Bikepacking Loch Ness

This little 80 mile (ca. 129 km) 130 km route around the famous Loch Ness in Scotland is a great little adventure for a overnight micro adventure with single track, forest tracks, steep climbs and of course epic views of this massive loch. Loch Ness has the more water in it than all the rivers and reservoirs in England and wales combined. I am putting this route in the beginner section not because it doesn’t have its challenges, but because it is fairly short and is on the easier side for Scotland. I had a lot of fun on this route and the trails feel really fun to ride if not a little scary in places where things get steep. The views from these steep trails are incredible though, just remember to keep one eye on the trail at least though.

If you are looking for a short Scottish route then this is probably your best bet for an enjoyable short Scottish bikepacking route. The route is fairly easy to get to with plenty of trains going to the start in Inverness. But also this is a great route if you find yourself with a bit of free time in between a longer Scottish adventure. Most of the time after a longer ride I seem to find myself heading back to inverness to get home so it can be a great excuse to have a little extra time. And that’s what I did. After I finished the Pictish trail I ended up heading back to Inverness so it felt like the perfect option to keep the adventure going. This route can be made a little easier ion places by taking the lower road rather than the high roads, the higher roads require a little more technical skills over the lower roads that are typically more like forest tracks. However, the higher road track do give you some incredible views either over Loch Ness or out into the Scottish wilderness, which is very nice to experience. So although this is a pleasant and short route, it is probably best to only take this on if you are comfortable on steep terrain, or at least be prepared to walk some bits that might feel too much. But all in all, I do think most people will manage, especially if you take it on in a couple of days. Would be a great day ride also, which it what I nearly ended up doing as I was looking for somewhere to camp. All the trails are ridable, minus a short hike a bike on the final climb up to the highest point on this route. Which can easily be bypassed by sticking to the road passed loch Tarff And a couple of short sections here and there.

Hike up from Loch Tarff

Took this route on, on a flat bar gravel bike and in terms of tyre size which were 50 mm. I found that to be fine, even finding myself going past people of full mountain bikes, but I do think the flat bar is the key to have the best possible time. I have cycled the sections from Inverness the fort Augustus on a drop bar gravel bike before. While it is fine for the most part, the steeper more technical sections are a lot more fun while on flat bars over drop bars. Tyre size around 45-50 mm or bigger is going to be best. Nice easy gearing to get up the steep climbs and make sure you have good working brakes for this one some descents feel like you go down with your brakes constantly engaged to control your speed. It is a really beautiful place to ride a bike with so many nice views many of which just leave you thinking wow. It gives you a great opportunity to set up camp along the shores of the loch where maybe just maybe you can catch a glimpse of Nessie or perhaps take a swim in the pitch black water. Before spending the night relaxing watching the sunset over the beautiful place after a day on the fun trails. Whether you ride this is one go or as a overnighter I think it well worth taking on. Make sure you check the video below to see just how beautiful a ride like this is.