There are play areas for different ages:

• for smaller children, balance, slide, and swing your way through the Squirrel Drey play area, near the Visitor Centre
• or try the Badger Wood play area, which has recently been extended and made more accessible, for a more challenging experience! Just follow the play trail from the Squirrel Drey play area to find it.

The play trail links the two play areas with footprints and games marked on the tarmac paths, musical instruments to play, and hidden creatures to find.

You can follow a network of other paths around the park, which are suitable for walking, wheeling and cycling. They include family friendly strolls and the Big Loop, taking in views of Fannyside Loch and Muir. On a clear day you can even see the Isle of Arran over 60 miles away!

Families will love the badger trail, created by the Countrsyide Ranger Service and their volunteers. Go on an adventure and learn about local wildlife and biodiversity. The park is home to bats, dragonflies, damselflies, pine martens, roe deer, owls and of course badgers! You can stop at the picnic site and enjoy views over Toddle Moor.

Our new Hidden Creatures trail invites families to play hide and seek with badger and his friends by following the pink waymarker discs. For help finding badger and friends check out our trail map.

New maps and waymarking have been installed to guide visitors around the different landscapes and features of Palacerigg.

Following a Community Asset Transfer, Palacerigg Community Trust has reopened the popular visitor centre café, offering hot and cold drinks, snacks and a place to catch up with friends and families.

For opening hours and news follow the trust on facebook or send them an email at hello@palacerigg.scot.

Palacerigg Golf Club is open to all park visitors, with public toilets and offering light refreshments in the café. For opening hours and more information, visit .

Watch Us Grow is based in Palacerigg Country Park, supporting adults with additional support needs and growing organic produce and plants. The charity creates opportunities for people to learn new skills, grow in confidence and become more independent. They have a range of plants for sale too.

The countryside ranger service is based in the park and specialise in tailoring environmental education in the countryside to meet the demands of the national 5-14 curriculum, youth groups and adult groups.

We have plans for more improvements at Palacerigg Country Park and we’re keen to hear your ideas and get your help. There will be opportunities for everyone to learn new skills, gain confidence and have amazing experiences. Lots of the work will relate to the cultural, social and natural heritage of the park. To get involved send us an email

Our work at Palacerigg is part of our ambitious 10-year Country Parks for the Future programme, which aims to create new opportunities for play, exercise and wildlife conservation offering benefits to residents through improved physical and mental health and wellbeing, opportunities for learning about local wildlife and heritage, and encouraging active travel.

In 2023, the local community and North Lanarkshire Council worked with Urban Pioneers to create a Playful Landscape Plan for Palacerigg Country Park. The plan outlines options for how to make the site a more playful and engaging experience for visitors of all ages. We are now working with partner organisations to fundraise in order to deliver the plan. This project is part of delivering the 2019 Masterplan for the site.

We are in the process of renewing our Long Term Forest Plan (LTFP) at Palacerigg Country Park. This is a strategic document and covers four phases of woodland management works to be completed between 2012 and 2031.

The first two phases were completed in 2014 and 2015 and the plan is now at a review period following 12 years since the inception of the plan.

We are looking to deliver the next two phases through a National Lottery Heritage Fund partnership project bid (Nurturing Natural Connections) and it is proposed that  woodland works will be carried out in 2025 and 2029.

As part of the LTFP review, we are carrying out a consultation to give visitors and the community an opportunity to comment on the plans. The plan aims to enhance woodland conditions by improving tree quality and increasing species and structural diversity as well as enhancing biodiversity within the Country Park. Key objectives include thinning woodlands to promote the best stems and remove wind-vulnerable conifers, retaining sensitive habitats to increase species diversity, and managing the woodlands sustainably.

The 2 maps below outline the nature of the proposed works and we would welcome your views. Any comments should be sent to arbor@northlan.gov.uk