A Guide to Walking and Hiking on Skye

A curated guide to Skye’s best walks and hikes, from short coastal paths and scenic viewpoints to longer hill walks and classic island routes.

Walking is one of the best ways to experience Skye - not just the famous landmarks, but the quieter edges where the island opens up slowly.

From iconic hikes like The Old Man of Storr and The Quiraing walk to coastal routes such as Coral Beach, Brothers Point and Waternish Point, Skye offers walks for a wide range of abilities and ambitions.

Whether it’s a short viewpoint walk, a long out-and-back to somewhere wild like Rhu Hunish Lookout Bothy, or a classic mountain day in the Cuillins, or an accessible stroll to the island’s waterfalls, these routes shape how you move through - and understand - the island.

Skye’s Best walks & Hikes

  • Brother's Point

    Trotternish | Moderate

  • Old Man of Storr

    Trotternish | Moderate

  • Rubha Hunish Lookout

    Trotternish | Moderate

  • The Quiraing

    Trotternish | Easy to Moderate

  • Scorrybreac Trail

    Portree | Easy to Moderate

  • Glen Sligachan

    Sligachan | Moderate to Difficult

  • Coral Beach

    Dunvegan | Easy

  • Portree Woods

    Portree | Easy

  • Broadford Bay

    Broadford | Easy

  • Torrin Pools

    Strathaird | Easy

  • Neist Point

    Duirinish | Easy to Moderate

  • Blà Bheinn

    Strathaird | Difficult

  • Kilt Rock & Meallt Falls

    Trotternish | Easy & Accessible

  • Loch Coruisk

    Strathaird | Moderate

  • Talisker Bay

    Minginish | Easy

  • Fairy Pools

    Glenbrittle | Easy to Moderate

  • Carbost Burn

    Carbost | Short & Difficult

  • Rha Falls

    Trotternish | Easy & Short

  • Lealt Falls

    Trotternish | Easy & Accessible

  • Sligachan Falls

    Glenbrittle | Easy

Skye Walks & Hikes Guide

Skye is an island best explored on foot. Its landscapes are dramatic from the roadside, but it’s only when you start walking that their scale, texture, and character really come into focus. Paths follow ancient coastlines, cross moors and cliffs, and climb into mountains that demand respect and thoughtful planning.

Many visitors arrive with a shortlist of headline hikes, and with good reason. Routes such as The Old Man of Storr and The Quiraing walk are visually spectacular and relatively accessible, offering a powerful introduction to Skye’s geology and drama. Elsewhere on the Trotternish Peninsula, quieter walks like Brothers Point reveal a slower, more intimate side of the island, where cliffs, fossils, and changing tides shape the experience.

Skye’s coastline offers some of the most rewarding walking on the island. Walks to places such as Coral Beach, Waternish Point and Rhu Hunish trade height for space and solitude, often feeling more remote than their distance suggests. These routes are about light, weather, and horizon rather than summit views - ideal for longer days, calmer conditions, or travellers looking to step away from the busiest areas.

For those drawn inland, the heart of the island feels very different. Open glens like Glen Sligachan provide classic Highland walking with a sense of scale that builds gradually, while mountain routes such as Blà Bheinn offer a more serious undertaking, with steep ground, exposed sections, and far-reaching views that reward experience and preparation. Beyond that lies the Cuillins - a range that defines Skye’s reputation among mountaineers, and one that should be approached with care, respect, and the right conditions.

Skye’s walking routes aren’t about doing everything, and they’re certainly not a checklist. They’re about choosing the right walk for the day’s weather, light, experience and energy levels - whether that’s a famous ridge, a quiet peninsula, or a simple coastal path that lets the island breathe. Short viewpoint strolls, half-day coastal routes, and full mountain days all have a place here. The key is allowing enough time in your itinerary to enjoy the island’s spectacular trails without rushing.