12 best hikes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park

The best hikes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park criss-cross one of England’s finest beauty spots

Since we moved to the market town of Richmond in North Yorkshire, we’ve spent much of our free time exploring the national park that sits on our doorstep. Whether discovering the best views, climbing the park’s highest mountains or walking the Coast to Coast (twice), we’ve fallen utterly in love with the landscape of the Dales.

Covering 2,179km² of countryside, the Yorkshire Dales National Park is home to one of England’s quintessential outdoor landscapes. The park’s glacial valleys are defined by a unique terrain of high heather moorland, rolling hills and dramatic waterfalls, intersected with miles of dry stone walls and delightful villages.

With miles of well-established trails, the Dales are best explored on foot. Here, we reveal the best hikes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park – 12 outstanding reasons to visit the heart of England.

Best hikes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park

We’ve selected the best hikes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park to include everything from gentle waterside ambles and calm meadow strolls to more challenging upland scrambles and multi-day treks.

For more information on things to do and where to stay in the Dales, visit the national park website.

1. Burnsall-Grassington

Distance: 13km (8mi)
Duration: 3 hours
Difficulty: Easy

This gentle riverside meander takes in the idyllic countryside around the villages of Grassington and Burnsall. The River Wharfe is fringed by dramatic fells, but it is the waterway’s serene smattering of pools, falls and brooks that make for one of the most tranquil hikes in the Dales.

Some of the park’s finest wild swimming spots can be found along the trail, the best of which is located above the second weir near Linton Falls.

2. Malham Cove and Tarn

Distance: 13km (8mi)
Duration: 3-4 hours
Difficulty: Easy-moderate

This was the first hike I did in the Yorkshire Dales, and it remains one of the most impressive. The route is a fantastic introduction to Dales topography with limestone scar, steep cliffs, rolling green hills with dry stonewalls and a glinting tarn (lake) all on offer.

The trail follows Malham Beck to beneath the 70m (230ft) limestone cliff of Malham Cove, one of the most dramatic scenes in…