Loch Àrd Sculpture Trail

Loch Àrd Sculpture Trail is a 4¼-mile (6.7 km) forest loop from Loch Ard Forest Car Park at Milton, circling Loch Àrd, Little Loch Àrd and Lochan a’ Ghleannain. Allow about 2½ hours. The reward is a sequence of lochside stretches and unexpected animal sculptures rather than a summit; it fits a half-day in the forest. Red waymarks guide you over tracks used by walkers, cyclists and vehicles.

From the car park, walk back to the access track and take the track opposite, signed Inversnaid; the first post is easy to miss. A picnic table sits beside a small lochan, where water lilies flower in summer. Beyond it, the route climbs through mixed woodland and bends downhill at marked junctions. Look among the trees for the mirrored Eagle Pole and the red-squirrel sculpture showing reds fighting back against greys. The Loch Ard shore returns later, with a narrower path along part of the water’s edge. A cave associated with Rob Roy is above the route, but it is not visible or accessible from the trail.

Most of the loop is on firm, gravelled forest tracks, often wide enough to share, but there are muddy and uneven patches. Expect long moderate slopes and several short steep climbs; the full circuit gains about 160 m. From the water, look across to the houses on Loch Ard and, in clear weather, toward Ben Lomond. This is a forest walk with changing loch views, not a continuous shoreline path.

Use Loch Ard Forest Car Park by Milton, reached from the B829 west of Aberfoyle. Public toilets and places to eat and drink are available in Aberfoyle, a separate stop from the trail. Dogs are allowed under Scotland’s access rules when kept under proper control. Around ground-nesting birds in forests and on loch shores, keep them on a short lead or close at heel during breeding season, usually April–July. Expect to share the forest roads and paths with other users and vehicles.