Parking
Use the youth hostel car park when visiting; overnight parking is not allowed. Follow the access track past the hostel and through the A9 underpass to reach the reserve entrance.
Overview
About Woodland Trail, Craigellachie
Why go
- A short circuit through lower birch woodland.
- Spring and summer flowers along the route.
Heads up
- A few steep, uneven sections; the access track can be rough or muddy.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Cairngorms map
Full mapElevation226–255 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 Woodland 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 Woodland Trail, Craigellachie
The loopWoodland Trail is a short circuit through birch woods in the lower part of Craigellachie…
Woodland Trail is a short circuit through birch woods in the lower part of Craigellachie reserve. The mapped walk from the west side of the A9 underpass and back is about 1 km (0.62 mi): follow a short connector to the loop, then return by the same link. Published distances differ, ranging from 800 m to 1 km, so plan around the full mapped line. Allow about 20 minutes.
Surface and accessMost of the path is smooth and surfaced, but a few sections are steep and uneven.
Most of the path is smooth and surfaced, but a few sections are steep and uneven. The approach from the youth hostel toward the underpass and reserve entrance can also be steep, rough or muddy. The route has no summit viewpoint; this is a short woodland walk.
Spring flowersThe lower birch woods are known for spring and summer flowers.
The lower birch woods are known for spring and summer flowers. Lesser celandine, dog violet and wood sorrel are among the reserve’s spring highlights. I could not verify a dog policy for this trail; check the reserve rules before taking a pet.
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.
