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Steall Falls Walk

1.86 miles (3 km)

Ordnance Survey Map Open Streetmap Visit the second highest waterfall in Scotland on this short walk in Glen Nevis. Steall waterfall is a spectacular sight dropping 120 metres (390 ft) down a rockface.
The walk begins at the car park near the falls and follows a good footpath through the lovely Nevis Gorge. You'll pass along the River Nevis, through woodland and meadows with wonderful views of the surrounding mountains. It's a stunningly beautiful place and one of the most popular walks in the area.
Highlights on the route include a popular wire rope bridge pictured below and featured in the video. The precarious bridge is a fun way of crossing the Water of Nevis but is not for the faint hearted!

Postcode

PH33 6SY - Please note: Postcode may be approximate for some rural locations

Steall Falls Walk OS Map Ordnance survey map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Steall Falls Walk Open Street Map Open Streetmap - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Dog Walking

The Nevis Gorge and the falls are a great place for dog walking. It's probably best to keep them on leads in some areas where it's a bit rocky.

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

Head west toward Achriabhach and you can visit the Lower Falls. There's another car park here right next to the falls or you can follow a footpath west along the Water of Nevis. It's a worthy addition to your outing and another wonderful sight after heavy rain.
Scotland 2018-177 (43997991981) Lower Falls, Glen Nevis (43997957001)
Pictured above, following the Water of Nevis to the Lower Falls near the Steall site.
The highest mountain in the UK is located just to the north of the falls at Ben Nevis. You can pick up the famous mountain track near Fort William, a few miles north west of the falls.
The epic West Highland Way can be picked up just to the west of the site. You could follow the waymarked footpath north to visit Fort William and Loch Linnhe.
Head south and there's the beautiful Pap of Glencoe to explore. There's some wonderful views over the Mamore mountains from this elevated spot. Buachaille Etive Mor, the Three Sisters Glencoe Waterfall Walk and Glen Etive are also not far from here.
Head north towards Banavie to pick up the Caledonian Canal and you could visit the splendid Neptune's Staircase. The site is noteworthy as the longest staircase lock flight in Scotland.

Photos

Steall Falls (22005657713)

A group of walkers make their way along the footpath to the falls in the autumn of 2015. In popular culture the falls are known as the site of the Harry Potter contest to get the golden egg from a dragon, in Goblet of Fire.

Cairn above Eas an Tuill - geograph.org.uk - 1098013

Cairn above Eas an Tuill Slightly off the standard track, a smaller path wends its way above the gorge. It's not on the map, but gets a mention in Pathfinder Guide for Fort William and Glen Coe and makes a nice detour on the return from the Steall Falls.

Steall Falls - geograph.org.uk - 1772920

Close up view of the falls in June 2009

Steall Falls (43092475885)

Stepping stones near the falls

Steall Rope Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 975003

Steall Rope Bridge. Not for the faint hearted a novel river crossing at Steall.

Cross if you dare^ - geograph.org.uk - 529734

Cross if you dare! The Steall wire rope bridge.

Elevation Profile

Video

GPS Files

GPX File

Steall Waterfall.gpx (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold>Download Linked File)

Memory Map Route

Steall Waterfall.mmo (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold >Download Linked File)