Where to find Moor Otters in Dartmoor National Park in 2021

One of our top recommendations for outdoor fun in Devon this summer is searching for Moor Otters in Dartmoor National Park. This art trail first took place in 2017 and we can’t wait to see what it looks like this year. Here’s all you need to know about the Dartmoor Otters trail happening in 2021.

Please note: like all events in 2021, the Moor Otter art trail is subject to change. Please check the Dartmoor National Park website and the Moor Otters Facebook group for the very latest information.

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What is the Moor Otters art trail all about?

Dartmoor is somewhere you can see otters in the wild, so has become a mascot for the National Park.

They are endangered globally but have made a comeback in Dartmoor during the past 20 years. The Park now supports nationally important populations of this well-known and loved mammal.

The Moor Otters art trails – there are four in 2021 – have been designed to support this conservation work. Local and national artists have been commissioned to decorate 81 otter and cub sculptures in their own unique style. Once the trail starts they will be positioned in and around the National Park for people to find.

At the end of the trail, the otters will be auctioned off to fund conversation projects in the National Park.

Here’s how the 2017 trail helped projects in Dartmoor.

Where to find the 2021 Moor Otters trails

Find OTTERbiography by The Dartmoor Artist at Canonteign Falls

The four Moor Otters trails will start on 28 May 2021. The map is now available to view on the Dartmoor National Park website and you will be able to pick up physical maps at the National Park Visitor Centres at Haytor, Postbridge and Princetown.

As well as finding otters and cub sculptures on four trails in Dartmoor you will be able to spot them in Plymouth in Mayflower themed trails and in other towns and villages around Dartmoor.

Expect to find the sculptures located at Dartmoor visitor centres, businesses and accommodation.

Here are some of the locations:

Ashburton Information Hub
Austins, Newton Abbot
Austins Toy Store
Baskervilles Ice Cream Parlour and Coffee Shop, Moretonhampstead
Buckfastleigh Open Air Pool in Victoria Park
Canonteign Falls
Chagford Pool
China Blue, Totnes
Cornwood Village Store & Tearoom
Dartmoor National Park Outreach Team
Dartmoor Zoo
Dolphin Hotel, Bovey Tracey
Furzeleigh Mill, Buckfastleigh
HonkyTonk Wine Library, Plymouth
Ilsington Country House Hotel
Jaded Palates Wines, Chagford
Mill End Hotel, Chagford
National Park Visitor Centre Postbridge
National Park Visitor Centre, Princetown
Newton Abbot Town Council
Newton’s Place Community Space and Museum
Okehampton Community Recreation Association
Pier One, Plymouth
Plymouth City Centre
Simmons Park, Okehampton
South West Water, Burrator Reservoir, Discovery Centre
St Pancras Church, Widecombe
Tavistock Inn, Poundsgate
Tavistock Pannier Market
Tavistock Wharf
The Castle Inn, Lydford
The Cosy Club, The Barcode, Plymouth
The Dartmoor Bed Company, Topsham
The Fox and Hounds Hotel
The Indoor Market, Newton Abbot
The Mayflower Museum and Tourist Information Centre
The Museum of Dartmoor Life
The Rugglestone Inn, Widecombe
The Tradesmans Arms, Scorriton
The Watermark, Ivybridge
The White Hart, Bridestowe
The Who’d Have Thought It Inn, Milton Combe

Find more things to do in Devon this May.

Our search to find Moor Otters in 2017

We started our 2017 search at the Dartmoor National Park Visitor Centre at Princetown.

Our visit coincided Dartmoor Summer Fair at the beginning of National Parks Week. The girls made bog-themed crafts with Devon Wildlife Trust, searched for moorland plants in the Conservation Garden, inspected native bugs under a microscope, and jigged along with Morris dancers.

Aside from the fair we explored a bit of the Visitor Centre in Princetown. This used to be the Duchy Hotel and is where Arthur Conan Doyle stayed when he wrote some of the Hound of the Baskervilles. His moorland Sherlock Holmes thriller was inspired by Dartmoor’s beautiful and bleak landscape.

The Visitor Centre also tells the story of Dartmoor’s natural history and the people who have lived there since the last Ice Age 12,000 years ago.

Back on task, we continued our search for some of the 101 Moor Otters on the 2017 trail.

At the Visitor Centre we ticked off: Otter Spotter, The Duchy of Cornwall Otter, Coming Up for Air, Otterhound of the Baskervilles, and a handful of the 32 Mini Otters that have been painted by Devon schools.

Meeting Dartmoor’s real otters

If you’d like to see some real otters it might be difficult to spot them in the wild – they are shy animals.

However, you’ll definitely be able to get up close with these inquisitive creatures at the Dartmoor Otters and Butterflies Sanctuary at Buckfastleigh. It looks after rescued otters and breeds them for reintroduction to the wild.

More things to do in Dartmoor

Following the Moor Otters art trail is a great opportunity to explore Dartmoor National Park. Here’s some more guides to things to do in Dartmoor to help you plan your days out:

Get a while to stay? Check out my full guide to family holidays in Devon.

Planning on doing the Moor Otters trail in Dartmoor National Park this summer? Why not use Pinterest to save this post for future reference.