The 11 Best Forest Parks & Big Walks in Northern Ireland
Waterfall gorges, a timber staircase up a mountainside, castles in the trees, a river gorge full of old mills and huge views over the Fermanagh lakes — the eleven finest forest days in the country.
11 forests & walksEvery corner of NI
Walking is free at nearly allA few have parking charges
Some of the best walking country in Ireland is right on your doorstep. Waterfall gorges, a timber staircase up a mountainside, Sperrin conifer that feels like another country, a river gorge lined with old mills and huge views over the Fermanagh lakes — and at nearly every one of these eleven, the walking itself is free.
The spread — the Mournes (Tollymore, Castlewellan, Kilbroney), the Glens of Antrim (Glenariff), the Sperrins (Gortin Glen, Davagh), Fermanagh (Cuilcagh, Lough Navar), the north-west (Roe Valley, Ness) and south Armagh (Slieve Gullion). Wherever you live, one of these is close.
Cost — walking is free at nearly all of them. Where you do pay, it's the car park: £5 at Tollymore, Glenariff and Castlewellan, and the Cuilcagh boardwalk car park is £6. Roe Valley, Gortin Glen, Lough Navar, Slieve Gullion, Davagh and Ness are free to park. Every entry links to our full guide with current prices and hours.
A couple of these are proper walks.Cuilcagh is a real half-day mountain hike, 3–4 hours of exposed ground with no shelter and no toilets on the trail — not a stroll. Glenariff's boards get slippery and don't suit prams. Match the walk to the legs you're bringing.
Food — a tea house at Glenariff (plus Laragh Lodge right by the falls), cafés at Gortin Glen and Roe Valley, a coffee cart at Castlewellan. Several are seasonal and Tollymore, Lough Navar and Slieve Gullion have nothing inside, so a flask and picnic never goes to waste.
Dogs — welcome on leads at nearly every one, with two rules to know: no dogs at all on the Cuilcagh boardwalk (it's protected bog), and none inside Castlewellan's Peace Maze.
When — genuinely all year. Autumn sets the arboretums at Tollymore and Castlewellan on fire, and rain is not the enemy: a forest in the rain is one of the best days out there is, and Glenariff's falls are at their loudest in a downpour.
1
Tollymore Forest Park
Newcastle, Co. Down · Free to walk · £5 per car
Northern Ireland's first forest park, and still one to set the bar. You enter under the castellated Barbican gateway, then drop to the Shimna River running fast over rocks past stepping stones, stone bridges and grottoes built to make a walk feel like a story. Giant redwoods tower over one of Ireland's oldest arboretums, the Mournes rise straight out of the treetops, and the story goes that Game of Thrones filmed its haunted woods here. Honest note: there's no café inside, so bring a flask — Newcastle is five minutes away.
2–3 hours for the river loopFree to walk · £5 per carNo café inside — bring a flask
Long nicknamed the Queen of the Glens, and home to the finest waterfall walk in the country. A timber walkway threads a wooded river gorge past a run of tumbling falls, with mossy cliffs overhead and a tea house at the end — and rain only improves it, turning the falls thunderous and the whole gorge green. Honest note: part of the Scenic Trail is currently closed for felling, so check ahead before you set off, and the boards get slippery and don't suit prams.
2–3 hoursFree to walk · £5 per carPart of the Scenic Trail closed for felling — check ahead
Florencecourt, Co. Fermanagh · Free walk · £6 car park
The Stairway to Heaven: a timber boardwalk laid dead straight across golden blanket bog, then a long flight of steps up the mountainside to a platform over the Fermanagh lakelands. Be clear-eyed about it — this is a real half-day mountain hike, not a stroll: roughly 13km and 3–4 hours there and back, exposed the whole way with no shelter and no toilets on the trail. Bring boots, waterproofs and your own water. Earn it and you'll talk about it for months.
3–4 hours · 13km£6 car park — pre-bookNo dogs, no shelter, no toilets on the trail
Castlewellan, Co. Down · Free to walk · £5 per car
A baronial castle mirrored in a lake, one of Ireland's great arboretums, and the Peace Maze — reckoned to be among the world's largest hedge mazes, with a bell at the centre to race for. The lakeside loop is level, surfaced and easy on the legs, and Animal Wood keeps younger ones happily occupied. Honest note: there's a coffee cart but no proper café, so bring a picnic — and the Peace Maze can close in bad weather, so check first.
A good half dayFree to walk in · £5 per carNo proper café — bring a picnic
The Sperrins' answer to Canada — wall-to-wall conifer that feels like another country, with a five-mile forest drive winding up through it. Around the destination play park spread five waymarked trails, a trim trail and mountain-bike routes, and somewhere on the way you'll meet Darach, a giant wooden sculpture standing among the trees. Sika deer move between the trunks if you're quiet. Free in, free to park, café and toilets on site — a full day here can cost nothing.
Half a day, easily a full oneFree entry · free parkingGates lock at 6pm Oct–Mar — don't get caught out
Rostrevor's forest climbs from a riverside park with a playpark and café to the Cloughmore Stone — a giant granite boulder parked on the hillside, with a view over Carlingford Lough to the Cooley Mountains that stops you in your tracks. Red squirrels live in the oakwood nature reserve and mountain-bike trails carve down through the trees. The climb to the Big Stone is a proper uphill pull; honest note, the café and facilities can be seasonal, so pack a picnic to be sure.
A good half dayFree to enter · check parking on the dayCafé can be seasonal — pack a picnic to be sure
Three miles of the River Roe cutting a wooded gorge, with riverside trails linking old linen mills, weirs and one of Ulster's first hydro-electric power stations — the industrial past woven right through the trees. There's a visitor centre and café, a museum in the old power house, and rock faces that draw climbers on a dry day. Honest note: some riverside stretches are narrow and can be muddy after rain, so grippy footwear pays off.
A good half dayFree entry · free parkingRiverside paths narrow and muddy after rain
This one's a forest drive — a seven-mile scenic loop through the trees to the Magho Viewpoint, which is reckoned to be one of the best views in the country: Lower Lough Erne laid out below with the Donegal and Sperrin hills beyond on a clear day. Short walks and picnic spots dot the route, so you can drive most of it and stretch the legs at the top. Honest note: it's remote with no café, so bring everything you'll need for the day.
1–2 hours · a forest driveFree entry · free parkingRemote, no café — bring everything with you
A forest wrapped around the mountain at the heart of the Ring of Gullion, with a scenic drive climbing to a viewpoint over the whole ring of hills. There's a Giant's Lair story trail through the woods for younger walkers, a walled garden and courtyard, and for the fit, a path to the summit cairn — said to be one of the highest passage tombs in Ireland. Honest note: the summit walk is a real climb over open ground, so save it for a clear day and good legs.
A good half dayFree entry · free parkingSummit walk is a real climb — clear day only
A remote free forest with one of the darkest skies in Europe overhead. By day it's a play park, pump track and mountain-bike trails from a flat trailhead loop up to a 16km red run, with walking trails and toilets at the trailhead. Then, after dark, the OM Dark Sky observatory opens up the part of the day most forests never use. Honest note: it's genuinely out of the way and the observatory is pre-book essential, so book ahead — don't just turn up.
Forest open daylight hours dailyFree to enter, walk and rideObservatory is pre-book essential
A wooded river gorge on the edge of the city, built around a waterfall said to be the highest in Northern Ireland, where the River Burntollet drops through the trees. Waymarked riverside trails loop the woods, with wildflower meadows and plenty of birdlife along the way, and it's an easy, family-friendly walk close to Derry. Honest note: the paths near the falls have steps and can be slippery after rain, so mind your footing and keep an eye on little ones.
1–2 hoursFree entry · free parkingSteps near the falls, slippery after rain
The Mourne double: Tollymore's river and stone bridges in the morning, lunch in Newcastle five minutes from the gates, then Castlewellan's Peace Maze and lakeside loop in the afternoon.
The rainy-day answer: Glenariff's Waterfall Walkway in a downpour, when the falls are at full roar and the gorge glows — then warm up in the tea house at the end.
The Fermanagh run: the Cuilcagh boardwalk for the fit in the morning, then the Lough Navar forest drive out to the Magho Viewpoint for one of the finest views in the country to finish the day.
Keep exploring
Every forest in this list — and about 2,000 more days out across Northern Ireland — is on our free map, with full guides, live events and what's-on near you.
