Nature at Loch Lomond Shores

We have beautiful woodland for you to enjoy exploring at Loch Lomond Shores – either via a tree top adventure or a relaxing stroll.  You can access our woodland walk beside Treezone and The Shore.  In Spring look out for nesting birds and budding leaves.  In Summer look out for bats and moths and in Autumn keep a look out for fungi and stunning autumn colours.  Find out more about the native woodland within the Loch Lomond and Trossachs national park here.

We have two beaches at Loch Lomond Shores.  Our main beach is accessed on the path past SEA LIFE Loch Lomond while our other beach is in the promontory which is accessed via the entrance to our woodland between Treezone and The Shore.  As well as a whole host of beach activities on our main beach, you can feed the ducks, skim stones or simply enjoy a picnic or BBQ using BBQ stands and picnic tables set on the beach.

From Loch Lomond Shores you can see right across the loch to Ben Lomond which is one of Scotland’s most climbed Munros and has a summit over 3000 ft.  Close by you can also see the iconic Maid of the Loch berthed just a short walk away.  A perfect spot for photographers all year round, Loch Lomond is also a great spot to see the Aurora when conditions are right.  Aurora Watch is one organisation which provides alerts for Aurora activity.

As well as easy walks around Loch Lomond Shores, Balloch is also part of the John Muir Way which is a 134 mile walk from coast to coast but also allows you to enjoy sections of the walk from Balloch.  For those looking for something less arduous, they can stroll to Cameron House or Balloch Park and the village of Balloch so they can enjoy more of the local landscape.

The surrounding countryside of Loch Lomond is home to endangered red squirrels, different species of deer, badgers, stoats, pinemartins and bats.  Otters can also be found lochside.  The Great Scottish Squirrel Survey takes place each September if you want to take part.  You can take part in the You can find out more about what to look out for on the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park website.

As well as being home to the Loch Lomond Bird of Prey Centre where you can see over 30 species of bird, we generally have ducks and swans all year round as well as visiting birds throughout the year.  In Winter we have Greenland white-fronted geese as well as pink-footed geese along with  thrushes.  In Spring and Summer Loch Lomond has Osprey, woodland summer birds and hirundines (swallow and martin family).  While in Autumn we have thrushes, flocks of meadow pipits and gathering hirundines.  The RSPB Loch Lomond Reserve is an excellent place to visit to find out more.

Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch and is around 36 kilometres long and 8 kilometres wide at its widest. It has a maximum depth of around 153 metres – to give some perspective, a premier league football pitch is only 105 metres long! The Highland Boundary Fault runs through Loch Lomond and separates the Highlands and Lowlands. You can see the fault line from the top of Conic Hill.

Loch Lomond is home to 22 islands and 27 Islets. Many of the islands are privately owned and three are protected by conservation agencies – Inchcailloch, Bucinch and Ceardach. Loch Lomond’s Inchmurrin island is the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles. Inchconnachan is home to a colony of wallabies who were introduced to Loch Lomond in the 1940s by Lady Arran Colquhoun. Recent unconfirmed reports estimate that around 60 of these creatures still live on the island.