Promoted as ‘the crossroads of the Highlands’, the village offers an ideal touring base as it stands at the junction of roads north to Inverness and the Isle of Skye, south to Fort William and east through Glen Spean towards Loch Laggan and Strathspey.
Around a mile west of the village is the famous Commando Memorial and panoramic viewpoint. Erected in 1952, it commemorates the elite soldiers who fell during the Second World War and who gained their Green Berets at the Commandos Basic Training Centre in nearby Achnacarry. A Commando exhibition at the Spean Bridge Hotel explains the story.
This scenic area is a great place for a break and there is a wide selection of outdoor activities, including hillwalking, climbing, watersports and wildlife watching. The Great Glen Way and West Highland Way are two long distance walks which pass through the area. Immediately south of the village is Leanachan Forest which has a network of mountain biking trails and excellent views of the imposing Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor, while the entire range of the Grey Corries sweeps away to the left.