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Lairg
Things to Do in Lairg
Falls of Shin
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Falls of Shin

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See all things to do
Falls of Shin
4
602
#2 of 17 things to do in Lairg
Nature & Wildlife Areas • Hiking Trails • Waterfalls
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10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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About
The Falls of Shin are famous for being one of the best places in Scotland to view salmon in their natural habitat. The former Falls of Shin centre, nicknamed “Harrods of the North” was destroyed by fire in May 2013. This left a huge hole in the local economy and as a leading employer a vast number of jobs were lost overnight. Following this, local charity - Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust, raised project funding to rebuild the popular attraction. The Trust worked with the community, stakeholders, funders and the design team (CH Architecture) to develop the project. Falls of Shin was officially reopened in May 2017 with a day of celebrations for the local community. Since then we have welcomed visitors from around the world and recreated employment opportunities at the visitor centre. The site has a restaurant and gift shop (run by a private operator), playpark, mini golf, forest trails, and a viewing platform where people can watch the salmon leaping.
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We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
602 reviews
Excellent
241
Very good
209
Average
96
Poor
37
Terrible
19
Iain c.
1 contribution
Nicest place to have a walk
Oct 2022 • Couples
Cafe was great, walk was good weather very good, plenty staff to serve and help, plenty things to see and do.
Written December 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
DJM1945
Montrose, UK1,908 contributions
Enjoyable walk though the woods.
Dec 2022
We enjoyed our walk through the woods and we started with the short walk to the falls and followed this with a longer circular walk which started opposite the care park.
Written December 4, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
sarzxxx
Burbage, UK49 contributions
Stunning
Oct 2022 • Family
Beautiful place. We spent about an hour here and did the walk through the woods. Shame that the visitor centre was closed for the winter season but it didn't spoil our visit.
Written October 18, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
franked1
Dallas, TX32 contributions
Viewing salmon jumping up the falls
Sep 2022
It was so exciting to see salmon attempting to ascend the river over the falls. Patience is required, though.
Written September 23, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Paul Coops
Leeds, UK76 contributions
Needs faciltys
Sep 2022
Falls are gorgeous and beautiful surrounding wood long walks but no faciltys here no toilets etc ..there’s a car charger that worked well but don’t call here if you’re gonna be caught short
Written September 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
yorkshirefloss
Ripponden, UK39 contributions
Leaping salmon
Sep 2022 • Couples
Lovely walk to see salmon jumping the falls! Shame the visitors centre was closed.
There are facilities here if camping the night - which is a bonus.
Written September 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Daisy K
25 contributions
Beautiful place, saw jumping salmon. Visitor centre closed (for good?)
Aug 2022 • Couples
Beautiful place, loved watching the falls amd trying to spot jumping salmon! (We saw 3). Lovely area. Only complaint is that the visitor centre/cafe was closed (when I say closed I mean empty and the windows white washed! So doesn't look like it will be open any time soon) but we had not seen any notice of this closure online when looking into the falls. Doing NC500 so turned up needing the toilet and also wanting food, thankfully we're in a campervan with a portaloo so had to use that. Shame that the mosaic was broken although likely due to the moisture from the falls. Lovely viewing point though! Would recommend. Saw on the maps on site that there were some walks to do but had to leave without doing these as we were rather hungry by this point!
Written August 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Bibcay
Gateshead, UK4,366 contributions
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT
Aug 2022 • Family
Well let's start of by saying this is amazing. The leaping salmon was amazing to watch and we even got some photos of it leaping. The car park is huge and there is a play park for kids. There's a forest walk which we didn't do sadly. There was a lack of facilities as there was no visitor centre which means there were no toilets. They could've gotten a portable toilet but we came here for the nature so don't let that stop you from coming because this was a wild and fantastic experience.
Written August 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Dougiecor
Thurso, UK31 contributions
Shame the visitors centre is closed
Jul 2022 • Family
Falls are brilliant, loads of car parking, nice wee swing park and some nice walks. On the downside the visitors centre is closed as are any toilet facilities. Very poor for any visiting tourists wishing to spend a pound or indeed a penny!!
Written July 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Judith H
13 contributions
Leaping Salmon
Jul 2022
We love waterfalls and this was no exception. It was a short walk from a large FREE carpark. (PLEASE NOTE THE VISITORS CENTRE REMAINS CLOSED.The salmon are making their way upstream from July to October and we saw lots making the effort to leap up the raging falls. However on a second visit a few days later we saw none.
There are a couple of waymarked footpaths from the carpark through woodland and near the river.
Written July 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Falls of Shin (Lairg) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Frequently Asked Questions about Falls of Shin
Falls of Shin is open:
  • Sun - Wed 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  • Thu - Sat 10:00 AM - 8:30 PM
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We recommend booking Falls of Shin tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 15 Falls of Shin tours on Tripadvisor