Walking on Dartmoor — What to Know
Dartmoor is open access land — you can walk almost anywhere on the moor, not just on marked footpaths. This extraordinary freedom is one of Dartmoor's defining qualities and what separates it from most English countryside, where you're confined to public rights of way. The moor is also a working military training area: around a third of the northern moor is used for live firing exercises on certain days of the year. Always check the Dartmoor Ranges firing programme before visiting the northern moor.
Weather on Dartmoor changes fast. The high moorland sits at over 500m in places, creating its own microclimate — cloud and mist can descend in minutes even on a clear summer day. Navigation skills matter: carrying OS Explorer OL28, knowing how to use a compass, and telling someone your intended route are all sensible precautions even on short walks.
⚠️ Essential Dartmoor Safety
- OS Map: Dartmoor Explorer OL28 covers the full national park — carry a paper copy or downloaded offline version
- Weather: Check the Met Office Mountain Forecast for Dartmoor, not just the local forecast
- Military ranges: Check dartmoor.gov.uk for live firing dates before walking the northern moor
- Bogs: Dartmoor's blanket bogs are genuine — stick to firm ground, probe with a stick if uncertain, and never cross obvious wet ground in low visibility
- Tell someone: Leave a route plan with someone not on the walk
The Best Dartmoor Walks
01
Haytor Walk
Eastern Dartmoor · Haytor Vale · The most iconic view on the moor
Haytor is Dartmoor's most visited and most photographed landmark — twin granite outcrops rising 457 metres above the eastern moor, visible from the coast on clear days and commanding views that stretch from Exmoor to the Lizard Peninsula. The walk to the summit is short enough for young children but rewarding enough for seasoned walkers: a steady climb across open moorland, scramble to the top of the main rock, and a return via the disused Haytor granite tramway — a remarkable piece of industrial archaeology where granite rails still lie in the turf, used in the 1820s to carry stone to the coast.
The extended circular adds Hound Tor visible to the north, Haytor Rocks itself, and a sweep through Haytor Down before returning via the old quarry workings — bigger and more varied than the short summit-and-back most visitors do.
Full Haytor walk guide →02
Hound Tor & the Medieval Village
Eastern Dartmoor · Swallerton Gate · Wild tors and a ghost settlement
Hound Tor is the rock formation that supposedly inspired Arthur Conan Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles — and on a mist-rolling autumn morning, you can absolutely believe it. The stacked granite columns rise from the moor in dramatic tiers, creating natural scrambling and sheltered hollows that have drawn walkers for centuries. The circular walk takes in the ruins of a 13th-century medieval village just below the tor — granite longhouses abandoned during the Black Death, their walls still standing waist-high in the turf — before crossing to Greator Rocks and returning across open moorland with views to Haytor.
Full Hound Tor walk guide →03
Dartmeet & the East Dart River
Central Dartmoor · Dartmeet · The meeting of the rivers
Dartmeet is where the East and West Dart rivers converge in a rocky gorge surrounded by ancient oak scrub — one of Dartmoor's most beautiful and atmospheric spots. The circular walk follows the East Dart upstream past the famous Dartmeet clapper bridge (one of the widest on the moor), through open moorland to the stepping stones at Babeny, then back along the opposite bank through clitter-strewn hillside and ancient enclosures. Swimming in the pools below the clapper bridge is a Dartmoor summer tradition; the water is cold, clear and bracingly perfect.
Full Dartmeet walk guide →04
Postbridge & the Clapper Bridge
Central Dartmoor · Postbridge · Bronze Age bridges and open moorland
The medieval clapper bridge at Postbridge is one of Dartmoor's most photographed landmarks — massive slabs of granite laid across the East Dart, possibly as early as the 13th century, perfectly preserved and still usable. The circular walk from the village heads north across open moorland to the lonely Warren House Inn (one of England's most remote pubs, the fire allegedly unextinguished since 1845), before returning via Broadbarrow Green and the river path. A shorter loop keeps to the riverbanks for a gentler, family-friendly version.
Full Postbridge walk guide →05
Grimspound & Hookney Tor
Central Dartmoor · Widecombe · Bronze Age village and moorland views
Grimspound is Dartmoor's finest Bronze Age settlement — a walled enclosure containing 24 hut circles, occupied around 3,500 years ago, with a granite boundary wall still standing a metre high and a clearly defined entrance facing south. The walk climbs from the car park to the settlement (10 minutes from the road — remarkably easy access for such a significant archaeological site), then continues to the summit of Hookney Tor before descending via Headland Warren Farm and the ancient reave field systems of the moor. The views from Hookney encompass the full breadth of the moor from Haytor to the high northern plateau.
Full Grimspound walk guide →06
Burrator Reservoir Circuit
Southern Dartmoor · Yelverton · Woodland lake walk, all abilities
Burrator Reservoir sits in a granite bowl at the southern edge of Dartmoor — a beautiful Victorian-era impoundment surrounded by mixed woodland, ancient oak coppice and moorland fringe. The full circuit of the reservoir follows tracks and paths through the trees, with open water views throughout and several picnic spots along the dam and southern bank. The walk is essentially flat, surfaced for much of its length, and genuinely suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs on the main track. On calm days the water perfectly reflects the surrounding tors — Sheepstor and Leather Tor rise dramatically above the southern shore.
Full Burrator walk guide →07
Lydford Gorge
Western Dartmoor Edge · Lydford · Devon's deepest gorge
The River Lyd has carved a gorge through the granite at Lydford that is both spectacular and, at its narrowest points, genuinely vertiginous. The National Trust-managed walk follows the gorge floor through ancient oak woodland to the White Lady Waterfall — a straight 30-metre drop into a boulder-strewn plunge pool — and the Devil's Cauldron, where the river is forced through a narrow rocky slot, creating a roaring whirlpool. Note that dogs are not permitted on the full gorge walk (due to the narrow cliff-edge paths) but are allowed in parts — check with the NT on site. Entry fee applies to non-NT members.
Full Lydford Gorge walk guide →08
Yes Tor & High Willhays
Northern Dartmoor · Okehampton · The highest ground in southern England
High Willhays at 954 metres is the highest point in southern England — and the walk to it from Okehampton is a proper mountain day by any reasonable measure. The route climbs steeply from the camp through military range land (check firing times before going), passing Yes Tor at 619m before following the ridge south-west to the summit cairn on High Willhays. The views on a clear day are extraordinary: north across the Devon lowlands to the Bristol Channel, south to Dartmoor's full interior and beyond to Plymouth Sound. This is not a walk to undertake in poor weather without full navigation equipment and appropriate experience.
Full Yes Tor walk guide →🗺️ Essential Kit for Dartmoor Walking
- OS Explorer OL28 — the definitive Dartmoor map, covers the full national park
- Compass — and the ability to use it. GPS fails, phones die, mist descends
- Waterproofs — even in summer. Dartmoor weather changes fast
- Warm layer — wind chill on the high tors is significant year-round
- Water — carry at least 1.5 litres per person on longer walks
- Snacks and emergency food — distances are deceptive on the open moor
- Charged phone — download the OS Maps app offline layer for the area
Getting to Dartmoor
Dartmoor National Park sits roughly in the centre of Devon, accessible from both the A38 Devon Expressway (from Exeter and Plymouth) and the A30 (from Okehampton). Most walks on the eastern moor (Haytor, Hound Tor, Grimspound) are reached from the B3387 through Bovey Tracey. Central moor walks (Dartmeet, Postbridge) are reached from the B3212 Moretonhampstead to Yelverton road — one of the great moorland drives in England. Northern moor walks (Yes Tor, High Willhays) start from Okehampton, reached from the A30.
🚌 Getting There Without a Car
The Dartmoor Sunday Rover bus service (summer only) connects Exeter, Newton Abbot and Bovey Tracey with Haytor, Dartmeet and Postbridge — making it possible to do several of the eastern moor walks by public transport. The Transmoor Link (Bus 82) runs year-round between Exeter and Plymouth via Moretonhampstead, Postbridge and Princetown — the backbone of car-free Dartmoor access. Check Dartmoor National Park's website for current timetables.