Walking in the Highlands in stalking season

From July to February someone may be stalking deer on the hill you want to climb. Here's how it works, how to find out, and how to plan a good autumn day around it.

By the TRXO team · 27 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

Autumn is the best season in the Scottish hills: the midges are gone, the bracken has turned, the light is low and the snow hasn't come. It's also the stag stalking season, which means that on many estates, on weekdays, someone is on the hill with a rifle trying not to be seen by deer, and a walker on the skyline can wreck their day.

You still have the right to be there. But a little planning means you get a good hill and the stalker gets a quiet one, and it isn't hard.

The dates

Red deer stags: 1 July to 20 October, with most stalking from mid-August. Hinds: 21 October to 15 February. Roe bucks: April to October. There is no stalking on Sundays on most estates, and little on Saturdays. Grouse shooting on managed moors runs from 12 August to 10 December and is a separate thing: it happens on heather moorland, mostly in the east, on specific days.

How to find out

Heading for the Scottish Hills (outdooraccess-scotland.scot) lists estates that take part and their advice for each day, often with a phone number or a note saying which glens to avoid. It covers much of the Highlands but not all of it. Estate signs at car parks and path starts are the other source; they're usually dated and specific. TRXO's walk pages carry the access notes we have for each start.

If an estate asks you to take a particular route, or to avoid a corrie on a particular day, that's the reasonable request the access code talks about. Follow it.

Hills that are never a problem

Land owned by the National Trust for Scotland, the John Muir Trust and Forestry and Land Scotland is open all year without restriction: that includes Ben Lomond, Ben Lawers, Glen Coe's hills, Kintail, Torridon, Ben Nevis, Schiehallion, Sandwood Bay and Quinag. The Cairngorms National Park's core, round Cairn Gorm and Ben Macdui, is largely unaffected too. If you don't want to think about it, pick one of these.

Planning a day

Check Heading for the Scottish Hills the evening before. Prefer Sundays and the popular paths, which stalkers avoid anyway. Keep to ridges and established routes rather than wandering through corries. If you meet a stalker, stop and talk; they'll tell you where they're going and you can agree a line. And if a sign asks you to use a different route, use it, however much better the one you planned looked.

Questions people ask

When is deer stalking season in Scotland?

Stags from 1 July to 20 October, mainly from mid-August; hinds from 21 October to 15 February. Little or none on Sundays.

Can I walk during stalking?

Yes. The right of access continues all year. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code asks you to follow reasonable requests from estates, such as avoiding a particular glen on a particular day.

Which hills are unaffected by stalking?

Those on National Trust for Scotland, John Muir Trust and Forestry and Land Scotland land: Ben Nevis, Ben Lomond, Ben Lawers, Glen Coe, Kintail, Torridon, Schiehallion and others. Many Cairngorm plateau routes are unaffected too.