The Falls of Foyers are a two-step waterfall on the River Foyers, on the quiet south-east shore of Loch Ness, dropping 144 ft (44 m) in all. A steep path with steps leads from the road to two viewing platforms. They are free, 31 minutes from Inverness and about 45 minutes by road from Drumnadrochit.
The Falls of Foyers are a waterfall on the River Foyers, on the south-east shore of Loch Ness, about halfway along the loch. The river drops 144 ft (44 m) in two falls into a deep wooded gorge: an upper fall of 46 ft and a lower one of 98 ft. Some guides give 165 ft; the 44 m figure is the better-supported one. Entry is free, a steep stepped path leads to two viewing platforms, and the drive from Drumnadrochit takes about 45 minutes because you have to go round the end of the loch.
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Height | 144 ft (44 m): upper fall 46 ft (14 m), lower fall 98 ft (30 m) |
| Drive from Drumnadrochit | 32.1 miles, about 45 minutes via Fort Augustus |
| Drive from Inverness | 19.6 miles, about 31 minutes via Dores |
| Drive from Fort Augustus | 13.4 miles, about 19 minutes |
| Parking | Falls of Foyers car park (Highland Council): Invitation to Pay donation, 24-hour maximum |
| Bus | Highland Council 302, Inverness to Foyers via Dores |
| Entry | Free, open access |
Checked October 2026. Drive times by OSRM routing, free-flow.
The path starts by the road above the falls and drops quickly through woodland. Visit Inverness Loch Ness warns of “a lot of steps to get to the two viewing platforms”, and Fiona Outdoors, writing in April 2026, describes the path as narrow and steep but well made, “with steps where needed”. From the platforms you look across the gorge at the lower fall, a single white column down dark rock into a pool. Red squirrels live in the pines around the path.
The Gaelic name, Eas na Smùide, means “the smoking falls”, after the spray. You get the full effect only when the river is high. Since the 1890s much of the water above the falls has been taken for hydro power, first by the British Aluminium Company’s smelter and later by the Foyers pumped-storage scheme, so in a dry spell the falls can be thin. Fiona Outdoors found them in spate after rain in April 2026. Plan your visit for a day after wet weather if you can.
A longer path continues below the falls down to the loch side. For a proper outing, Fiona Outdoors describes a 12 km circuit from the free Forestry and Land Scotland car park at Inverfarigaig that takes in the falls, with about 500 m of climbing in total. The South Loch Ness Trail also passes through Foyers on its way between Fort Augustus and Inverness.
Robert Burns visited in 1787 and wrote “Lines on the Fall of Fyers, near Loch Ness”. The Wordsworths and Robert Southey came too, and MacBrayne steamers on the canal route later carried tourists to see the falls. In 1834 a visiting lecturer, Robert Addams, described the “waterfall illusion” after watching them: stare at falling water, then look at the rocks, and the rocks seem to drift upwards.
Industry changed the falls. The British Aluminium Company began building a hydro-powered aluminium smelter here in 1895, the first in the UK, and celebrated its first production in June 1896. Its intake just above the falls cut their flow, despite public objections. The smelter closed in 1967. The village grew around it: Upper Foyers was a crofting township, and Lower Foyers was built for the works’ staff, with the falls between them.
From Drumnadrochit: no bridge or ferry crosses Loch Ness, so drive south on the A82 to Fort Augustus, then take the B862 and B852 up the east side, about 45 minutes in all. Going round by Inverness and Dores takes nearer an hour.
From Inverness: about 31 minutes via Dores along the east shore. Dores Beach makes a good stop on the way.
By bus: Highland Council’s service 302 runs from Inverness bus station to Foyers via Dores and Inverfarigaig, with stops at Upper Foyers shop and the Foyers Hotel. It does not serve the west shore, so it is no help from Drumnadrochit. Check times on Traveline Scotland before you rely on it.
On a tour: the small-group lap of the loch from Inverness stops at the falls between Dores and Fort Augustus, and finishes at Urquhart Castle with a cruise. The cheaper coach loop also stops here.
The car park at the falls belongs to Highland Council. Its 2026 draft parking order lists it as an “Invitation to Pay” site, which means a donation rather than a charge, with a 24-hour maximum stay. A shop by the start of the path sells snacks and ice cream. Visit Inverness Loch Ness names Cameron’s Tearooms in Foyers, which keeps Highland cows, and The Craigdarroch for lunch and dinner; check opening times out of season.
The free Forestry and Land Scotland car park to the north at Inverfarigaig has free public toilets and suits the longer circuit.
If you are staying in Drumnadrochit, Divach Falls is the waterfall on your own side, a 100 ft drop in oak woods above the village, though its access road has been closed since a landslip in December 2024. Foyers is the bigger outing and pairs well with Dores and Fort Augustus in a loop of the loch. For more of the east shore and where to sleep, see things to do at Loch Ness and where to stay at Loch Ness.
7 hours
A full lap of Loch Ness by minibus via Dores, the Falls of Foyers, Fort Augustus and Invermoriston, ending with Urquhart Castle entry and an hour-long cruise.
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Check availability9 hours
A budget coach loop of the loch that stops at Urquhart Castle, Fort Augustus, the Falls of Foyers and Dores Beach, with the castle ticket and the cruise as paid add-ons.
from$73
Check availability12 hours
Heads down Loch Ness with a coffee stop and an Urquhart Castle photo stop, then on to the Glenfinnan Viaduct to watch the steam train, lunch in Mallaig, and back via Fort Augustus and Foyers.
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About 144 ft (44 m) in total, made up of an upper fall of 46 ft (14 m) and a lower fall of 98 ft (30 m). The lower fall is the bigger of the two. Visit Inverness Loch Ness quotes its 98 ft drop, and a 2026 walking guide describes the whole drop as some 45 m.
Short but steep. The path starts beside the road above the falls and drops through woodland to two viewing platforms, with steps where the slope needs them. Most of the effort is the climb back up. A longer path carries on down to the loch shore at Lower Foyers, and a 12 km circuit links the falls with Inverfarigaig.
Yes. Highland Council's car park at the falls is an Invitation to Pay site, where you are asked for a donation rather than charged, with a 24-hour maximum stay in the council's 2026 parking order. A shop by the start of the path sells snacks and ice cream. Forestry and Land Scotland's car park at Inverfarigaig, north of Foyers, is free and has toilets.
Only by going round the loch, because no bridge or ferry crosses it. By car it is about 32 miles and 45 minutes via Fort Augustus and the B862, or nearer an hour via Inverness and Dores. Without a car, a day tour from Inverness is the practical option; Highland Council's bus 302 runs from Inverness to Foyers but not from Drumnadrochit.
Yes. Burns came in 1787 and wrote Lines on the Fall of Fyers, near Loch Ness. The falls drew visitors from the 18th century onwards, including the Wordsworths and Robert Southey, and steamers on the Caledonian Canal route later brought tourists to Foyers to see them. The Gaelic name, Eas na Smùide, means the smoking falls, after the spray.
Dores Beach is a free pebble beach at the north-east end of Loch Ness, in the village of Dores, about 8.5 miles (17 minutes) by road from Inverness and 29 minutes by road from Drumnadrochit.
Fort Augustus is the village at the south-west end of Loch Ness, 19 miles (27 minutes) from Drumnadrochit and about 50 minutes from Inverness.
The best things to do at Loch Ness are Urquhart Castle, a cruise, The Loch Ness Experience, the Falls of Foyers, Fort Augustus and its canal locks, and Dores Beach.
Divach Falls is a waterfall about 30 m (100 ft) high in oakwoods 2 miles south-west of Drumnadrochit.