If you want a gentler alternative from the same entrance, the easy Lochan Trail follows the banks of Loch Puladdern for about 0.8 km without the climb to the open hill.
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.
