Number 175 of 282 by height · West Highlands
Beinn Dubhchraig
3,209 ft (978 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 307 254
- Latitude, longitude
- 56.39131, -4.74322
- Area
- West Highlands
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 4.0 mi (6.5 km)
- Climb
- 2,602 ft (793 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 35 min
- Start
- Car park near Ardormie
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 20:25. Not live.
- Weather
- Clear sky
- Temperature
- 32°F (0°C)
- Wind chill
- 29°F (−2°C)
- Wind
- 3 mph (5 km/h) from the north
- Cloud cover
- 1%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,209 ft (978 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:26, 16:38
The way up
From Car park near Ardormie, follow the track south-west for 0.8 mi, almost level. On the way you cross the River Fillan and pass lochan nan arm on your right. Then follow the path south-west for 2.6 mi, climbing steadily from 660 ft to 2,700 ft. On the way you cross the Allt Gleann Achrioch. It then turns south for the last 0.5 mi to the summit, climbing steeply from 2,700 ft to 3,200 ft. The steepest part is between 2,350 ft and 3,150 ft, about 3.3 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,209 ft (978 m).
Written from the map, not from walking it. Paths on the ground can differ, so carry a map and compass.See it in 3D.
Getting there
By car
Car park near Ardormie. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Beinn Dubhchraig car park56.42500,-4.68645
By train
Nearest station: Upper Tyndrum, 1.0 mi (1.5 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Pine Trees Leisure Park, 1.1 mi (1.7 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Café: Artisan Café & Deli 0.4 mi (0.6 km)
- Toilets 0.6 mi (1.0 km)
- Shop: Reception & Shop 1.0 mi (1.7 km)
- Campsite: By the Way 1.2 mi (1.9 km)
- Toilets 1.2 mi (1.9 km)
- Place to eat: The Real Food Cafe 1.2 mi (1.9 km)
From OpenStreetMap. Places close or change hours, especially in winter, so check before you rely on one.
Public transport directionsBus and train times on Traveline Scotland
About Beinn Dubhchraig
- Means
- Mountain of the black rock
Beinn Dubhchraig stands west of Crianlarich in the northern part of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. It is overshadowed by Ben Lui but shows well from the A82, and its steep, rocky south-west face above Loch Oss gives scrambling routes to the top. With Ben Lui, Ben Oss and the Corbett Beinn Chuirn it rings the headwaters of the River Cononish.
Its best feature is the big northern corrie between the north and north-east ridges. The lead mines on the northern foothills once belonged to the Jacobite Sir Robert Clifton, and Clan Campbell wrecked the workings in 1745. A broad ridge with small lochans in hollows of schist runs west to the Bealach Buidhe, 2,556 ft (779 m), and on to Ben Oss, its nearest higher neighbour 1.2 miles away.
The summit cairn looks west over the Breadalbane hills, with Ben More and Stob Binnein well seen to the south-east. The hill rises 653 ft (199 m) above the col that links it to higher ground.
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Beinn Dubhchraig in the middle of each month. The shorter the day, the earlier you need to start.
Stag stalking season, 1 July to 20 October. On many estates, walkers are asked to keep to set routes on stalking days: check the Scottish Outdoor Access Code site's Heading for the Scottish Hills service before you go.
Nearest Munros
| Munro | Height | Straight-line distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Oss | 3,376 ft (1,029 m) | 1.2 mi (2.0 km) |
| Ben Lui | 3,712 ft (1,131 m) | 2.6 mi (4.2 km) |
| Beinn a' Chleibh | 3,006 ft (916 m) | 3.5 mi (5.7 km) |
Common questions about Beinn Dubhchraig
- How high is Beinn Dubhchraig?
- Beinn Dubhchraig is 3,209 ft (978 m), number 175 of the 282 Munros by height, in the West Highlands.
- How long does it take to climb Beinn Dubhchraig?
- About 2 h 35 min up and 1 h 20 min back down by our route from Car park near Ardormie, before stops: 4.0 mi (6.5 km) each way with 2,602 ft (793 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Beinn Dubhchraig?
- Our route starts at Car park near Ardormie.
- Can you climb Beinn Dubhchraig without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Upper Tyndrum, 1.0 mi (1.5 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Pine Trees Leisure Park, 1.1 mi (1.7 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Beinn Dubhchraig a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 2,602 ft (793 m) of ascent over 4.0 mi (6.5 km). Like every Munro it reaches over 3,000 ft, where the weather can be far worse than at the car park, so take a map and compass and check the mountain forecast.
- What does Beinn Dubhchraig mean?
- It is usually translated as "mountain of the black rock".
- When is the best time to climb Beinn Dubhchraig?
- Daylight runs from about 18 hours in mid June to 7 hours in mid December, so summer gives the most time. From 1 July to 20 October it is the stag stalking season, when some estates ask walkers to keep to set routes. In winter, snow and ice turn most Munros into mountaineering terrain.
A guide only. Mountain conditions change fast: carry a map and compass and know how to use them, and read the mountain forecast for the West Highlands before you go.
Questions
Where can I get a proper mountain forecast?
Read the Mountain Weather Information Service forecast for the West Highlands, written by forecasters for walkers and climbers. In winter, also read the Scottish Avalanche Information Service report for the area.
Where does the summit weather come from?
From MET Norway's forecast model, fetched for every Munro once an hour at the summit's own height. It is computer output for one point, not a forecast written for mountains, so treat it as a guide. The past hours are what the forecast said at the time. Wind chill, the freezing level and sunrise and sunset are worked out by this site from those figures; the freezing level assumes temperature drops steadily with height, so it can be well out when cold air sits in the glens.
How was this route drawn?
It follows footpaths and tracks mapped on OpenStreetMap, from a public car park to the summit, with heights from Copernicus elevation data. A computer picked the start as the car park with the quickest mapped way up, counting the climbing as well as the distance. Nobody has checked it on the hill yet, so it may not be the usual way up, and the path may be faint or missing on the ground. A line on a map is not a description of the ground.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T19:54:56.481Z. Start: the public car park nearest the usual start named on Wikipedia (Dalrigh, found by grid reference NN343292) with the shortest mapped-path route to the summit.
- Elevation: Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (© DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018, provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA), sampled every 50 m, 3-sample median, 5 m hysteresis on ascent.
- Summit position: Database of British and Irish Hills v18 (CC BY 4.0).
Built 2026-10-25.
How is the time up worked out?
With Naismith's rule, the standard hill-walking estimate: an hour for every 3.1 miles (5 km), plus an hour for every 1,969 ft (600 m) of climbing, with no stops. For this route that gives about 2 h 35 min, one way. It ignores rough ground, weather, stops and the walk back down, so most people take longer.
Where do the car parks and bus stops come from?
From OpenStreetMap. Distances are straight lines, not the way you would walk or drive. A bus stop on the map says nothing about how often a bus calls: many Highland buses run a few times a day, some only on school days or by booking, so check Traveline Scotland first. The map cannot tell whether a car park is on a public road, so a remote one may only be reachable on foot or by train.
Where do the Gaelic names and stories come from?
From the hill's article on English Wikipedia and its Wikidata entry, put into a few words of our own. Meanings and pronunciations are only given where the article states them; many Gaelic hill names are old and their meaning is uncertain. Read the full article.
Where do the height and grid reference come from?
From the Database of British and Irish Hills, the surveyed list most baggers use. Beinn Dubhchraig is hill 69 there.
Sources: Database of British and Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MET Norway (CC BY 4.0), Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata, Copernicus elevation data, Sentinel-2 cloudless imagery by EOX. All credits and licences.