Old Man of Storr Hike – Isle of Skye Scotland

Old Man of Storr is an iconic feature of the insanely gorgeous landscape on the Isle of Skye. If you drive north from Portree you’ll see this gorgeous rock formation up in the hills along with the trailhead for the Old Man of Storr hike. There are so many amazing views on this trail: the ocean, the lake, mountains and the famous formation.

QUICK INFO ABOUT THE OLD MAN OF STORR HIKE

⋙ DISTANCE: 2.8 mile loop – Although it’s a loop, you can also just go up and back out if you’re tight on time.
⋙ ELEVATION GAIN: 876 feet
⋙ SIZE OF THE STORR FORMATION: The Old Man of Storr is massive. It’s 160 feet tall!
⋙ DIFFICULTY: This trail is rated moderate, but can be difficult based upon the weather conditions.
⋙ WHERE TO STAY NEARBY: Portree is the closest town to here. Plus, it’s where most of the restaurants, shops and more are! That said, anywhere on Isle of Skye is easy to get around. So, book wherever looks best to you!
⋙ WATCH THE WEATHER: Because a good portion of this trail is dirt and on some cliff edges, you don’t want to do this in the rain, or take extreme caution if you do. Never do a hike like this if lightning is in the area.
⋙ DON’T FORGET YOUR TRAVEL INSURANCE: I now refuse to travel abroad without travel insurance. Ever since I fell hiking in Thailand and broke my arm and then later needed an emergency cystectomy I learned its true value! I love getting my policy from World Nomads!

THE OLD MAN OF STORR HIKE

GETTING TO THE OLD MAN OF STORR HIKE

We did the Old Man of Storr hike after lunch in Portree. You take A855 north out of town and it’s a mere 15 minutes up the road. You’ll come to a small parking area on the left and a slightly larger one further up the road. Be careful, it’s easy to miss them! We had to park a bit further down the road, but it still wasn’t overly crowded on the hike because it’s really spread out.

 
HITTING THE TRAIL

The trail is wide, and graveled over for the most part up the mountain. Then, near the top, once you pass through another gate the trail is just a dirt (sometimes mud) path continuing up the mountain. Anytime you pass through a gate on a hike, like the one pictured above, be sure to close it. It’s there for a reason.
The surrounding areas are just stunning. Although, there is a small area where the trees are knocked over. It’s low on the trail, though. After that, you get to just soak up the totally stunning views of coastline, mountains and more.
Although the trail isn’t exceptionally long, it does get quite steep in some areas. In several places you feel like the top has to be just up that next level. This is almost to the spot where the trail turns into the loop. At that level you’re basically even with the formations. On up from that, is small rock plateau, at the upper right. That is where you get the stunning, iconic shot of the Old Man of Storr.
 

MY PROUD DAUGHTER MOMENT ON THE OLD MAN OF STORR HIKE

This is as far as I got on the trail. My mom is petrified of heights and Debbie afraid of heights too. Therefore, we did this trail at a slower pace. The wind was really picking up and rain was coming across the island. So, Matt ran ahead to get the iconic view, while I stayed back with my mom and aunt to hike with them. They did amazingly. Debbie and I pushed on ahead at one point because my mom didn’t think she would go any further. Debbie and I got up to the formations and I looked down to see my mom trekking up the mountain all on her own. I was so freaking proud of her!
One of my regrets of the big trip, though, is not getting up there to see this viewpoint. Matt captured some amazing photos of it, though, and has promised me that we’ll go back here in our future travels. Matt said that the views at the top are unreal. Not only of the Old Man of Storr, but of the coast as well. He also said that there was an insane amount of wind. So, watch your hats and zip your jackets or they’ll be flying all over the place!This is the path that leads up to that last, ultimate vantage point. Be careful on the edge of the trail, especially with that wind blowing! The iconic Old Man of Storr hike was a highlight of our time on the Isle of Skye. The nature on this island is rugged and wild even though it’s quite well-traveled in some places. This hike was the most crowded one we did, but that said, there was still plenty of space and opportunity to soak up the freeing nature here.

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