Wild Camping
Wild Camping in Cairngorms National Park
The UK's largest national park — vast, high and genuinely remote
Current conditions
Daylight Today
- Sunrise
- 05:17
- Sunset
- 21:05
- Civil dawn
- 04:29
- Civil dusk
- 21:53
NOAA Solar Calculator · 5 May 2026
About this region
The Cairngorms is the UK's largest national park and offers wild camping at all scales — from roadside spots near Aviemore to multi-day expeditions on the high plateau above 1,000m. The camping here is largely unglamorous in the best sense: granite, heather, Caledonian pine, and the sense that you are genuinely on the edge of the largest wilderness in Britain.
Best camping spots
- Loch an Eilein (short walk from car park, sheltered pine forest)
- Loch Morlich shoreline (accessible, exposed)
- Fords of Avon (remote, high-level, 2-day approach)
- Loch Avon basin (spectacular cirque camp, serious approach)
- Glen Feshie (lower glen camps, pine forest)
- Ryvoan Pass area (near the famous bothy)
Getting there
Main access from Aviemore. Good road network to Glenmore, Braemar and Tomintoul. Loch Morlich and Glenmore areas have good facilities. Remote areas (Loch Avon, Fords of Avon) require 10–16km walk-in.
Best months
June–August for plateau camps; May and September for lower glen camps
Key challenges
High-plateau camps are genuinely exposed — 4-season tent required, temperature can drop to -10°C even in summer; navigation on plateau featureless in cloud
Why come here
Largest mountain wilderness in UK; ancient Caledonian pine at Rothiemurchus and Glen Feshie; Loch Avon is one of the most spectacular mountain lochs in Britain
Frequently asked questions
- Can I camp on the Cairngorm high plateau?
- Yes — there are no restrictions on camping on the Cairngorm plateau itself. However, plateau camps above 900m are genuinely serious: temperatures can drop to -10°C even in July, wind exposure is extreme, and navigation in cloud is challenging on the featureless plateau. A 4-season tent with good pegging is essential, and full navigation skills (map and compass, not just GPS) are required. Several hillwalkers have been caught out by sudden weather deterioration.
- What is Loch Avon like for wild camping?
- Loch Avon (also spelled Loch A'an) lies at 744m in a spectacular glacial cirque below the main Cairngorm plateau — one of the most dramatically situated mountain lochs in Britain. The approach requires a 10–16km walk-in depending on route (from Aviemore via Ryvoan and Strath Nethy, or down from the plateau via the Feith Buidhe). The camping is on rough, boulder-strewn ground at the loch shore. Outstanding, serious, memorable.
- Is the midge situation manageable in the Cairngorms?
- Better than the west Highlands. The more continental, drier climate of the eastern Cairngorms means midge pressure is classified as moderate rather than the very-high levels of Skye or the northwest. Open spots (Loch Morlich shoreline, plateau camps) are usually windy enough to keep midges at bay. The most sheltered lower-glen pine forest spots (Rothiemurchus, Glen Feshie) can be problematic in still, warm conditions.
- Are there bothies in the Cairngorms for bad-weather escape?
- Yes — the Cairngorms has some of the most-used bothies in Scotland. Corrour Bothy (deep in the Lairig Ghru, 8km from Linn of Dee) is a classic. Ryvoan Bothy is near the Ryvoan Pass east of Aviemore. Fords of Avon Refuge is a small emergency shelter on the plateau approaches. All are open to anyone — check the Mountain Bothies Association for condition updates.