Inverness’ biggest
Inshes District Park
Park or garden
14 ha (34 acres)1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
19 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.2 mi eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: valenta · CC BY-SA 2.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Inverness · parks, paths & countryside
Inverness is on the coast
The sea makes up 17% of the area within 5 km. 240 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 4.2 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Inverness add up to 3.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical town in England and Wales has 2.1. Inverness has no Outdoors Grade: Scottish towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Green space
3.5 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical town in England and Wales 2.1
Near a park
89%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
240 km
4.2 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Cairngorms National Park
The sea
17%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Inverness?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast17% of the area within 5 km is sea; 1 beach mapped.On a long-distance trailThe Great Glen Way passes through.Historic parksTomnahurich Cemetery is a historic garden or designed landscape.
Inverness’ strongest suit is the sea, followed by the Great Glen Way.
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Inverness’ locality.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Scottish Government, NatureScot
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Inverness
The biggest is Inshes District Park, 14 ha (34 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 12 named parks by size: 62 ha (154 acres) and 8 km of path
Parks & gardens 44 haPlaying fields 18 ha
The biggest is Inshes District Park, 14 ha (34 acres); no single park dominates. 4 of the 12 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Castle Heather Park
Park or garden
10 ha (25 acres)1.3 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.3 km of path
14 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.9 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Whin Park
Park or garden
6.5 ha (16 acres)2.0 km of path
25 minto walk all 2 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.4 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Bught Park
Playing field
15 ha (38 acres)0.4 km of path
22 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Inverness
Directionsto the nearest entrance
MacDonald Park
Park or garden
3.3 ha (8 acres)0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.9 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Bellfield Park
Park or garden
1.9 ha (5 acres)0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Inverness
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Ness Islands
Park or garden
2.6 ha (6 acres)0.1 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Inverness
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Inverness Botanic Gardens
Park or garden
1.5 ha (4 acres)0.4 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
All 12 named parks and green spaces
Inshes District ParkPark or garden · 14 ha · 1.6 km of path
DirectionsCastle Heather ParkPark or garden · 10 ha · 1.3 km of path
DirectionsWhin ParkPark or garden · 6.5 ha · 2.0 km of path
DirectionsBught ParkPlaying field · 15 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsMacDonald ParkPark or garden · 3.3 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsBellfield ParkPark or garden · 1.9 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsNess IslandsPark or garden · 2.6 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsInverness Botanic GardensPark or garden · 1.5 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsWalker ParkPark or garden · 2.1 ha
DirectionsCavell GardensPark or garden · 0.7 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsFraser ParkPlaying field · 2.9 ha
DirectionsNorthern Meeting ParkPark or garden · 1.6 ha
DirectionsClose to home
9 in 10 Inverness residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (89%)Further (11%)
Inverness89%
Highland towns82%
Towns in England and Wales83%
About 5,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 104 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 464 residents.
National Parks & National Scenic Areas
The Cairngorms National Park is 14 mi away
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the locality; circle size shows each one’s area. National Scenic Areas are Scotland’s finest landscapes, chosen by NatureScot.
National ParkNational Scenic AreaThe 5 km the grade counts
National Scenic Area
Glen Strathfarrar
16 mi west40 km²since 1980
Cairngorms National Park covers 4,528 km² and has been a National Park since 2003.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Inverness is on the Great Glen Way
240 km of footpaths, tracks and core paths are mapped in Inverness and the kilometre around it, 4.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical town in England and Wales has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalLocal
Great Glen Way8.6 km
South Loch Ness Trail7.9 km
John O'Groats Trail (Inverness to Culbokie)6.2 km
Trail of the 7 Lochs3.2 km
The Great Glen Way, a national route, passes Inverness. Close to home, the John O'Groats Trail (Inverness to Culbokie) has 6 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 2 regional routes pass through, including the South Loch Ness Trail and Trail of the 7 Lochs.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Scotland has no rights-of-way register: everyone has a right of responsible access to most land, so tracks and councils’ core paths count. Paths are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
A historic park in the middle of Inverness
Historic Environment Scotland’s Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Inverness’ named parks.
Park with listed buildings
Cavell Gardens
0.7 ha. 3 listed structures and monuments stand inside it or at its edge.
IILadies Walk, Forbes FountainIILadies Walk, War Memorial
Registered · Grade Tomnahurich Cemetery18 ha
A listed building or monument counts when it sits inside the park’s OS Open Greenspace outline (to about 15 m), so a few at the boundary are included. Historic Environment Scotland designations.
When to get out
The best walking months in Inverness: June to September
The town’s 1991–2020 averages (Met Office HadUK-Grid) and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15 °C or more and little rain for the town.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 7.3 | 9.3 | 11.6 | 14.2 | 16.6 | 18.0 | 17.4 | 15.2 | 12.7 | 10.2 | 7.9 | 6.6 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 78 | 61 | 55 | 44 | 56 | 62 | 61 | 66 | 63 | 80 | 68 | 76 |
April is the driest month (44 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 80 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 45 nights a year. The climate in Inverness →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Inverness
17% of the area within 5 km of Inverness is sea. 1 beach is mapped within 5 km, 0 with a name.
Sea: the area outside the ONS coastline (mean high water). Bathing water quality is published by SEPA; check it before swimming.
Things to do
7 viewpoints and 104 playgrounds
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 7
Plus 7 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 4
Tomnahurichin town
DirectionsCraig Phadrig0.1 mi from town
DirectionsCraig Dunain0.5 mi from town
DirectionsOrd Hill193 m (633 ft) · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 5
Plus 5 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 104
Culduthel Farm Play Parkin town
DirectionsGeorge Street Parkin town
DirectionsPlus 102 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Bught Caravan & Campsitein town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Milton of LeysWesthillSmithtonCullodenMuir of OrdDingwallInverness
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inverness | – | 3.5 | 89% | 0% |
| Milton of Leys 2.1 mi | – | 10.7 | 98% | 0% |
| Westhill 2.6 mi | – | 3.4 | 77% | 0% |
| Smithton 2.9 mi | – | 5.5 | 100% | 0% |
| Culloden 3.6 mi | – | 7.0 | 94% | 0% |
| Muir of Ord 9.3 mi | – | 5.1 | 89% | 0% |
| Dingwall 12.0 mi | – | 0.8 | 47% | 0% |
Milton of Leys and Culloden have at least twice Inverness’ green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Inverness
What is the biggest park in Inverness?
Inshes District Park, 14 ha (34 acres), with 1.6 km of path. Castle Heather Park (10 ha) is second. 12 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Inverness near a National Park?
Yes. Cairngorms National Park begins 14 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 4,528 km² and has been a National Park since 2003.
What are the best walks near Inverness?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Great Glen Way, South Loch Ness Trail and John O'Groats Trail (Inverness to Culbokie).
How many people in Inverness live near a park?
89% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical town in England and Wales is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Inverness?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Which parks in Inverness are historic?
Tomnahurich Cemetery (Grade ) is on Historic Environment Scotland’s Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes.
How is the Outdoors Grade worked out?
From five measures, each placed among UK towns of 1,000 or more: public green space per resident, the share living near a park, National Park or National Scenic Area within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Inverness’ overall grade.
Sources
Where Inverness’ outdoors figures come from
- Parks and green space: Ordnance Survey OS Open Greenspace (parks and gardens, playing fields, play spaces, and their access points). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- National Parks and National Scenic Areas: Scottish Government and NatureScot boundaries (Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, Cairngorms; the 40 National Scenic Areas), clipped to land, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, tracks, core paths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik’s Scotland extract, October 2026.
- Historic gardens, listed buildings and monuments: Historic Environment Scotland designations, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Rain and temperature: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for the town; daylight calculated from its latitude.
- The sea: ONS Countries (December 2024) boundaries clipped to mean high water. Residents near a park: NRS Scotland’s Census 2022 output areas.
- Grade: Scottish towns have no Outdoors Grade yet.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.