North York Moors National Park
 

Discover The Place

Access Areas

 

ACCESS AREAS

Check locally or on maps to find out where you can go

  • Public rights of way – footpaths, bridleways and byways - There are more than 1400 miles of them in the National Park. Footpaths are often signed with yellow arrows or waymarks. Bridleways (blue waymarks) are also open to horse-riders and cyclists, and Byways (red waymarks) can be used by everyone including vehicles.
  • Public open spaces and picnic sites - Lord Stones Café above Carlton in Cleveland offers access on foot over a high moorland edge and a variety of smaller sites such as the National Park centres at Sutton Bank and Danby provide space to relax.
  • Open Access Land - The vast majority of heather moorland in the North York Moors is now Open Access land. This means you can walk across the moorland using tracks and paths previously inaccessible. There may be national and local restrictions in place. You can find out more by visiting the Natural England website.
  • Beaches - The North Sea coast offers some good beaches such as Runswick Bay, Sandsend, Whitby, Robin Hood’s Bay and Scarborough for informal recreation but they are submerged by the tide every day.
  • Land with access agreements - Land owned by the National Park Authority on Levisham Moor has open access. Countryside Stewardship schemes offer both area and linear access. You can find out more about these by visiting the Defra website
  • Some woods and forests - The Forestry Commission welcomes people of all ages to its forests in the North York Moors National Park for walking, cycling, horse riding, orienteering, camping, caravanning, birdwatching and a whole host of other activities. For more details and information about the forest, go to the Forestry Commission website or call in at the Forest Visitor Centre in Dalby near Pickering. The Woodland Trust welcomes walkers at most of its sites and these, along with Forestry Commission Sites are shown on Ordnance Survey maps.