Esk Pike
Esk Pike at 885m (2,904ft) stands at the crossroads of the high Lakeland passes, above Esk Hause where the main routes to Scafell Pike, Bowfell and Great Gable all converge.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 885 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 10° to 7°C, gusts to 32 mph, 3.3 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 885 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
Esk Pike at a glance
Esk Pike
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Routes up Esk Pike
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Classifications & hill data
The short answers
Is Esk Pike a Wainwright?
Esk Pike is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list, the Fellranger list and the HuMP list.
Where do you park for Esk Pike?
We hold no car park within 2.5 km of the summit, so there is no short walk-in to recommend here. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.
Parking & buses for Esk Pike
Best parking to hike Esk Pike
Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).
Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm.
Tip: pan and zoom the interactive map at the top of this page to spot other potential parking near your route.
Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.
Getting to Esk Pike by bus
The 516 stops at Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel (at), 210 m from the start of Rossett Pike, Allen Crags, Great End and more. Return buses leave from New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, about 1 km down the valley road. Last bus: Monday to Friday 20:13 towards Kendal (516) and 18:13 towards Ambleside (516); Saturday 22:33 towards Kendal (516) and 21:13 towards Ambleside (516); Sunday 20:13 towards Kendal (516) and 18:13 towards Ambleside (516). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Hazards on Esk Pike
Hazard & Incident Information for Esk Pike
Esk Pike is rarely the destination but often part of a long ridge day taking in Bowfell, Scafell Pike and Great End. Its principal hazard is one of position: it sits at the head of upper Eskdale and above Esk Hause, one of the busiest and most confusing path junctions in the Lake District. Walkers in poor visibility have followed the wrong path off Esk Hause in multiple documented incidents, sometimes ending up on Esk Pike when they intended Scafell Pike, or vice versa. The fell itself is steep and rocky on all sides, with limited options for a safe unplanned descent.
- Esk Hause path junction: Esk Hause is a major crossroads where paths to Wasdale, Great Langdale, Eskdale and Borrowdale all converge. In cloud it is one of the most frequently misnavigated points in the fells — two walkers were rescued in May 2025 after becoming lost in mist here believing they were descending from Scafell Pike. Always identify the correct path by compass bearing before descending.
- Steep flanks above upper Eskdale: The western slopes dropping into upper Eskdale are serious ground — remote, steep, and rocky. An unplanned descent in poor visibility could lead onto crags. Stick to the established ridge paths.
- Remoteness and long return: Any incident on Esk Pike requires a substantial rescue operation. The nearest accessible valley — Langdale to the north or Eskdale to the west — involves a long carry. Self-sufficiency is essential: enough food, warm layers, and a torch for the hours any delay will add.
Most common causes: Navigation errors at Esk Hause in cloud · Descending the wrong path off the summit plateau · Exhaustion on a long multi-fell day · Caught out by deteriorating weather on remote ground
Local Mountain Rescue: Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab) · Wasdale MRT — Esk Pike incident May 2025 (opens in new tab) · Wasdale MRT — accident black spots (opens in new tab) · Reviewed 13 Jun 2026
Safety: Hazard guidance compiled from published Mountain Rescue reports and well-documented accident history - editorial background, not a live feed of callouts. Always check current conditions, carry proper navigation equipment, and seek qualified instruction before heading onto the fells. In an emergency, call 999, ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.
Navigating Esk Pike in cloud
StraightforwardA rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.
In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.
How Esk Pike compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (free verge), about 4.8 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Esk Pike (within 3 km)
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits — detour to them on this walk and they are pure profit. Distances are straight-line; allow extra for terrain.
Routes over Esk Pike
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
On the hill: terrain and water on Esk Pike
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Esk Pike and Great End route:
On the Rossett Pike, Allen Crags, Great End and more route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
The view from Esk Pike
The 360° skyline from Esk Pike
A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.
What you can see from Esk Pike, by direction
- North: Crag Hill (14 km), Grisedale Pike (16 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (20 km), Skiddaw Little Man (20 km), Knowe Crags (21 km), Skiddaw South Top (21 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (22 km), Gategill Fell Top (22 km), Skiddaw (22 km), Skiddaw North Top (22 km)
- North-east: High Crag (12 km), Dollywaggon Pike (12 km), Nethermost Pike (13 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (13 km), Helvellyn (13 km), White Side (14 km), Raise (14 km), St Sunday Crag (14 km), Stybarrow Dodd (16 km), Little Dodd (16 km), Great Dodd (17 km), Blencathra (22 km)
- East: Fairfield (13 km), Cofa Pike (13 km), Hart Crag (14 km), Dove Crag (14 km), High Street (21 km), Rampsgill Head (21 km), High Raise (22 km)
- South-east: Crinkle Crags (3 km), Swirl How (8 km)
- South: Brim Fell (10 km), The Old Man of Coniston (10 km)
- West: Scafell (3 km), Haycock (10 km)
- North-west: Great Gable (4 km), Red Pike (8 km), Black Crag (8 km), Scoat Fell (9 km), Grasmoor (14 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (166 km, Wales), Carnedd Llewelyn (153 km, Wales), Aran Fawddwy (189 km, Wales), Moel Siabod (162 km, Wales), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (111 km, Scotland), The Cheviot (132 km, England), Arenig Fawr (175 km, Wales), Tinto (130 km, Scotland).
Computed from terrain in perfect clarity, not photographed · distances are straight-line.
Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.
Sunrise and sunset on Esk Pike
Esk Pike catches the sun before the valley does. On not one of the sixteen dates modelled does this summit wait for first light — the eastern horizon falls away rather than standing over you, and at midsummer the light reaches it 5 minutes before almanac sunrise.
| First light | Almanac sunrise | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsummer | 04:33 BST ±5.0 min | 04:38 | -5 min |
| Equinox | 06:12 GMT ±5.0 min | 06:16 | -4 min |
| Midwinter | 08:26 GMT ±5.0 min | 08:33 | -7 min |
A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.48°).
Last light — when the sun leaves Esk Pike
The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (on 1 October) last light is only 17 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on Esk Pike.
| Last light | Almanac sunset | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsummer | 21:56 BST ±5.0 min | 21:53 | +3 min |
| Equinox | 18:17 GMT ±5.0 min | 18:27 | -10 min |
| Midwinter | 15:58 GMT ±5.0 min | 15:50 | +8 min |
Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from Esk Pike. Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes. These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.
What you can see from Esk Pike
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales and Scotland.
- Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) Wales
- Carnedd Llewelyn Wales
- Criffel Scotland
- Ingleborough Yorkshire Dales
- Whernside Yorkshire Dales
- Great Dun Fell North Pennines
- Irish Sea open water
- Morecambe Bay bay/estuary
All 111 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)
Allen Crags, Great End, Bowfell, Rossett Pike, Scafell Pike, Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit), Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Scafell, Glaramara, Slight Side, Great Gable, Pike of Stickle, Green Gable, Loft Crag, Base Brown, Thunacar Knott, Harrison Stickle, Pavey Ark, High Raise (High White Stones), Brandreth, Hard Knott, Sergeant Man, Grey Knotts, Sergeant's Crag, Eagle Crag, Ullscarf, Lingmoor Fell (Brown How), Fleetwith Pike, Great Carrs, Grey Friar, Red Pike (Wasdale), Swirl How, Dale Head, Great Crag (Stonethwaite), Harter Fell (Eskdale), Castle Crag, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), High Spy, Steeple, Hindscarth, Haycock, Green Crag, Robinson, Dow Crag, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), High Tove, Stone Arthur, Loughrigg Fell, Seat Sandal, High Seat, Heron Pike (Rydal), Dollywaggon Pike, Great Rigg, Cat Bells (Catbells), Nethermost Pike, Whiteless Pike, Fairfield, Helvellyn, Bleaberry Fell, Wandope, Raven Crag, Sail, Scar Crags, Causey Pike, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), White Side, Hart Crag, Low Pike, High Pike (Scandale), Dove Crag, Grasmoor, Barrow, Walla Crag, Raise, St Sunday Crag, Grisedale Pike, Watson's Dodd, Red Screes, Middle Dodd, Great Dodd, Baystones (Wansfell), Latrigg, Clough Head, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Barf, Sour Howes, Thornthwaite Crag, Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Froswick, Dodd (Skiddaw), Ill Bell, Yoke, Lonscale Fell, Sallows, Skiddaw Little Man, Carl Side, The Knott (High Street), Long Side, Ullock Pike, Rampsgill Head, Skiddaw, Kidsty Pike, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, High Raise (High Street), Wether Hill, Branstree, Great Calva, Souther Fell, Knott, Binsey, High Pike (Caldbeck)
How Esk Pike’s view compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.
Sightlines from a bare-earth terrain model (forests and buildings not included), corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.
Places to stay near this fell
From Great Langdale: 3 places in Grasmere
Frequently asked questions about Esk Pike
Is Esk Pike hard?
Not technically — there is nothing on it that needs hands. It is hard because of where it is. Esk Pike is rarely a destination on its own, and both of our routes over it are long days: 17.7 km with 1099 m of ascent taking in Great End, or 17.7 km and 1176 m by way of Rossett Pike and Allen Crags.
Its real hazard is position. It sits above Esk Hause, one of the busiest and most confusing path junctions in the district, with steep flanks dropping into upper Eskdale on the other side. Get the junction wrong in cloud and the return is long from anywhere.
Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)
Other fells near Esk Pike
- Allen Crags
- Black Fell
- Bowfell
- Brim Fell
- Cold Pike
- Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle)
- Dow Crag
- Glaramara
- Great Carrs
- Great End
- Green Crag
- Grey Friar
- Hard Knott
- Harter Fell (Eskdale)
- Holme Fell
- Illgill Head
- Lingmell
- Lingmoor Fell (Brown How)
- Pike of Blisco
- Rossett Pike
- Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot
- Scafell
- Scafell Pike
- Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit)
- Slight Side
- Swirl How
- The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man)
- Wetherlam
- Whin Rigg (Wasdale)