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The Three Lochs Way

A long-distance walking route linking Loch Lomond, Gare Loch and Loch Long in four stages, the Three Lochs Way has a railway station at the start and end of each section, except at the very end at Inveruglas where there is only a bus stop.

Beginning at Balloch, gateway to the Loch Lomond National Park, the route crosses the moors to reach Helensburgh and Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Hill House. It then crosses over to Glen Fruin and then enters the military training areas high above the nuclear weapons base at Faslane. After a detour to Garelochhead the route continues through the military ranges high above Loch Long. Arrochar, famous for its mountain skyline, is the next stop before a final stretch through the hills leads to Inveruglas on Loch Lomond. The route joins with the Cowal Way at Arrochar and both link to the West Highland Way by ferry from Inveruglas.

THE CHALLENGE

The Three Lochs Way is mostly waymarked; for much of the distance it follows minor roads and hard tracks with an undulating route. Some parts are on footpaths, with some boggy going in a few places.

Stage descriptions Length Time Done
Balloch to Helensburgh 13.5km 3½-4½ hours
Helensburgh to Garelochhead 14.75km 3½-4½ hours
Garelochhead to Arrochar / Tarbet 19km 4½-5½ hours
Arrochar / Tarbert to Inveruglas 9.5km 2½-3 hours

ROUTE PHOTO GALLERY

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ACCOMMODATION AND SERVICES ALONG THE WAY

Balloch and Helensburgh both offer a choice of hotel and bed and breakfast accommodation, as well as shops for supplies.

Garelochhead has guest house accommodation and shops for supplies.

Arrochar and Tarbet are popular villages with visitors and both boast both hotel and bed and breakfast, cafe and shop.

Inveruglas has no accommodation but is on the bus route up Loch Lomondside.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

There are rail stations at Balloch, Helensburgh, Garelochhead and serving Arrochar / Tarbet.

Inveruglas is served by the Citylink services heading north from Glasgow, and also has a seasonal ferry service to Rowardennan and, if booked in advance, back to Tarbet.

Timetables for all the routes can be found on Traveline Scotland.

Users' walk reports for the Three Lochs Way

There are 340 Walkhighlanders who have completed the Three Lochs Way. To record if you have completed the route, you must register and be logged in. Our users have contributed 15 public walk reports for the route. These are ordered below with the most popular ones first.

Title AuthorDate walked Likes
Three Lochs and The Cobbler  sjrussell 05/06/2017  16
The Three Lochs Way to The Wet Highland Way  andrewl7642 03/05/2014  7
Three Lochs Way in one day!  Chris Mac 08/06/2019  6
Three Lochs Way Vlog  Hounds of Howgate 03/02/2020  6
Three Lochs Way - Points of Potential Interest  AndyRitchie 26/05/2015  5
three lochs way  noodle 19/06/2022  3
Well worth the wait! My version of the Three Lochs Way  hamerr 14/07/2015  3
Three Lochs Way- In Two Days.  JambuttyJones 02/05/2017  2
A walk of very varied difficulty!  Ian_Chapman 03/06/2012  2
Three Lochs Way in a wet weekend  Allegra 12/08/2023  1
The Three Lochs Way video report- day 1.  Allans865 10/10/2020  1
Three Lochs Way in a day - end of the summer run/walk  unigamer 19/09/2015  1
Three Lochs Way - Arrochar to Helensburgh  embo636 31/05/2011  1
The Three Lochs Way video report- day 2  Allans865 11/10/2020  0
Walking the Three Lochs Way with my 12yo son  willemvanderzee 23/04/2017  0

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Walking can be dangerous and all walkers must take personal responsibility for their own safety. You should always carry a backup means of navigation and not rely on a single phone, app or map. Walkhighlands strives to provide accurate information but cannot accept responsibility for changes, errors or omissions.