Tread lightly in the Park

Please do not light a camp­fire in the Nation­al Park

The wood­lands and peat­lands of the Cairngorms are inter­na­tion­ally import­ant and can eas­ily catch fire. One spark is all it takes to acci­dent­ally start a wild­fire which can des­troy hab­it­ats and kill wild­life. Using a gas stove for cook­ing helps pre­vent wildfires.

The Park is home to the largest area of nat­ive wood­land in Bri­tain. By not light­ing a fire you are help­ing con­serve it.

Take the lead and be a respons­ible dog walker

In areas with ground nest­ing birds, from April to August, please keep your dog on a short lead or close at heel. In areas with pro­tec­ted wild­life, fol­low all sig­nage and keep your dog on a lead where reques­ted. On farm­land, keep your dis­tance from live­stock and don’t take your dog into fields with young animals.

When ground nest­ing birds are dis­turbed the eggs / chicks are at risk from pred­at­ors. You can help pre­vent this by keep­ing your dog on a lead.

You can help keep the Cairngorms spe­cial by enjoy­ing the out­doors respons­ibly, respect­ing oth­er people and caring for the environment.

Please fol­low the guid­ance in this leaf­let, as well as any on-site sig­nage and advice from rangers. Guid­ance may vary at dif­fer­ent sites.

Your access rights and respons­ib­il­it­ies are explained in the Scot­tish Out­door Access Code.

SCOT­TISH OUT­DOOR ACCESS CODE

Leave no trace when wild camping

Camp well away from build­ings, roads, paths, his­tor­ic sites. Ensure you aren’t dis­turb­ing wild­life or oth­er people. Camp in small num­bers and move on after two or three nights. Use a gas stove for cook­ing (no camp­fires please!) and remove all traces of your camp pitch, includ­ing litter.

By leav­ing no trace you are play­ing a part in keep­ing the Cairngorms a spe­cial place for every­one to exper­i­ence and enjoy.

When you’ve got to go, go away from water

Use a pub­lic toi­let if there is one. If not, ​‘go’ at least 30 metres away from lochs, rivers and streams and away from build­ings and paths. Dig a hole and bury sol­id waste, pack out any toi­let paper and san­it­ary items.

The pristine waters and wet­lands of the Cairngorms are a haven for wild­life. You can help keep them that way.

Respect oth­er water users

If you are canoe­ing, pad­dling or wild swim­ming please remem­ber lochs and rivers are shared with wild­life and anglers. Give wild­life space and avoid nest­ing areas, eg islands and bays with veget­a­tion. Fol­low any loc­al sig­nage about zoned con­ser­va­tion areas or sea­son­al restrictions.

Be bar­be­cue savvy

Single-use, dis­pos­able bar­be­cues are dam­aging to the envir­on­ment, a high fire risk and can cause injury to people and wild­life when not dis­posed of respons­ibly. Please do not use them in the Nation­al Park.

Thank you for help­ing to pro­tect the Cairngorms Nation­al Park and its spe­cial wildlife.

Vis­it cairngorms​.co​.uk for fur­ther information.