39 Forests to Explore in Ireland

Glenveagh National Park is a remote and hauntingly beautiful wilderness of rugged mountains, pristine lakes, tumbling waterfalls and enchanted native oak woodland in the heart of the Derryveagh Mountains in the north west of County Donegal. The Park, over 16,000 hectares in extent consists of three areas. The largest of these is the former Glenveagh Estate, including most of the Derryveagh Mountains.

The Gartarowey Forest Recreation Area is located to the north of Sligo Town in Ireland. It is under the management of Coiltte Outdoors, and covers a forested area of 120 hectares. Containing unique species of conifers and broadleaves, amongst other exotic flora and fauna, the area is under conservation. The park lies adjacent to the Benbulben, Gleniff and Glenade Special Area of Conservation and is known as the only area in Ireland where chickweed willowherb and alpine saxifrage can be found.

A majestic forest park comprises some 240 hectares of diverse woodland and open parkland. It is managed by Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and is open 365 days per year. The park highlights include a magnificent herd of red deer and seeing them up close, even if it isn’t your first time, will still catch your breath! The excitement continues with the park’s new 3km woodland outdoor play area featuring five unique superstructures, an adventure for all your little giants!

Hazelwood is an ancient area of woodland located just over 2 miles outside the town of Sligo in northwest Ireland. It has a series of outdoor sculptures by Irish and International artists. It has a picnic area and spectular lakeside views. It’s a walkers paradise as there is several hikes of about 3 kilometres each along the edge of Lough Gill.

The 200-acre amenity area is a mixed hardwood conifer forest with very diverse flora and fauna. Killinthomas Wood is like something straight from a fairytale. This is truly a beautiful and relatively undiscovered area of Co Kildare.There are picnic tables and benches dotted throughout so it is also a great place for families to visit.

Killykeen Forest Park is located in a very scenic area of Co Cavan. It lies on the shores of Lough Oughter which is part of the River Erne system. The forest consists of mainly mixed woodland including Norway and Sitka spruce, Ash, Oak and Beech. The area is popular with anglers because of its location along Lough Oughter which is connected to thousands of hectares of lakeland complexes. Canoeing, biking and windsurfing are also popular activities at the park.

Littlewood is a forest covering 28 hectares. Today it comprises a varied mix of conifer and broadleaved tree species. The trees were planted by the Slane estate sometime before 1840. Most of the trees planted were broadleaved, primarily oak which was such a valuable building timber – large stumps of oak are common throughout the forest.

Lough Navar Forest rises to the top of the Magho cliffs and comprises over 2,600 hectares of primarily coniferous forest. It is also home to one of the most breathtaking views in the island of Ireland, over the Magho Cliffs. It is hardly surprising that this forest is a mecca for walkers, fishermen and outdoor enthusiasts.

This is an solated area of forest rising above the farm land of north Westmeath. Mullaghmeen Forest is the largest planted beech forest in Ireland. Along with beech, within its 400 ha of forest. The Red Trail takes you to the summit of Mullaghmeen and provides magnificent views north across Lough Sheelin and into the neighbouring county of Cavan.

Ness Woods is one of three woodlands – the others are Ervey Wood and Burntollet Wood – which lie within the 55 hectares of forested countryside that comprise Ness Country Park. There is plenty of wildlife and birdlife, as well as pondlife, to enjoy. There’s also an expansive meadow which can be accessed by those with limited mobility.

A majesdtic woodland located in the Newcastle, Ballymahon, Co.Longford. This forest is a Coillte owned semi-mature mixed woodland of 325 hectares that extends to both sides of the River Inny, a main tributary of the River Shannon.

Oughaval Wood, about 1.5 kilometres out of Stradbally on the Carlow road, is a mixed woodland of some one hundred and fifty hectares of broadleaved trees, with more than twenty kilometres of paths to walk. It forms part of the Natural Heritage Area (NHA) of Stradbally Hill. The wood was once part of the Cosby Estate. Evidence of this is apparent in the form of old estate stone walls that run through the property and a folly called Cobbler’s Castle.

Peatlands Park is a large lowland raised bog that has been extensively cut for turf in the past. It represents one of the largest areas of degraded raised bog in Northern Ireland. The park holds two natural reserves predating the park itself, Annagarriff and Mullenakill , established in 1980. Of the two, Annagarriff is thought to be home to the only colony of Scottish wood ants in Ireland.

A majestic forest park which covers almost 600 hectares. It is mainly coniferous but also contains a wide variety of broadleaved trees, both native and exotic. There is an old abbey, now under the care of the Office of Public Works, within the Park which dates back to the 15th century. The castle nearby, on which considerable restoration work has been carried out by the OPW, dates back to the 17th century and was the seat of the Earl of Clanrickarde.

A beautiful and wild mixed conifer forest that contains an owl conservation centre, Deer Park, and several walking routes, with two small adjacent Nature Reserves at the forest edge on the shores of Lough Neagh. Its earlier use was as the estate deer park, enclosing a herd of fallow deer roaming through open parkland and large broadleaved trees.

The Ravensdale Forest nature trail is located in the wooded demesne of the former seat of the Barons Clermont, which straddles the border between County Armagh in Northern Ireland and County Louth in the Republic of Ireland.The site is mixed woodland rising steeply to the summit of Black Mountain with many kilometres of forest roads and tracks. There are three way marked trails in the forest, the Tain Trail, the Ring of Gullion and the short but interesting Ravensdale Loop.

Rea's Wood Forest Nature Reserve is a wet woodland dominated by alder, willow and birch trees. It stretches for a mile along the shores of Lough Neagh. A shared pedestrian and cycle path will help you explore. Toilets and refreshments are available nearby. The woodland floor provides ideal habitat not only for many plants but also for many rare invertebrates including Snails, Slugs, Hoverflies and Beetles.

This is a national forest park located in County Monaghan in Ireland run by the Irish States forestry organisation, Coillte. It has several forest walks, a Nature Trail and a Yew walk. The walks range from 2 - 4 miles and are mainly in the forested area and are well sign posted. The park was the site of Rossmore Castle which was demolished in the 1970s. It was the home of Lord Rossmore and the Rossmore family who were the local landlords of the area during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Tollymore Forest Park was the first state forest park in Northern Ireland, established on 2 June 1955. It is located at Bryansford, near the town of Newcastle in the Mourne and Slieve Croob Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It covers an area of 630 hectares at the foot of the Mourne Mountains and has views of the surrounding mountains and the sea at nearby Newcastle.