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The rounded, heather-dark top of Mount Keen beyond a broad moor, a shallow burn running over grey stones in front.
Glenshee, Lochnagar and Glen Clova

Mount Keen

A Munro of 939 metres, number 234 of the 282.

On the hill todayI was up today
The hill

Mount Keen, 939 metres, is the most easterly Munro, on the line between Aberdeenshire and Angus.

It is climbed from two glens: Glen Tanar to the north and Glen Esk to the south. The old drove road past it has been a public right of way since 1931, and Queen Victoria crossed by Mount Keen in 1861.

From Invermark, Visit Angus describes a track that climbs steeply and eventually zig-zags up onto flatter moorland, with a burn to cross that can be difficult in spate. From Glen Tanar, the trust that looks after the glen calls it a challenging walk onto high ground.

Distance and time
From Invermark, Visit Angus gives 17.5 km (10.9 miles) and 7 hours.
Starts from
Invermark in Glen Esk, to the south, or the Glen Tanar Visitor Centre at Braeloine, to the north.
Under snow
There is no avalanche forecast for Mount Keen, but snow brings the risk here all the same. The nearest area the service covers is the Southern Cairngorms, around Lochnagar, where full winter forecasts begin on 17 December 2026.
Stalking
Deer are stalked on both sides of the hill: plan ahead and find out whether any stalking is taking place where you mean to walk. The Park Authority gives October for stags and January and early February for hinds as the key times; Mountaineering Scotland gives hind stalking as 21 October to 15 February. Glen Tanar's rangers are on 013398 86072 and Dalhousie Estates on 01356 624566.
Summit
Grid reference NO 409 869, at a trig point
Car parks
South: the car park at Invermark, Glen Esk, DD9 7YZ. North: Braeloine, by the Glen Tanar Visitor Centre, where there is a charge. The glen road is single-track and not for motorhomes or caravans.
Toilets
At the Glen Tanar Visitor Centre, open 10am to 5pm every day but Tuesday. On the Glen Esk side, Angus Council's nearest are at Tarfside, further down the glen, and their hours change on 11 October 2026.
Food
There is no café in Glen Tanar: bring what the day needs.
On the hill today

A weather model's forecast for the height of the summit, not a report from the hill. Read the mountain forecast the evening before: Cairngorms National Park and Monadhliath forecast, Southeastern Highlands forecast, Mount Keen.

October2026

MTWTFSS

Going another day?

Choose the day you mean to climb.Near or far: the light you will have, and what the summit is likely to be doing.

Photographs by steve whitmarsh, Yousef Al-Obaidi, Dawid Tomala, Bearded Cowboy and Clark Boyle, via Google

As the ground becomes rocky the path becomes less clear on the final stretch to the summit marked by a trig point.Visit Angus, of the way up from Invermark
Before you go

Carry

  • A paper map and a compass, and the skill to use them
  • Waterproofs, warm layers, hat and gloves
  • Food and drink
  • A head torch, a whistle and a first aid kit
  • A survival bag
  • Boots with a good grip

Under snow and ice this is a different day, with short light and the risk of avalanche. It needs an ice axe, crampons, winter boots and the skill to use them.

If something goes wrong

  • Dial 999, ask for the police, then mountain rescue
  • Give a six-figure grid reference: the summit is NO 409 869
  • Say how many are hurt, how many are with you, and your number
  • Register to text 999 before the day: text the word register to 999

The summit is optional. Turning back is the right decision whenever the cloud, the wind or the light say so.

How to call for help in the hills · Safety and skills for the hills · ThinkWINTER

From our readers

Nobody has written from Mount Keen yet. If you were up, yours would be the first.

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From the magazine
Read more elsewhere

For the route itself, take the map and read these.

Sleep and eat at its foot

Next along: Lochnagar - Cac Carn Beag, Broad Cairn, Carn a' Choire Bhoidheach, Cairn Bannoch. Checked on 9 October 2026. The facts on this page are Visit Angus's, the Glen Tanar estate's and its Charitable Trust's, Dalhousie Estates', Angus Council's, Mountaineering Scotland's, ScotWays' and the Cairngorms National Park Authority's; the forecasts are the Mountain Weather Information Service's, the Met Office's and the Scottish Avalanche Information Service's. Height and position from The Database of British and Irish Hills, v18.3, adapted, CC BY 4.0. This page is not a route description and does not replace a map.