Yorkshire Dales National Park in England, United Kingdom - map and visitor information

Research checked: 2026-10-24. Check linked official notices before travel.

Yorkshire Dales National Park is a protected landscape of valleys, uplands, and limestone country in northern England. Malham offers a day centered on a limestone cove and nearby waterfalls; Aysgarth provides a different starting point beside the River Ure. Hawes combines visitor advice with the Dales Countryside Museum. Choose a destination before setting off, and separate countryside access from parking, museum admission, and overnight accommodation.

Highlights of the Yorkshire Dales

• Malham Cove: approach the limestone face from the village, or plan for the stone steps if you want to reach the top.
• Gordale Scar and Janet’s Foss: explore distinct limestone and woodland features in the Malham area.
• Aysgarth Falls: start at the national park visitor center for walks around the River Ure waterfalls.
• Hawes: include the Dales Countryside Museum for an indoor part of your visit.

Know before a day in the Dales

Fees, hours, and seasonal access

Check the authority’s parking information and the museum admission and holiday schedule for your visit. Museum tickets can be bought online or at reception; they do not reserve a parking space.

Limestone, waterfalls, and hill weather

Limestone becomes slippery when wet. Stay away from the edges of swollen rivers and waterfalls, especially after heavy rain. Do not enter caves, mine shafts, or ruined mining structures without the required skills and equipment. These features are not ordinary walking-path extensions.

Check the weather, carry a map and compass, and choose a route your whole group can complete. Take waterproof layers, food, water, and a light. For an emergency in the hills, call 999, ask for the police, and request fell rescue. Give an accurate location. Mobile coverage is not reliable everywhere. The park’s safety guidance explains the main terrain hazards.

Respect paths and working farms

Use public rights of way through fields and meadows, follow local signs, and keep gates and road access clear. Take litter and dog waste away. Keep dogs under control around livestock. Avoid open fires and barbecues during your countryside visit.

Camping and overnight parking

Wild camping needs the landowner’s prior permission. The national park authority does not permit it on its own land. Camping and sleeping in vehicles are prohibited in authority-operated car parks, even when you buy a 24-hour or 48-hour parking ticket. Book an established campsite or other accommodation for an overnight stay.

For Aysgarth’s all-terrain wheelchair, reserve through the visitor center or its listed booking provider before traveling. A wheelchair reservation and a parking payment serve different purposes.

Maps, visitor centers, and arrival

Use Malham National Park Visitor Centre, BD23 4DA, for the Malham area. For Aysgarth Falls, navigate to Church Bank, Aysgarth, DL8 3TH. Other national park visitor centers are at Grassington and Hawes. Their staff can advise on route maps and local transport. The authority’s offices at Bainbridge and Grassington are administrative addresses, not park entrance gates.

Malham and Horton-in-Ribblesdale car parks can fill early. Choose another destination if parking is full; do not obstruct a village, gateway, or verge. Download the map for your actual walk rather than relying on a generic park pin.

Nearby protected landscapes

Nidderdale National Landscape is an adjacent option on the eastern side, with Pateley Bridge as one starting point. For a westbound journey, consider Lake District National Park and choose the lake valley that fits your route. These alternatives make more sense when planned from your actual Dales destination than from a central map marker.

Walks and indoor options

At Malham, distinguish the walk to the foot of the cove from an outing to its top: the direct ascent has about 400 stone steps. The wider landscape trail takes in other local features. Ask at the visitor center for the route that matches your available time and ability.

At Aysgarth, walks begin near the visitor center and continue around the falls and nearby woodland. The center can arrange an all-terrain wheelchair for access to the upper and middle falls. A museum visit at Hawes offers an alternative when an exposed walk does not suit the weather.

Facilities and accessibility

National park visitor centers provide maps, displays, and local advice. The authority lists Changing Places toilets at Hawes, Grassington, and Malham. Most of its car parks have accessible toilet facilities; Linton Falls is the stated exception.

Aysgarth has toilet improvement works. Its published October arrangements provide portable toilets from early morning until 5 p.m. An accessible toilet is available, with its key collected at the visitor center from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Confirm the arrangements before a visit that depends on these facilities. See the Aysgarth visitor information.

About Yorkshire Dales National Park

National park designation

The Yorkshire Dales became a national park in 1954. Its protection grew from a movement to conserve countryside while making outdoor recreation available to more people. The area remains a working landscape, so protection and visitor access do not mean that all land is publicly owned.

Red squirrel habitat

Red squirrels survive in the northwestern Dales, including woodland around Hawes. The park authority identifies refuge areas in Garsdale and Mallerstang, Widdale, and Upper Wharfedale. Their presence is a reason to protect woodland habitat, not a promise of a sighting on a particular walk.

Contact and visitor advice

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority: 0300 456 0030; [email protected]. Visitor inquiries: [email protected]. Use the official contact page to reach the appropriate team.