safety
Snow Gates in Scotland: Which Roads, Who Closes Them, How to Check
Where Scotland's snow gates are, who decides to shut them, how to check live status before you drive, and what to do if a gate closes while you are on the wrong side of it.
Quick Summary
- Snow gates are physical barriers that let a road be closed safely at a settlement, rather than leaving drivers stranded on the pass itself
- Traffic Scotland publishes live open/closed status for every trunk-road gate at traffic.gov.scot — councils publish their own separately
- The closure decision is the police's, taken on the advice of the roads authority; BEAR Scotland and Amey operate the gates on trunk roads
- An open gate is not a safety clearance — it only means nobody has closed the road yet
If you drive to Scottish hills in winter, sooner or later a gate stops you. The A93 over the Cairnwell and the A939 over the Lecht are the two that catch people most often, usually on a Saturday morning with a car full of kit and a plan that has just evaporated. The gates are not a nuisance — they exist because the alternative is drivers stopped by drifts halfway over a pass in the dark, which is how a weather problem becomes a rescue.
Quick Answer: Snow gates are lockable barriers on Scotland's most exposed roads, positioned in pairs so that a whole pass can be shut at once and traffic turned back from a village rather than stranded on the summit. Traffic Scotland lists every trunk-road gate with a live open or closed status; Aberdeenshire and Highland councils publish their own. The decision to close is taken by Police Scotland on the roads authority's advice, and the gates are physically operated by the trunk road operating companies or the council. An open gate means the road has not been closed — it is not a statement that the road is in good condition.
What a snow gate actually is
A snow gate is a hinged barrier across the carriageway, sited at a village, junction or lay-by on the approach to a high or exposed section of road. Gates come in pairs or sets: one on each side of the ground that gets blocked. When the pass is shut, both are swung across, and drivers are turned back somewhere with a road junction and usually a phone signal.
The positioning is the whole point. Transport Scotland's own description is that the gates exist so a road closure can be carried out "in a safe and controlled manner" — the controlled part being that traffic is stopped before it commits to the climb rather than after.
Which roads have snow gates
Traffic Scotland's snow gate page is the definitive live list for the trunk network. As published there, the gates are:
| Road | Gate locations | What it protects |
|---|---|---|
| A93 | Spittal of Glenshee, Braemar (at the caravan park) | The Cairnwell Pass — at 670 m, the highest public road in Britain |
| A939 | Cock Bridge, Bridge of Leachd south of Tomintoul | The Lecht — second only to the Cairnwell for height |
| A9 | Blair Atholl, Dalwhinnie, Newtonmore, Helmsdale, Berriedale Braes | Drumochter (Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie bracket it) and the far-north braes |
| A82 | Glencoe, Tyndrum, Bridge of Orchy | Rannoch Moor and the Glen Coe approaches |
| A835 | Braemore, Aultguish Inn | The Dirrie More crossing to Ullapool |
| A68 | Soutra Mains Farm, Oxton | Soutra Hill on the Borders route south |
| A96 | Glens of Foudland | The exposed rise between Huntly and Inverurie |
| Dalwhinnie–Laggan road | Catlodge, Dalwhinnie Distillery | The A889 link between the A9 and the A86 |
Two things in that table are worth spelling out, because both are places where reciting a list from memory goes wrong.
There is no gate called "Drumochter", and none called "Cairnwell". Those are the passes; the gates are named for the settlements that bracket them. On the A9 the relevant pair is Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie. On the A93 it is Spittal of Glenshee and Braemar. If you are searching a live status page for the name of the pass you will not find it.
Traffic Scotland labels the two Dalwhinnie–Laggan gates "A899". The road between Catlodge and Dalwhinnie is the A889; the A899 is a dual carriageway in Livingston. We are recording what the page says rather than silently correcting it, because if you are scanning that list on a phone at Dalwhinnie, the label you will see is the one they publish.
Council-operated gates
The trunk list is not the whole picture, and this is the gap that catches people planning an eastern Cairngorms trip. Several of the most closure-prone roads in Scotland are council roads with their own gates and their own information channels.
Aberdeenshire Council operates gates on the B974 Banchory–Fettercairn road at Cairn o' Mount, and on the B976 at the A93 junction at Crathie and at Gairnshiel Lodge. Cairn o' Mount in particular closes regularly and is not on the Traffic Scotland page at all.
Highland Council operates the gates at both ends of the Bealach na Bà, the Applecross pass. This one is worth planning around rather than checking on the day: after it was shut on New Year's Day 2026 it stayed closed for roughly two weeks, which the council described as its longest closure in many years. The coast road round by Shieldaig is the alternative, and it is a long way.
Who decides, and who turns the key
These are two different jobs and it is useful to know which is which when you are reading an announcement.
The decision to close is the police's. Transport Scotland's winter service pages state that gates allow closure "on police instruction". Aberdeenshire Council puts the same division in its own words for its own roads: closure and subsequent reopening "will only take place on the advice of the council and with the authority of the Police". So the roads authority advises on the state of the road; Police Scotland authorises the closure.
The gates are operated by the roads people. On trunk roads that is the operating companies — BEAR Scotland and Amey, who run Transport Scotland's winter service through their severe weather managers. On council roads it is the council's own squads.
The practical consequence for you is that closure news arrives through both channels, and they are not always simultaneous. A Police Scotland statement, a Traffic Scotland status change and a council social media post can appear minutes or hours apart.
Where to check, in order
- Traffic Scotland's snow gate page — every trunk-road gate with a live open or closed status, in both directions.
- Traffic Scotland's CCTV cameras and gritter tracker, on the same site. A camera showing the road surface is more informative than any status flag.
- @TrafficScotland for closures as they are announced.
- The relevant council for anything off the trunk network. Aberdeenshire publishes webcams covering Braemar, Glenshee, Cock Bridge and Cairn o' Mount; Highland Council announces Bealach na Bà closures itself.
- Police Scotland travel advice during a named storm or amber warning.
Third-party sites mirror the gate feeds and some are genuinely useful, but they are copies. When the answer matters, read the operator's page.
What to do if you are caught by a closure
Do not drive round or past a closed gate. It is closed because the road beyond has been judged impassable or about to become so. Getting stuck past a gate means a recovery on ground the ploughs have not reached, in the dark, in the conditions that caused the closure.
Turn back early rather than trying to beat it. If a closure has been announced for later in the day and you are on the near side of the pass, the window is not an opportunity. The gates are hours of driving apart in detour terms — the A939 detour runs round by the A95 and Grantown, and there is no short way round the Cairnwell at all.
Know your alternative before you leave. For the Bealach na Bà that is the coast road via Shieldaig. For Glenshee it means going round rather than over, which is a different day out, not a delay. Decide in advance whether the trip still makes sense if the pass is shut, because deciding that in a lay-by with the light going is how people talk themselves into a bad drive.
Carry the kit that makes a wait survivable. Warm layers you are not wearing, a hot drink, food, a fully charged phone, a torch, and a shovel if you have one. Assume no phone signal: upper Glen Etive, Drumochter and much of the A939 are all patchy to non-existent. Tell someone your route and your expected time.
If you are already on the hill when the gates shut, your car is on the wrong side of a closure and your problem is accommodation rather than driving. Braemar, Tomintoul, Dalwhinnie and Aviemore all have beds; a night in a village is a substantially better outcome than a night in a drift.
A closed gate usually means the whole day needs rethinking, not just the road. Our travel sister site's winter guides cover what is actually open and reachable in the worst of it — Scotland in January and Scotland in February are the two months these gates close most often.
The hills and resorts behind the gates
The gate-prone roads are the access roads for some of Scotland's most-visited winter ground, which is exactly why the closures bite.
The A93 over the Cairnwell is the road to Glenshee Ski Centre and to the fastest Munro round in Scotland — The Cairnwell, Carn Aosda and Carn a' Gheoidh from the ski car park — plus Glas Maol and Carn an Tuirc on the east side.
The A939 over the Lecht is the road to The Lecht, and the link between Deeside and Speyside that a Cairngorms weekend often depends on.
The A9 through Drumochter carries the approach lay-bys for Sgairneach Mhor on the west side and Carn na Caim and A' Bhuidheanach Bheag on the east — the classic bad-weather-elsewhere Munros, on the road most likely to be the problem itself.
The A82 gates at Glencoe, Tyndrum and Bridge of Orchy sit on the Rannoch Moor crossing and the approach to Glen Coe and Glencoe Mountain Resort.
Snow gates and the avalanche forecast are different questions
A closed gate tells you the road is impassable. It tells you nothing about the snowpack, and an open gate tells you nothing about it either. The two most common winter-planning mistakes here are treating a passable road as evidence of benign conditions, and — much worse — treating a closed road as the only hazard worth checking.
Read the SAIS avalanche forecast for the area you are actually going to, remembering that only six massifs are forecast at all and most Scottish hills sit outside the network entirely. Then read the mountain weather forecast. The road is the first gate of the day; the snowpack is the one that matters once you are out of the car.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Scottish roads have snow gates?
Traffic Scotland's live snow gate page lists gates on the A82 (Glencoe, Tyndrum, Bridge of Orchy), the A93 (Spittal of Glenshee and Braemar), the A939 (Cock Bridge and Bridge of Leachd south of Tomintoul), the A9 (Blair Atholl, Dalwhinnie, Newtonmore, Helmsdale, Berriedale Braes), the A835 (Braemore and Aultguish Inn), the A68 (Soutra and Oxton), the A96 at the Glens of Foudland, and two on the Dalwhinnie–Laggan road at Catlodge and Dalwhinnie Distillery. Councils operate further gates off the trunk network — Aberdeenshire on the B974 at Cairn o' Mount and the B976 at Crathie and Gairnshiel, and Highland Council on the Bealach na Bà.
Who decides to close a snow gate?
On the trunk road network the closure decision is the police's. Transport Scotland's own wording is that snow gates let a road be closed "on police instruction" in a safe and controlled way; the operating companies, BEAR Scotland and Amey, physically run the winter service and the gates. Aberdeenshire Council states the same split for its own roads: closure and reopening happen on the council's advice and with the authority of the police.
Where can I check if a snow gate is closed?
Traffic Scotland's snow gate page at traffic.gov.scot shows each trunk-road gate as open or closed, alongside CCTV cameras and the gritter tracker. @TrafficScotland posts updates as they happen. For council-operated gates you need the council: Aberdeenshire publishes webcams covering Braemar, Glenshee, Cock Bridge and Cairn o' Mount, and Highland Council announces Bealach na Bà closures on its own channels.
Does an open snow gate mean the road is safe?
No. An open gate means nobody has closed the road yet. It says nothing about whether there is ice, drifting, standing snow or a queue of stuck vehicles on the pass. Roads without gates close too, by police road closure or simply by becoming blocked. Read the gate status as one input alongside the forecast and the CCTV, never as clearance to drive.
What happens if the gates close while I am between them?
That is the situation the gates are positioned to prevent, and it is why they sit at settlements either side of a pass rather than at the summit. If a closure is announced while you are on the near side, turn round early rather than trying to beat it. If you are already committed and conditions deteriorate, do not drive round or past a closed gate — it is closed because the road beyond is judged impassable, and recovery from a drift on a pass in the dark is a serious and slow business.
How long do Scottish snow gates stay shut?
Anything from a few hours to weeks. Most closures are overnight or for the duration of a weather event. Extended closures do happen on the highest passes: the Bealach na Bà was shut for around two weeks after New Year's Day 2026, which Highland Council described as its longest closure in many years. We have not found an operator-published average or per-season closure count for any Scottish gate, so treat any specific figure you see quoted with suspicion.
Related articles
- Scotland's Avalanche Forecast: How to Read and Use SAIS — the other forecast that decides a winter day
- How to Read the Mountain Weather Forecast — MWIS and Met Office for hill days
- Winter Hillwalking in Scotland for Beginners — kit, first hills and progression
- Skiing in Scotland — the five resorts, four of them behind a gate-prone road
Road status changes by the hour. Nothing on this page is a live status — always check Traffic Scotland or the relevant council immediately before you travel, and follow Police Scotland advice during severe weather.
Sources
- Snow gates live status — Traffic Scotland
- Winter service — Transport Scotland
- Snow clearing and snow gates — Aberdeenshire Council
- Britain's highest and lowest roads — Ordnance Survey