Planning a Trip

Getting There -- Because the park sprawls over such a large area, you can access it from five or six different gateways. Most visitors enter it from the side closest to York, by following either the A19 north via the hamlet of Thirsk, or by detouring to the northeast along the A64 and entering via Scarborough. You can also get in through Helmsley, where the park's administrative headquarters are located; just follow the roads from York that are signposted HELMSLEY. Gateways along the park's northern edges, which are less convenient to York, include the villages of Whitby (accessible via A171) and Stokesley (accessible via A19).

Visitor Information -- For information on accommodations and transportation before you go, contact North York Moors National Park, the Old Vicarage, Bondgate, Helmsley, York YO62 5BP (tel. 01439/770657; www.visitnorthyorkshiremoors.co.uk). You can get advice, specialized guidebooks, maps, and information at the Sutton Bank Visitor Centre, Sutton Bank, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire YO7 2EK (tel. 01845/597426). Another well-inventoried information source, which, unlike the others, is open year-round, is the Moors Centre, Danby Lodge, Lodge Lane, Danby, near Whitby, YO21 2JE (tel. 01439/772737; www.northyorkmoors.org.uk).