The Lodge Forest Visitor Centre

The gateway to Queen Elizabeth Forest Park

With trails suitable for all, car parking, a great café, toilets and plenty of information, this is the ideal place to start exploring the Forest Park (and you'll find Go Ape here too).

Enjoy panoramic views and scenic trails, from a gentle stroll to a waterfall past a monument commemorating the Women's Timber Corps, better known as the Lumberjills, to more strenuous routes through lofty woods and rocky crags.

The Lodge Forest Visitor Centre on Facebook

Walking trails

The Lodge route card (PDF)

Walking

Waterfall Trail

A pleasant stroll through the trees past a monument to the Women's Timber Corps, leading to a dramatic waterfall that appears as if by magic. Plenty of places to sit or play along the way. 

Wide, firm gravel surface throughout, with some loose stones. Long gentle slope for 400m with some short moderate sections. Short section of uneven wooden boardwalk. Trail Description Update

1 miles / 1.8 km

Allow ½ hour

More information

Look out for reflective artworks and feel the breeze beside the tumbling waterfall. Wind back up to The Lodge from here or continue through towering Norway spruce and over an arched wooden bridge to reach the Red Squirrel Hide.

Walking

Craigmore View Trail

Follow in the footsteps of the Duke of Montrose, climbing above the Duke’s Pass for great views of The Lodge and the Loch Ard Forest.

Varied surface with some long, fairly steep sections. Narrow and uneven rocky path with some muddy parts.

1 ¾ miles / 2.8 km

Allow 1 ½ hours

Walking

Oak Coppice Trail

A scenic walk through ancient oak woodland that is cloaked in velvety green lichens – a sure sign of the clean air up here.

Largely firm gravel surface, with a few uneven sections. Several short steep slopes and one short flight of steps.

1 ¾ miles / 2.9 km

Allow 1 hour

More information

This is an atmospheric meander amongst ancient oak trees that were once coppiced every 15 years or so, stimulating new growth from the stumps. The new stems could be used for building, fuel and to make charcoal for iron smelting.

Walking

Lime Craig Trail (diverted)

A trail notice is in effect

Due to harvesting, this trail is diverted. Works are expected to last until spring 2025, please follow all onsite signage.

A fair climb through the forest to Lime Craig for magnificent views over the Carse of Stirling and along the Highland Boundary Fault.

Sustained steep slope for 700m up to Lime Craig, but largely firm gravel surface. Rough rocky section for further 250m up to viewpoint which can be avoided. Includes two bridges.

4 miles / 6.6 km

Allow 2 ½ hours

More information

Part of this trail follows the route of the old gravity railway that was used to transport limestone extracted from the quarry on Lime Craig. The best views are from the summit of the craig. On a fine day, you’ll see Ben Lomond, Ben Venue and Ben Ledi as well as getting a bird’s eye view south over the low-lying Flanders Moss and Carse of Stirling to the Campsie Fells beyond.

Activities

Watch for wildlife

This is a great place to watch wildlife – there’s the easy-to-reach Red Squirrel Hide as well as live video feeds of our squirrels in the wildlife room. The wildlife room has a live camera showing our garden bird feeders and recorded footage of local birds of prey.

Watch our live webcams: 

• Squirrel box
• Bird feeder
• Wildlife hide

Please note, our webcams are all up and running but weather, terrain and wear and tear can affect them. The main challenge is broadband speed, so please bear with us if footage is intermittent.

Aberfoyle's ospreys

We have had to make the difficult decision to remove our long standing osprey nest camera.

This camera was installed many years ago near a nest in a standing dead tree. Unfortunately, this tree has naturally degraded over the years and is no longer safe for staff to climb for regular maintenance of the camera. Our nest has also sadly sat empty for the last 4 seasons, despite there being around 30 nesting pairs in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park. The reason they have not recently been using our camera nest is probably because of the condition of the tree and does not indicate any concern for the numbers of ospreys.

Ospreys can still be seen regularly in our region, from Balmaha to Inversnaid along Loch Lomond’s eastern shore and at Loch Achray and the Lake of Menteith, close to Aberfoyle.

Wildlife bugbag rentals

Get ready to adventure in the forest with all the equipment you need to be a wilderness explorer.  

We have four bug bags available to rent. These are equipped with binoculars, pond dipping jar, compass, identification booklet and a map.  

Rental cost is £2. You can pick up your bugbag at the visitor centre.

Go Ape Treetop Challenge

If you are looking for an adventure that will live with you and your Tribe forever, you've arrived at the right place. Go Ape Aberfoyle offers exhilarating and unrivalled outdoor activities less than an hour's drive north of Glasgow. 

Home to two of the longest zips in the UK, you'll be flying over trees and waterfalls with unprecedented, seasonal views of the hills, valleys and Highlands. 

The start of this Treetop Challenge packs a punch with a colossal 323-metre zip thrill before you've even tackled the high-rise challenges. Your reward? A whopping 45-metre-high, 426-metre-long flight back down to earth.

Orienteering

If you want to test your navigation skills and see some bits of the forest most visitors don't then why not pick up a free orienteering map from reception. We have three courses to choose from that vary in length and navigational difficulty - great for families with young children, or anyone seeking something more challenging than a sign-posted route.

Rent the Lodge House

The perfect private space in a picturesque forest for meetings, birthday parties and other functions!  

This multifunctional event space is located next to the visitor centre and provides seating for up to 30 people. The main meeting room fits 20 people, and the smaller breakaway space has room for 10. If you’re looking for a bigger space, we have other options available dependant on size and needs. For any enquiries, please see the email address below.

Facilities at the Lodge House

• wheelchair accessible toilet
• 8 trestle tables that can be adapted to suit your needs
• shower and wet room facilities
• free WIFI
• large screen compatible with laptops and USB
• large kitchen space with microwave, oven and tea/coffee making facilities
• birthday party decorations available upon request

Booking information

• £ 30 per day – stakeholders, charities, educational and community groups
• £ 50 per day – corporate groups and other external organisations
• £ 100 per day – birthday parties

For bookings and further information please contact us directly on 0300 067 6615 or thelodge@forestryandland.gov.scot 

Facilities and access

Orienteering or wayfaring

Walking

All ability trails

Treetop adventure

Picnic area

Toilets

Parking (charge)

Visitor centre

Tourist information

Easy-access facilities

Cafe or refreshments

Opening hours

The Lodge Forest Visitor Centre is open seven days a week:

• 10am to 4:30pm, 1 April to 31 October
• 10am to 4pm, 1 November to 22 December
• 10am to 3pm, 3 January to 28 February
• 10am to 4pm, 1 March to 31 March

Christmas closure: 

The Lodge Forest Visitor Centre will be closed from 4pm on 22 December 2024 to 10am on 3 January 2025.

Car parking information

The charges to park at The Lodge are:

Payment options: coin, card or RingGo

• £2 for up to 1 hour
• £5 for all day
• £14 for minibus or coach all day 

We recommend you bring both coins and cards with you, just in case. Please park with care and consideration. In particular please park in designated parking areas only and do not block entrances or gates. Nearby car parks with free parking can be found in our local forest list without the £ symbol. 

Annual parking pass available:

Available in advance by downloading the relevant application form and emailing to the Regional Office. Please read our Annual Pass terms and conditions before applying.

More parking info

Dogs

Water and sheltered tie-up points are available outside the visitor centre. Dogs are welcome within the building including our café.

Accessibility

Mobility scooter rental

We have two electric mobility scooters available to use during your visit.

These are great for exploring the Waterfall Trail which is our all-abilities trail leading towards a dramatic waterfall.  We offer the scooters on a first come first served basis. You can borrow one from inside the visitor centre.

Getting here

The Lodge Forest Visitor Centre is 1 mile north of Aberfoyle on the A821. Follow signs for 'Forest Park Visitor Centre'.

National Cycle Route 7 passes through the Forest Park.

Using SatNav?

FK8 3SX is the nearest postcode.

Get directions