Landmark and Loch Morlich – Dinosaurs, a Beach and the Dog
A day.
The route
This is a whole day in Strathspey for a family with a dog, from the dinosaurs and treetop trails of Landmark at Carrbridge to the sandy shore of Loch Morlich under the Cairngorms.
The dog comes along on a lead at Landmark and runs on the beach later. Lunch in between is at a dog-friendly village café in Carrbridge.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book Landmark Forest Adventure Park
Book Landmark Forest Adventure Park's tickets online for your date before you go: they cannot be refunded, and from 30 October the park opens only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (every day over Christmas and the February half-term).
The day
Carrbridge
A morning among the pines at Landmark, with the rides taken in turns while someone walks the dog. After lunch in the village, the afternoon is on Loch Morlich's beach and its woodland trail.
About six hoursAbout 2 miles on foot
Landmark Forest Adventure Park
An attraction
Landmark Forest Adventure Park has its own car park at the entrance on Carrbridge's Main Street, with disabled spaces by the main entrance, and it opens at 10am. It's open every day until 25 October, then on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 30 October, plus every day over the Christmas holidays and the February half-term. Between 26 and 29 October, check its calendar before going. Tickets are for one date, so buy online. At the time of writing a summer day ticket bought on the day is £39 for an adult and £37 for a child, and from 30 October a winter one is £16 and £14 for a child aged 4 to 14; under-3s go free. The Dinosaur Kingdom, the Red Squirrel Trail up in the pines and the Kids Zone stay open through the winter. NetworX, the bouncy nets in the trees, is shut for maintenance until late November. Dogs are welcome on a lead and under close control, but not in the buildings, the shop, the indoor attractions or on the rides, so take turns. Most paths suit a pushchair, though some are unmade, and there are toilets in the park. It may close in bad weather, so ring 01479 841613 before a long drive.
3 min on foot
The Carrbridge Kitchen
Lunch
Lunch is at the Carrbridge Kitchen, 3 minutes' walk along Main Street from Landmark's car park, so leave the car where it is. It's a friendly village café using local suppliers, with homemade cake, a children's menu and a wood-burning stove in winter. It's open every day from 10am to 4pm, dogs are welcome, and customers can use its toilets. Over Christmas and New Year, check before going. If it's full, Landmark's own Foresters Café opens at weekends and in the holidays.
29 min by car
Loch Morlich
An attraction
Walk back to the car, and it's 29 minutes' drive, about 14 miles through Aviemore, to Loch Morlich. Its Beach car park is at the far east end of the loch, signed for Loch Morlich Watersports. It's the council's pay and display, charging from 8am to 10pm every day: £3 for up to three hours at the time of writing. The coarse pink sand is the Cairngorms' granite washed down, and the dog can run along the shore. The Beach Trail is an easy mile and a half through pine, birch and alder by the Allt Mor burn (stream) and back along the sand, mostly on a wide, smooth gravel path; allow an hour. The water is open and cold, so watch the children at the edge. After the wildfire of July 2026, parts of Glenmore Forest Park are still being made safe, and harvesting is under way round Badaguish. Keep to the open forest roads and waymarked trails and follow the signs on site. The toilets at the Beach car park are open until 31 October, and those in Glenmore village all year.
If it rains
Landmark's Dinosaur Kingdom and trails are outdoors, and its indoor attractions are not for the dog. In rain, keep Landmark short, take a long lunch by the stove at the Carrbridge Kitchen, and walk the Beach Trail under the pines at Loch Morlich.
Allt Mor Café, a café in Glenmore.
Make it a weekend
More days out in Aviemore.
Photograph by Landmark Forest Adventure Park via Google