The Dales Way is an 78.5-mile (126.3 km) long-distance footpath in Northern England, from (south-east to north-west) Ilkley, West Yorkshire, to Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria.

[2][3][4] This walk was initially devised by the West Riding Ramblers' Association with the 'leading lights' being Colin Speakman and Tom Wilcock (Footpath Secretary).

[7] From there the Dales Way follows the upper reaches of the river through Langstrothdale, passing the small hamlets of Hubberholme and Yockenthwaite to Beckermonds, where the confluence of two becks forms the Wharfe.

The Dales Way descends from Cam Fell by a good track to Gearstones on the B6255 road, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Ribblehead, where there is a pub and a railway station.

[8] From Cam Fell a shorter alternative route, with no facilities, follows the Pennine Bridleway to rejoin the Dales Way at Stoops Moss, 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Gearstones.

The Dales Way passes through the village of Dent and then crosses a fell to reach the banks of the River Rawthey at Millthrop, just outside the town of Sedbergh.

It continues west to cross the A6 road 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Kendal, and reaches the large village of Burneside on the River Kent.

In its final section the trail crosses higher ground with views of the Lake District mountains to end at a dramatic viewpoint just above Bowness.

The popularity of the walk (and the area generally) means that there are many choices of accommodation – for instance, many pubs along the route offer bed and breakfast.

From its initial conception the Dales Way was planned with link routes to Ilkley from three urban centres in the West Riding of Yorkshire: Leeds, Bradford and Harrogate.