Loch Lomond & Highland Way to Conic Hill: Trossachs National Park – Balmaha, Scotland ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

8/6/2023: A beautiful hike on our first real day of hiking in Scotland. Loch Lomond from Conic Hill is gorgeous.

Day 2: Loch Lomond National Park/ Glen Coe

Head west after breakfast, stopping for a walk in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park—Scotland’s first national park, established in 2002. Our hike takes us along part of the famous West Highland Way trail, diverting to a small but prominent peak called Conic Hill. Geologically part of the Highland Boundary Fault, this 1,180-foot summit offers outstanding views across the islands of Loch Lomond to the peaks of the Arrochar Alps and beyond. Continue north to Glen Coe, one of Scotland’s most stunning valleys, and settle into our hotel, featuring views of the surrounding mountains. Before dinner, enjoy a traditional Scottish storytelling session at the Kingshouse Bar.

Overnight: Kingshouse Hotel (B, L, D)

And here is the full itinerary from National Geographic.

• 4.0 miles roundtrip
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Elevation range: 70' to 1159' gross: +1170'
• Traffic: Modest to Heavy
• Getting There: No issues
• Trail Obstacles: None
• Fees: None that I am aware of
• Trailhead Coordinates: 56.08591, -4.53858
• Trail Map
• Search this Trail
• Photos
• Geo-mapped Photos
• Alltrails Info

Marg’s Notes: Kingshouse Hotel – 2 nights – Sunday & Monday

Got up at ~6:30 to finish packing for departure. Breakfast @ 7:00. Bags in lobby by 8:45. Depart @9:00. Comfortable bus, but close quarters. Dozed a bit on the hour & 45 min. drive to the National Park for our 1^st hike. Loch Lomond. ~4 miles. My trackers aren’t working right. Beautiful country. Slightly overcast & muggy! We climbed Conic Hill. It was pretty crowded (Sunday!). Fairly strenuous hike, but not too bad. Had beautiful views of the Loch. I used my poles on the last bit. We had our sack lunch at the top. There were lots of flying ants. A good rest. When we got down off the top, Rod realized that he forgot his backpack! He rushed back up & caught the tail end of our group. Steve, our leader, went back up for the pack. He had seen it, but since the name on the tag was Roberson, he assumed it was a local’s. On to the Hotel. Had time for a local beer (not cold) then we had a storyteller tell us about the harp and some legends of Glen Coe.

Another great chicken dinner. Slept fairly well at first but woke up ☹.

 

Created: 2023