Pick the right Skye hiking route for your level and season

The path to the Old Man of Storr climbs through deer gates and over rough stone steps until a 55 m pinnacle of basalt stands over you, with the weathered cliffs of The Storr rising behind it. The area sees more than 220,000 visitors a year. Skye has harder walks and quieter ones, and the right one depends on the day: a short gravel path when the cloud is down, a cliff-top loop when the wind drops, a corrie under the Cuillin when the forecast holds.

The Fairy Pools and the Old Man of Storr are the two walks to start with, and each fits into half a day. The Fairy Pools walk follows a purpose-made gravel path from the car park in Glen Brittle to clear blue pools on the Allt Coire a' Mhadaidh, a burn running down from the Black Cuillin. The return trip to the first main waterfall is 2.4 km. IsleofSkye.com, a local guide to the island, allows 40 minutes to an hour and a half, and about 20 minutes to reach the first and largest waterfall. Expect one short, steep rocky section after the second footbridge. It suits a family, a group with mixed fitness, or a rest day between bigger hills. After hard rain the water rises fast, so save it for a drier day.

The Old Man of Storr asks more of your legs over a similar distance. The path runs 3.8 km there and back from the car park on the A855, 6.8 miles north of Portree, up to the pinnacle below The Storr, at 719 m the highest summit on the Trotternish Ridge. Allow 1 hour 15 minutes without stops, and about 45 minutes to reach the foot of the Old Man. The gravel is good for most of the way, but the top is very steep, with rough stone steps that get muddy in rain, a risk of rockfall, and mist that can drop without warning. It suits anyone happy on a steady climb. Go early to beat the crowds.

Short does not mean safe. The Skye Mountain Rescue Team, the mountain rescue team for Skye and Raasay, says its routine callouts are at the Fairy Pools, the Fairy Glen, the Quiraing and the Old Man of Storr, and that broken ankles are its speciality. Wear boots that hold your ankles, even for an hour on gravel.

Yes. The Quiraing is longer, rougher and closer to big drops, and IsleofSkye.com grades it hard where it grades the Storr average. The loop covers 6.8 km in about 2 hours without stops, from a car park at the highest point of the single-track road between Staffin and Uig.

A massive landslip shaped this end of the Trotternish Ridge, and the path threads right through it: past the rock fortress called the Prison and the column called the Needle, up a bank of loose scree, then along the cliff tops to a summit at 540 m. From there you look down on the Table, a flat plateau hidden among the rock towers. Reaching the Table itself means a scramble, climbing with your hands on rock, so most walkers enjoy it from above.

Choose the day before you choose the Quiraing. The path runs near high cliffs, so IsleofSkye.com advises against it in wind or mist. On a clear, still day the view runs east over Staffin to Raasay, Rona and the hills of Torridon on the mainland. It suits a fit walker with a head for heights and a few hill days behind them.

The ridge carries on well beyond the Quiraing. The Skye Trail, a 128 km unofficial long-distance route described by the walking website Walkhighlands, follows much of the Trotternish Ridge before passing under the Cuillin. It has no waymarks, some sections have no path, and it is meant only for experienced hillwalkers with excellent map reading. Treat it as a trip of its own.

Walkers can get deep into the Cuillin without climbing, as long as they turn back where the scrambling starts. The Cuillin are two ranges either side of Glen Sligachan. The Black Cuillin ridge runs for more than 11 km and holds 11 Munros (Scottish mountains of 3,000 feet or more) and 16 other summits; IsleofSkye.com calls it an Alpine range suited to climbing, not walking, where the ridge demands scrambling, some abseiling and route finding through steep rock. The Red Cuillin are gentler, rounded hills popular with hillwalkers, topped by Glamaig. The classic walker's way in is the 8 km round trip from Glenbrittle beach to Coire Lagan, a mountain loch at about 600 m ringed by Skye's highest peaks, with one short scramble on the path. Go no further than the loch unless you can scramble. Another is the boat from Elgol to Loch Coruisk, followed by a 6 km low-level route around the loch.

The rock adds its own risk. The Skye Mountain Rescue Team's safety advice warns that much of the Cuillin holds basalt, which is very slippery when moist, even with dew, and that on Skye you are often walking on rock and scree from 150 m up. Summits run 4 to 5 degrees colder than sea level, and the iron in the rock can give your compass false readings.

Coire Lagan suits a strong hillwalker who wants to sit among the peaks. The boat to Loch Coruisk suits a group with mixed legs or a rest day. The ridge itself suits scramblers with a guide: the IsleofSkye.com Cuillin guide says to hire one if you are unsure, and guided Cuillin Ridge days should be booked well ahead.

May to early July is the best time to hike on Skye. The days are long, the weather is generally more settled, the wildflowers are out, and the midges, tiny biting flies, have not yet peaked. From late July through September midges are most active, above all in still, damp weather, so pack repellent and a head net. Late autumn and winter bring quieter trails but shorter days, strong wind and rain, and paths that turn muddy or icy. The Glenbrittle road to the Fairy Pools can ice between November and March.

May and June suit a first trip and a group that wants long, light evenings. Winter suits experienced walkers who want the island to themselves and can navigate in cloud. The Skye Mountain Rescue Team is busiest from March to October, when the paths are fullest. Whatever the month, start early: the Fairy Pools car park is busiest from 11am to 1pm in summer, and the Quiraing car park fills quickly in midsummer.

Pack for every season in one day. The Skye Mountain Rescue Team's kit list for the island's hills:

Bring your own gear: rental options on the island are limited. Before you go, leave your route and your expected return time with someone.

Park only in the marked car parks. The Storr has a 140-vehicle car park beside the A855, just north of Loch Leathan, and drivers are asked not to park on verges or in passing places. The Quiraing car park holds 100 cars, and the verge there is soft peat that traps cars. The Fairy Pools car park has 120 spaces, built by the Minginish Community Hall Association. All three charge for parking.

Scotland's access rights let you walk the hills for recreation under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, which rests on three principles: respect the interests of other people, care for the environment, and take responsibility for your own actions. On Skye that means keeping dogs on leads around free-roaming livestock, staying on the path, closing gates behind you and taking all litter home.

Portree is the most practical base for the big walks. The Storr car park is 14 minutes' drive north, and the Quiraing and the Fairy Pools are each about 30 minutes away. In Portree, The Skye Inn, Marmalade hotel and Skeabost House Hotel all rate 8.8 or higher with guests. Nearer the Skye Bridge are Hillside in Kyleakin and Broadford Lodges Skye in Broadford. Further south are Toravaig House Hotel in Sleat and Hotel Eilean Iarmain in Isleornsay. Book early for May to July.

The table below lists the hotels theKlub rates for hiking around Skye, with guest ratings and an indicative nightly rate where we hold one.

For mountain walking further south, read our guide to hiking in Snowdonia.

Skye rewards the walker who matches the route to the day. Take the Fairy Pools or the Storr while you find your legs, the Quiraing when the wind drops, and Coire Lagan when you want the Cuillin close without the climbing. For more on the island, see theKlub's page on hiking in Isle of Skye, and for other walking destinations, our hiking holidays with theKlub. The night before your first walk, check the forecast and leave your route with someone at your hotel.