The views atop Stob Mhic Mhartuin are some of the best you will find in the Scottish Highlands, let alone the Glen Coe Valley. To reach the summit, you’ll need to ascend the Devil’s Staircase, a short but very steep section of the West Highland Way trail (a long-distance walking route through the Highlands), where you’ll be required to climb about 400 meters in elevation over a short 2.5 km stretch. Despite the intense ascent, the reward at the top is most definitely worth the effort, which is why this trail is one of our favourites in the Glencoe area. Below we present our Devil’s Staircase Trail Hiking Guide, which includes information on how to get to the trailhead, how difficult the hike up is, where the best views are and when is the best time to hike the trail.
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You might also be interested in these pages:
Top Things to See and Do in Glen Coe
Best Hikes and Walks in Glen Coe
Glenfinnan Viaduct and Jacobite Steam Train Travel Guide
Top Things to See and Do on Skye
Skye’s Best Hiking and Walking Trails
Orientation – Where is the Devil’s Staircase?
The Devil’s Staircase is located in the eastern portion of the Glen Coe Valley, with its parking lot roughly 15 km east of Glencoe Village. If coming from further out, the trailhead is about a 40 km drive from Fort William (35 min) or a 70 km drive from Oban (just over an hour). Getting here from Glasglow or Edinburgh will take a bit longer, roughly 2h and 2h30, respectively.
For advice and tips on how to drive in Scotland, check out our Scotland Roadtrip Driving Guide.
If you haven’t booked your rental vehicle yet, we highly recommend using Discover Cars to get the best rates on your rental in Scotland.
Parking lot: The Devil’s Staircase parking lot is actually just a small roadside lay-by with a few spots. In the event that it is full, there is a larger car park (Buachaille Etive Mòr Car Park) just across the road.
Hours: The trail is also open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so you can visit any time you like.
Costs: Hiking the trail is free, as is the car park (2023).
Facilities: The nearest public toilets are near the Kinghouse Hotel, a 5 min drive away.
The Devil’s Staircase Trail
(from Altnafeadh to Stob Mhic Mhartuin)
Trail Details
Distance: 5.1 km
Route Type: Out & back
Elevation gain: 400 m
Start point: Devils Staircase car park
AllTrails rating: (4.5, 103 ratings (2023))
Duration: 2h – 2h230
Not an AllTrails member yet? We highly recommend signing up for either their free or paid membership plans. The free plan allows you to find new trails and plan routes but it can only be used while hiking if you have access to mobile data. The paid membership plan (AllTrails+) allows you to download trail maps for offline use and provides live progress updates and off-route notifications.
If you are still uncertain – you should know that the All Trails mobile application was voted the 2023 iPhone App of the Year by Apple.
Trail Summary
The Devil’s Staircase trail is a well-known part of the West Highland Way, a 154 km trail which connects Milngavie in the south to Inverness in the north. Altnafeadh simply refers to the specific region in Glen Coe where the trailhead is located (there isn’t much in that area other than the car park and a small cottage), and Stob Mhic Mhartuin is the peak you will summit after making your way up the Devil’s Staircase. To reach the summit, you will need to take a fork to the left of the main trail soon after the path starts to plateau, as the final 1km of the trail up to Stob Mhic Mhartuin is not part of the West Highland Way trail. As a whole, this out-and-back trail is generally considered by most to be of moderate difficulty, more so because of the rapid elevation gain than because of the length of the trail or difficult terrain.
The trail up to Stob Mhic Mhartuin can roughly be divided into three sections, with the first two being part of the West Highland Way trail. 1) A section of steady-but-not-too-intense ascent. 2) short a section of seemingly relentless switchbacks. 3) The third section deviates from the West Highland Way trail: when you come across a clear trail intersection, take the left fork (it’s clearly the only path available that continues to ascend towards the summit).
First section
From the car park, the trail is easily visible and begins a steady climb up Stob Mhic Mhartuin eastern’s face. We do recommend occasionally turning back towards the trailhead, as the views of Buachaille Etive Mòr (along with the White House of Glencoe at its base) on the other side of the road are quite stunning.
Second section
This is the part where the trail is fully deserving of its name. Just as you are starting to tire a little bit, the trail becomes even steeper and goes through a series of relentless and steep switchbacks (for about 0.8 km) until you finally reach an open plateau. Aside from the steep ascent, this section presents no real difficulty in terms difficult terrain.
Third and final section
Soon after you have reached the plateau, you will come across a trail intersection, near several man-made rock piles, as this is a popular place to rest for those continuing onwards on the West Highland Way. Go straight and you will continue along the West Highland Way trail towards Kinlochleven. Go right and you’ll reach a lesser summit (Beiin Bheag) offering northeasterly views (though this path isn’t particularly obvious to spot). Where you want to go is left, towards Stob Mhic Mhartuin, where you will be rewarded with stunning views of the Glen Coe Valley.
From the intersection, the trail climbs fairly steadily and quite steeply in more or less of a straight line (no switchbacks) toward the summit; the actual path to follow is occasionally less obvious (less of a beaten path) and has the potential to be more boggy than the previous sections.
When we did this epic Highland walk, most people skipped this third section and continued onward towards Kinlochleven, which meant that we had the Stob Mhic Mhartuin summit to ourselves, with these beautiful views of the Glencoe Valley.
Looking for another trail to do in Glencoe?
The Devil’s Staircase was one of two favourite trails to do in Glencoe. The other was the Lost Valley Trail (also known as the Hidden Valley Trail). It’s also a great complement to the Devil’s Staircase, as both the scenery and the type of challenge are very different.
Whereas the scenery seen from the Devil’s Staircase is very panoramic, the Lost Valley trail takes you deep into a gorgeous narrow glacier valley, after having gone through a forest section of the trail that follows a narrow serene river. In terms of difficulty, the Lost Valley trail isn’t as steep but does present more terrain-based challenges that require some light scrambling at times. If you have the time, we highly recommend you do both of these trails during your time in Glen Coe.
Hiking Packing List
All Trails subscription – This comes in really handy for areas with little or no cell reception, as the annual subscription allows you to download trail maps for offline use.
External Battery – If you are using your phone to track your progress along the trail or to help with navigation, you certainly don’t want your phone to die on you. That’s especially true in the unlikely event that you might get hurt or need assistance.
Hiking poles – These can be particularly useful in steep trails or muddy/boggy trail conditions.
Devil’s Staircase Trail Tips
- Best time to visit: we highly recommend shoulder season (May, June, September and early October). The weather will be pleasant, it won’t be as crowded as during the peak summer months, and you will be outside the peak midge period.
- Come early in the morning if you can, as the parking lot can fill up during the day.
- Check the weather before heading out. Our favourite weather app for the area is the Met Office app.
- As this is Scotland, the trail can get boggy and slippery after rain, so do wear appropriate footwear.
- For more information on the West Highland Way trail, check out their website.
- Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a leash.
- If coming during the summer months, beware of the pesky little midges (tiny little mosquitoes). You can check the midge forecast beforehand.
- Stick to the designated path to protect the surrounding environment.
Preparing a trip to the Highlands?
You might be interested in these pages:
Top Things to See and Do in Glen Coe
Best Hikes and Walks in Glen Coe
Glenfinnan Viaduct and Jacobite Steam Train Travel Guide
Top Things to See and Do on Skye
Skye’s Best Hiking and Walking Trails
Preparing a trip to Scotland?
You might be interested in these Scotland pages:
10-Day Scotland Roadtrip Itinerary (Edinburgh and Highlands)
Scotland Driving Guide and Tips
7 of the Best Castles to Visit in Scotland
Best Things to See in the Scottish Highlands
Best Hikes to do in the Scottish Highlands
We also highly recommend these guidebooks:
Rick Steves Scotland
Lonely Planet Scotland’s Highlands
Photography Gear
If you like our photography, you might be interested in some of the gear we use to shoot our travel and hiking destinations.
Camera Body – Nikon Z 6ii Fx-series Mirrorless Body
Main Lens – NIKON 24-120mm F/4G ED VR AF-S
Zoom Lens – Sigma 745-306 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Polarizing filters – Urth Circular Polarizing (CPL)
Camera Tripod – K&F Concept 64-inch Camera Tripod
Mini-tripod – Lammcou Flexible Camera Tripod
Camera/hiking backpack – Vanguard Alta Rise 48 Backpack
Universal Travel Adapter – VYLEE Universal International Power Travel Plug
Other Travel Essentials
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Car Rentals
Discover Cars is our go-to website for car rentals. We almost always find our preferred rate there.
Transfer from Airport
Welcome Pickups is our favourite private transfer service, which you can pre-book at a fixed price. Currently available in 220 cities all over the world (mostly in Europe, but with several major cities in Asia, the Middle East and the US).
Kiwitaxi is another private transfer service – we haven’t tried it yet, but it’s currently available in a few more countries (102 as of 2024).
Hotels and Accommodations (coming soon)
Photography Prints
If you found this blog useful, you can help support our blog by purchasing low-cost digital prints. Printed physical prints are also available for purchase.
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our Devil’s Staircase Hiking Guide and that it will prove useful for planning your trip to the beautiful Scottish Highlands.
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