Staying safe on the hills
There’s a huge range of places to walk and climb in the National Park – scenic glens and hills, lengthy mountain experiences or exposed and remote terrain. In winter, our hills and mountains can transform into icy, snow covered giants where experience and mountaineering skills are required.
A progressive approach to hillwalking is a great way to build up your fitness and experience, and the National Park has many routes suitable for visitors wanting to take their first steps in the Scottish hills.
Mountaineering Scotland has an excellent range of online resources to support hillwalkers. They also offer information and practical advice on how to stay safe, which you can read about in the Safety and skills in the mountains section.
For climbers, the National Park offers everything from picturesque bouldering circuits at Loch Katrine and East Loch Lomond, bolted single-pitch sport routes at Ardvorlich and Glen Ogle, to traditional easy classics and mountain test pieces on the schisty, towering bastions of the Cobbler.
Some other useful links include:
- Walk Highlands– covering routes, equipment and accommodation for the majority of hills and mountains in Scotland.
- The Ramblers Scotland– a charity whose goal is to protect the ability of people to enjoy the sense of freedom and benefits that come from being outdoors on foot.
- Mountaineering Scotland– representative organisation for hillwalkers, climbers and ski-tourers living in Scotland.
- The British Mountaineering Council– protects the freedoms and promotes the interests of climbers, hillwalkers and mountaineers.
- UKClimbing– a popular website offering a huge range of online climbing and mountaineering resources.
We want everyone to enjoy the National Park in a safe and responsible manner. Be aware that the owners of the land you are crossing might be engaged in deer management and other land management activities and you can help minimise the chance of disturbance. Read more about it in the Heading to the Hills practical guide.
Hiking and hillwalking are risk sports. Always ensure you are prepared before heading out to the hills. Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority cannot be held responsible for any accidents, injuries or damage sustained whilst hiking in the Park. All persons taking part in such activities do so at their own risk, acknowledging and accepting the risk of accident, injury or damage.