Pick your Peak District hikes: routes, trains and the best months

Step off the train at Edale and the walk begins 300 m from the station. The Pennine Way leaves the village opposite the Nag's Head pub, follows the River Noe to Upper Booth Farm, then climbs Jacob's Ladder onto the Kinder plateau, the highest ground in the Peak District. Listen for curlew and golden plover over the bog. By evening you can be back on the same line, heading home to Manchester or Sheffield.

Visit Peak District & Derbyshire, the area's tourism body, calls the Peak one of the UK's most accessible national parks. Trains, buses and walking villages make a two day trip easy to plan, and our page on hiking in the Peak District keeps the routes, the weather and the stays we rate in one place.

Pick the Dark Peak for big moorland days and the White Peak for gentler walking in the dales. The Peak District became Britain's first national park in 1951. It covers 555 square miles, about the size of Greater London, and holds two very different landscapes.

The Dark Peak is rugged, heather covered moorland ringed by gritstone edges, the long rock cliffs that line the tops of the moors. Kinder Scout, Mam Tor and Stanage Edge are all here. Expect steep ascents and rocky paths that build real hill fitness. It suits walkers who are happy with a map, a full day out and weather that can change quickly.

The White Peak is limestone country: green pastures, dales and winding river valleys such as the Dove and the Wye. The walking is gentler, and villages such as Hartington and Ashford in the Water make easy starts. Old railway lines like the Monsal and Tissington Trails run flat and traffic free. It suits families, mixed groups and anyone after a rest day that still involves walking boots.

The best hikes in the Peak District are four Dark Peak classics. The Kinder Scout circular from Edale is the big one. The National Trust, the conservation charity, grades its 7.5 mile (12 km) loop challenging and allows 4 hours 30 minutes to 5 hours 30 minutes. It climbs Jacob's Ladder onto the highest ground in the Peak District and comes down Grindsbrook. Mam Tor and the Great Ridge from Castleton runs 6.5 miles, or 8 with an extension. Visit Peak District & Derbyshire, the area's tourism body, rates it among the finest ridge walks in the country, with views over the Edale and Hope valleys. Stanage Edge from Hathersage is a 9 mile day along a gritstone escarpment, looking across to Mam Tor and Kinder Scout. The Win Hill and Lose Hill circular is a moderate alternative with wide views. All four reward hill boots, waterproofs and an early start.

The National Trust's Kinder Scout circular climbs Jacob's Ladder, an old packhorse track that carried lead, coal, salt and wool across the moor until the railway was built in 1894. On top it skirts the plateau past Noe Stool, the Pagoda and the Wool Packs, wind carved gritstone tors said to have influenced the sculptor Henry Moore. Visit Peak District & Derbyshire's 8 mile version runs the other way, up the rocky ravine of Grindsbrook Clough and down Jacob's Ladder. Kinder is also where walking rights were won. In 1932, when walking on owned land was forbidden, the Mass Trespass set out from Hayfield, and that protest paved the way for today's access land.

The full Great Ridge walk starts in Castleton, climbs Mam Tor and keeps the edge of Kinder Scout in view. Short on time? The National Trust's Mam Tor walk is a 3 mile (4.8 km) loop from Mam Nick car park. It takes about 2 hours on good paths with steps and some steep climbs. From the summit you look north over the Edale Valley to Kinder Scout and the Derwent Moors. The ridge is exposed, so watch the sky, and steep paths turn slippery after rain.

Visit Peak District & Derbyshire's 9 mile walk leaves Hathersage and passes North Lees Hall, the 16th century manor thought to have inspired Mr Rochester's home in Jane Eyre. Then it climbs onto Stanage Edge for views across the Derwent and Hope valleys. The path along the edge is well marked, which makes it a good choice for a first solo hill day.

Padley Gorge, the Dovedale stepping stones and the Monsal Trail are the gentlest ways to walk the Peak District, and each has a cafe or a picnic spot on the way.

Padley Gorge suits a first walk with children. The National Trust's Padley Gorge and Burbage Brook walk is 2.3 miles (3.68 km), graded easy, and takes about an hour from the Longshaw cafe. Pink arrows lead you through ancient sessile oak and birch woodland. Look for redstarts between April and September. From Grindleford station, Visit Peak District & Derbyshire's 6 mile loop adds the open moor and Higger Tor for a bigger half day.

Dovedale suits a short walk with a payoff. From Ilam Park, the National Trust's Dovedale stepping stones trail runs 1.5 miles (2.4 km), about 40 minutes, past 1,000 year old Saxon crosses to the foot of Thorpe Cloud. The stones were laid in the middle of the 19th century and are full of fossils. After heavy rain they can flood and become impassable, and the route is not suitable for pushchairs.

The Monsal Trail suits mixed groups, wheelchair users and anyone who wants flat ground. It follows the old Midland Railway line for 8.5 traffic free miles from Blackwell Mill in Chee Dale to Bakewell. Four tunnels, each about 400 m long, are lit during normal daylight hours. The view from the Headstone Viaduct below Monsal Head is a highlight, and the cafe in the old station at Millers Dale, about halfway, has toilets. Visit Peak District & Derbyshire's Monsal Trail page has the route map.

Take the Hope Valley Line. Its trains between Manchester and Sheffield stop at Grindleford, Hathersage, Bamford, Hope and Edale, each a popular stop for walkers. Edale station is 300 m from the start of the Kinder Scout circular, and Hathersage is the start for Stanage Edge. Grindleford is a mile from the Longshaw start of the Padley Gorge walk. From Hope, a 4 mile walk with a moderate climb crosses to Edale through Castleton and its show caves, so you can walk station to station and ride home.

For Mam Tor, bus 272 runs from Sheffield to Castleton. Bus 200 runs from Chapel-en-le-Frith to Castleton over Winnats Pass, with a stop at Mam Tor. Dovedale is harder without a car: its only bus is the pre-booked Moorlands Connect, which runs from April to September. Drivers should arrive early, as the National Trust says Mam Nick, Ilam Park and Dovedale car parks fill by 9am at busy times. Visit Peak District & Derbyshire lists more walks from train stations.

Go between May and September, when the days are longest and the dales are full of wildflowers. Expect company at Mam Tor and on the Great Ridge at peak times. Late autumn and winter are quieter, but colder and wetter, with muddy, slippery paths. In any month the weather can change fast, above all on exposed ground.

The table below is theKlub's month by month climate for the Peak District. It shows average daily highs and lows and the days with rain or snow (1 mm or more), from Open-Meteo data for 2016 to 2025. The figures come from one point in the centre of the park, not from the summits.

Rain is part of every month here. April has the fewest wet days, 13.4, with highs around 10 °C. That makes it a sharp choice for a spring walk before the summer crowds. July brings the warmest highs, 17.8 °C, and also the most wet days, 18.0. In January the average high is 4.5 °C. Pack waterproof layers whatever the forecast.

Base yourself in the Hope Valley for the Dark Peak classics, or in Bakewell for the White Peak and the Monsal Trail. The Hope Valley puts Kinder Scout, Mam Tor and Stanage Edge within reach. Hope and Bamford both have stations on the Hope Valley Line. Losehill House Hotel & Spa in Hope (rated 9.1 by guests) suits a couple who want a spa after the ridge. The Yorkshire Bridge Inn in Bamford is. The Barrel Inn, a Derbyshire country inn dating back to 1597 with five rooms, has a 9.8 guest rating.

Bakewell is a popular starting point for Peak District walks. It sits at one end of the Monsal Trail and is the easier base for a mixed group. Its Monday market is the largest in the Peak District, the town is famous for its Bakewell pudding, and Chatsworth House is close for a rest day. Avenue House, Millstream Mews and The Rutland Arms Hotel are all in town. Between the two, try Anglers rest in Millers Dale, the Monsal Trail's halfway stop, The Merchant's Yard in Tideswell, or The Blind Bull in Little Hucklow.

For bigger fells and lakes further north, read our guide to hiking in the Lake District.

The Peak rewards a plan with two halves. Give one day to Kinder or the Great Ridge and one to an easy walk in the dales, with a pub or a cafe at the end of each. Browse hiking holidays with theKlub when you are ready to plan the next trip. Start with the train times to Edale for a Saturday in May, and be climbing Jacob's Ladder before the car parks fill.