Activities

Activities

Try one of our Activities

Get out, get active.

In the Dublin Mountains area, you can participate in a range of activities which we are growing all the time currently you can get involved in:

Hiking and walking

There are many trails and walks ranging from the Wicklow Way and the Dublin Mountains Way to shorter looped trails to suit all skill levels. Visit our recreation site page for details of trails and walks in the area or visit http://www.coillte.ie/our-forests/recreation-map/ . You may be interested in joining a walking club - logon to www.mountaineering.ie for details of your nearest club.

Orienteering
Orienteering is a popular outdoor sport for all the family in the Dublin mountains and the Irish Orienteering Association have regular events in the Dublin mountains. The DMP and Coillte in conjunction with Setanta Orienteering Club and South Dublin County Sports Partnership have built new permanent orienteering courses at Hell Fire Club & Massy's Estate. The DMP, Coillte, Great Eastern Navigators, DLRCC and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Sports Partnership have built a permanent orienteering course at Carrickgollogan and Barnaslingan. A 5th course is available at Ticknock installed by the DMP, Coillte and 3Roc Orienteering Club. For information on upcoming events log on to www.orienteering.ie

Volunteer Trail Repair with Mountain Meitheal Dublin Wicklow
With increasing usage these mountains will see more pressure from human induced erosion especially on our mountain trails. Mountain Meitheal Dublin Wicklow (MMDW)are a voluntary group who undertake conservation and restoration projects on forest and mountain tracks and work with the DMP to conserve and repair trails. In 2018 and early 2019 they repaired part of the Fairy Castle Loop and Dublin Mountains Way in Ticknock. In September 2019 MMDW started work on a new trail in Tibradden, they will be back at the end of February 2020 to finish work on this trail. For information on MMDW and how to volunteer with them check out their website or Facebook page. [updated 22.11.19]

Mountain biking

The Dublin Mountains Partnership and Coillte opened the first 8km section of mountain bike trail at Ticknock on 8th May 2011. For more information see Ticknock MTB trails.

Coillte have four other designated mountain bike recreation areas in Ballinastoe, Co. Wicklow; Derroura, Oughterard, Co. Galway; Ballyhouras, Co. Limerick/Cork and Portumna Forest Park, Co. Galway. Family cycle trails are also available in Curraghchase and Portumna Forest Parks. Check out http://www.coillte.ie/our-forests/recreation-map/ for maps and information on the trails. For more details on mountain biking in Ireland see www.irishxcmtb.com and www.irishdh.com .

Bouldering – climbing without a rope on large outcrops and boulders – is possible in two areas of the DMP, Three Rock and The Scalp.

Three Rock is an ideal place for those just starting out in bouldering. The very rough and rounded granite holds require excellent technique and will take some getting used to especially for those who mostly climb on indoor walls. The exposed position of the tors offers great views and means there is usually a breeze to keep your hands cool and the midge at bay. The rounded granite tors, though not particularly high, have over a dozen excellent problems.

The Scalp is the narrow rocky valley on the western side of Barnaslingan. The small outcrops and boulders perched on the steep slopes offer some very testing challenges for more experience boulderers. The rock is less rough and more angular than Three Rock so the problems tend to be steeper and more physical. The climbing is well sheltered from the wind so is good on cold, windy or showery days. All the climbing is close to the car but some of the landings are rocky so may need more than one bouldering mat to be fallen off safely.

See bouldering in Dublin Mountains for more information on routes. For more information about bouldering all over Ireland see David Flanagan’s guidebook available from www.theshortspan.com

Wheelchair Orienteering

Wheel-O (Wheelchair-Orienteering) is a new concept to introduce visitors with limited mobility to orienteering, a sport which is growing in popularity each year. Wheel-O enables people with limited mobility to enjoy the sport which involves participants following a waymarked trail and identifying their location at control points along the way.

Visit Barnaslingan to try Wheel-O in the DMP area click here Volunteer Trail