New Forest
A medieval royal hunting forest rather than a mountain landscape: ancient pasture woodland, open heath and mire grazed by free-roaming ponies and cattle under a commoning system that has run for centuries. Walking is gentle and lowland, on a dense network of gravel tracks and open heathland paths.
- Country
- England
- Area
- 566 km²
- Designated
- 2005
- Listed hills
- 0
Access in this park
The open forest is Crown land with long-established public access on foot, much of it also mapped as CRoW access land. Wild camping is not permitted — use the designated campsites.
Conditional Right to roam (England): Right to roam only on mapped CRoW open access land.
Conditional Wild camping (England): Permission needed — except on the Dartmoor commons.
Designation as a park creates no right of access in itself — the law of England applies inside the boundary, and park byelaws, seasonal restrictions and closures can override the general position. This is general information, not legal advice. Full detail: access rights in England · check a specific grid reference.
No listed summits inside the boundary
Our hill list is built from the established British hill lists — Munros, Corbetts, Grahams, Donalds, Wainwrights, Hewitts, Nuttalls and county tops — and no summit inside New Forest National Park qualifies for one of them. The New Forest is lowland heath, mire and ancient pasture woodland: gentle going on gravel tracks and open heath, with no ground high enough to reach those lists.
That is a statement about our dataset, not about the walking. For hills grouped by survey area, browse regions, or see every peak we track.
Long-distance paths through New Forest
3 waymarked long-distance routes cross the park boundary. Distances are for the whole route, not just the section inside the park.
| Route | Total length | Countries |
|---|---|---|
| King Charles III England Coast Path National Trail | 2282 km · 1418 mi | England |
| Solent Way | 105 km · 65 mi | England |
| Avon Valley Path | 57 km · 36 mi | England |
Route lines © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); park crossings computed by OpenFell against the ONS park boundary. See all UK long-distance paths.
Plan a walk here
- Walking-time calculator — Naismith with terrain and fitness corrections.
- Daylight safety planner — set your turnaround against sunset.
- Access checker — what a specific grid reference allows.
- Access rights in England — roaming, paths, camping and dogs in detail.
- Safety notes — conditions change fast; build in margin.