Aviemore

Things to do in Aviemore

Twelve picks, mostly within twenty minutes of the village, and most of them work in the rain as well as the sun, which matters here. Prices and hours were checked on the operators' own sites in August 2026; they change every spring, so treat them as a guide.

1. Loch Morlich

A sandy beach at a thousand feet, with the Cairngorm plateau behind the pines and water that is warm enough to swim in by July if you are brave. Seven miles from the village at Glenmore, with a watersports centre that hires canoes, paddleboards and sailing dinghies, a café, and a flat path round the whole loch that takes about an hour and a half. It is the best free day out in the Highlands with children, and the reason to bring a bucket and spade to the mountains. The car park charges and fills by mid-morning in the school holidays; the number 31 bus from Aviemore stops at the beach.

2. Cairngorm Mountain and the funicular

Scotland's only mountain railway climbs from the car park at 635 metres to the Ptarmigan station at 1,097 metres in eight minutes, with the UK's highest restaurant and an exhibition at the top and a view over Strathspey to the Moray Firth on a clear day. It was out of action for four years and has been running again since 2023. One thing to know: under the mountain's conservation plan, funicular passengers cannot walk out of the top station onto the mountain, so if you want to climb Cairn Gorm itself you walk from the car park, which is a stiff three to four hours there and back and proper mountain territory in any weather. Our Cairngorm Mountain listing has the winter and summer detail.

Practical: 20 minutes from Aviemore at the end of the Glenmore road. Runs daily, weather permitting: first train up 10am, last train up 4pm, last train down 5pm, and you book a timed arrival slot online. £17.95 adult, £9.95 child (6 to 17), £14.50 student or senior, under-6s free, £45 for two adults and two children, all online; at the ticket office it is about £2 more per ticket (£19.95 adult). Carers travel free. Checked August 2026.

3. The Cairngorm reindeer

Britain's only free-ranging reindeer herd has lived on these hills since 1952, and the daily hill trip from the Reindeer Centre at Glenmore walks you up onto open ground to feed them by hand. It takes an hour and a half to two hours with a 20- to 40-minute walk each way over rough ground, so it is for children who can manage a hillside; the paddocks by the centre are the gentler option and are open from Easter to the end of the year. Book ahead in the holidays, because trips are released 30 days out and go.

Practical: Hill trips run most days from the February half term to the end of the Christmas holidays, weather permitting. £28 adult (17 and over), £21 child (3 to 16), under-3s free; from 25 June to 1 September 2026 the summer prices are £24.50 and £18.50. Arrive fifteen minutes before departure. Checked August 2026.

4. Rothiemurchus and Loch an Eilein

The Rothiemurchus estate between the village and the mountains holds some of the oldest Caledonian pinewood in Scotland, and the walk round Loch an Eilein, with its ruined 13th-century castle on an island, is the one everybody should do: flat, sheltered, red squirrels if you are quiet, and about two hours at a stroll. The estate also does pony trekking, Highland cattle safaris, fishing and ranger walks from the Rothiemurchus Centre on the Glenmore road. Our Loch an Eilein listing has the practicalities, and the family walks guide has the shorter loops.

Practical: Loch an Eilein car park is 10 minutes from Aviemore, signposted off the Glenmore road at Inverdruie; parking is charged per person. The circuit is 7 km (4.25 miles), two hours, easy. Checked August 2026.

5. Highland Wildlife Park

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's Highland collection at Kincraig, twelve minutes south of Aviemore: polar bears, snow leopards, Amur tigers, Scottish wildcats, wolves and a drive-through main reserve of bison, elk and deer with the mountains behind them. It is the one big-ticket attraction we would pay for here without hesitation, and it takes half a day. Our Highland Wildlife Park listing has the layout.

Practical: Open daily except Christmas Day, 10am to 5pm from March to June and September to October, 10am to 6pm in July and August, 10am to 4pm from November to February, with last entry an hour before closing. Online £25 adult, £17.50 child (3 to 15), £22.50 concession, under-3s free; £27.50, £20.60 and £24.75 at the gate. Checked August 2026.

6. The Strathspey Railway

Steam trains run from the platform beside the mainline station at Aviemore to Boat of Garten and Broomhill, which played Glenbogle station in Monarch of the Glen, and back, about an hour and forty minutes for the round trip through the birch woods with the Cairngorms out of the window. There is a dining car on some services. It is the wet-morning answer with grandparents and small children alike.

Practical: Runs from March to November 2026. Return fares £26 adult, £24.50 senior, £15 child (5 to 15), £58 for a family of two adults and two children; under-5s free. Checked August 2026.

7. Landmark Forest Adventure Park

At Carrbridge, twelve minutes north, Landmark is a day of treetop nets, water coasters, a dinosaur trail, climbing walls and a steam-powered sawmill in a pine forest, and it is the place to take children who have had enough of walks. Allow a full day, and book online the night before to save on the gate price.

Practical: Open 10am to 4pm from 27 March to 25 October 2026. Gate prices £39 adult and £37 child, with three-year-olds £17 and under-3s free; booking online by midnight the day before saves up to £5 a ticket. Checked August 2026.

8. Craigellachie and the village walks

You do not need the car for a good walk. Craigellachie National Nature Reserve starts under the A9 at the western edge of the village, a birch wood with a lochan, nesting peregrines in spring and a viewpoint over Aviemore to the Cairngorms; the loop takes about an hour and a half. The Speyside Way runs along the old railway beside the river from the station to Boat of Garten, five flat miles with buses back, and the cycling guide has the traffic-free routes.

9. Glenmore Forest and the Green Lochan

From the Glenmore visitor centre by Loch Morlich, the forest track to Ryvoan bothy passes An Lochan Uaine, the Green Lochan, whose colour is either the fairies' washing or dissolved minerals depending on who you ask. It is about five miles there and back, easy underfoot and one of the best short walks in the Park; carry on to Ryvoan for the bothy and the view down Strath Nethy. Glenmore also has the best mountain biking within reach of the village, from the forest trails to the Rothiemurchus red routes.

10. Winter in Aviemore

From December to April, Cairngorm Mountain is Scotland's busiest ski area when the snow arrives, the Lecht is an hour away for beginners, and the village does sledging, snowshoeing and dog sledding on the days the lifts are shut. Snow is never guaranteed, so book somewhere you would be happy to sit out a thaw with a log fire, and read our winter in Aviemore guide and the Lecht guide before you commit. Winter is also the quietest and cheapest time for the lodges.

11. A distillery and the Cairngorm Brewery

Dalwhinnie, half an hour south on the A9, is one of the highest distilleries in Scotland and does the classic tour and tasting; Tomatin is half an hour north; and Speyside proper, with Glenfarclas, Cardhu and Aberlour, is under an hour towards Grantown. In the village, the Cairngorm Brewery does tours of its own. Whoever is driving stays on the coffee; the Scottish limit is lower than England's. Our distilleries guide covers Speyside.

12. A wet afternoon

It rains in the Cairngorms, and the village is ready for it. Aviemore Escape Rooms are in the centre, the Macdonald resort has a pool and a cinema, the wildlife park and the steam railway both work in drizzle, and In Your Element runs guided canyoning and white-water rafting on the Spey and the Findhorn, which are better when it is wet. The things to do with kids guide has the full rainy-day list.

Where to eat

The Old Bridge Inn by the river is the pub everyone ends up in: candlelit tables, good food, live music and a bunkhouse next door. The Winking Owl in the centre is the other pub, with the Cairngorm Brewery's beers and a garden. For a quieter dinner, the Rowan Tree is a country hotel restaurant just south of the village with views over Loch Alvie, and The Cairngorm Hotel opposite the station does the traditional Highland version. The Mountain Café above the outdoor shop is the breakfast and cake stop before a walk. See all places to eat in Aviemore.

Getting there and around

Aviemore is the easiest Highland base to reach by train: the Highland Main Line from Edinburgh and Glasgow stops in the village on the way to Inverness, and the Caledonian Sleeper from London Euston drops you on the platform in time for breakfast. By car it is the A9 all the way, which is fast but has average-speed cameras and lorries, and the turn for the village is well signed.

Drive times are for normal traffic in August 2026; train times are typical direct services. Check for the day you travel.

Once you are here, the number 31 bus runs from the station through Glenmore to the Cairngorm Mountain car park, stopping at the Rothiemurchus Centre, Loch Morlich and the reindeer centre, so a car-free week is realistic; the wildlife park and Landmark are on the mainline bus and train respectively. With a car, everything on this page is within twenty minutes except the distilleries and the Lecht. The public transport guide has the timetables.

When to visit

Aviemore does not have an off season, which is unusual in the Highlands, so the question is what you want. June and September are the walking months, with long light, the pinewoods at their best and the midges bearable if you keep moving. July and August are the busiest, the beach at Loch Morlich is full by eleven and the lodges are at their dearest. October is the prettiest month, with the birches yellow along the Spey and the reindeer in full antler. Winter is a gamble on snow that pays off spectacularly when it lands, and the village is at its cosiest either way; the winter guide explains how to plan around it. Midges are worst in Glenmore on still evenings from June to September, and the beach is their favourite spot; take repellent.

Day trips and nearby

Inverness is forty minutes north for Loch Ness, Culloden and the city, and the NC500 starts from there if Aviemore is your stop on the way. Aviemore is the base; the Cairngorms National Park is the destination, and its page has the whole of it, both ends included. East over the hills, the Ballater, Braemar and Strathdon side of the Park is a long but beautiful day by the Lecht road, with Corgarff Castle on the way and the Lonach Highland Games in August. Grantown-on-Spey is a handsome planned town twenty-five minutes away with the Speyside distilleries beyond it. South, Perth and Perthshire are an hour and a half down the A9 through Dalwhinnie and Pitlochry, and Aberdeen's day trips guide reaches Aviemore from the other direction.