The beach
Coon Beach is a sand-and-shingle strand on the north-western shore of Lough Dan, a ribbon lake hemmed in by glacial slopes in the Wicklow Mountains – Knocknacloghoge rising directly behind the strand, Luggala (Fancy Mountain) beyond it across the Cloghoge valley. It is freshwater, not sea, so there are no tides and no salt, just dark cold water off a shelving lake bed. It sits on private ground, and the sections below explain why it is not somewhere to plan a day out.
Access
There is no public right of way to Coon Beach. The routes described elsewhere online cross private farmland and the Luggala Estate, and walking them without the landowner’s permission is trespass. We no longer publish directions to the shore.
The wider valley is a designated Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area under EU law, and its habitats and breeding birds are sensitive to disturbance. Public access in this part of the Wicklow Mountains is confined to land managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service where access is specifically provided; the NPWS publishes its waymarked routes at nationalparks.ie.
Posts circulate online from time to time claiming the beach has ‘reopened’. Nothing changes the underlying position: there is no public right of way, and any access a landowner tolerates for a while is permissive and can be withdrawn at any time.
If you are looking for the view over this landscape, the roadside viewpoints on the R759 above Lough Tay are on public ground and take nothing from anyone – and the Wicklow Way, on its waymarked line east of Lough Dan, crosses open hillside with the classic view down the length of the lake.
Can you swim at Coon Beach?
No. It is freshwater with no tides, and no law bans lake swimming in Ireland, but there is no public right of way to this strand, so there is no legitimate way to get to the water. Lough Bray is Wicklow’s usual answer for a wild swim reached from public ground, and swimming in Ireland’s lakes covers the access rules and which Irish lakes are monitored bathing waters.
Wildlife
The oak woods, heather slopes and quiet water hold a fair bit of life. Sika deer graze the hillsides, feral goats work the rockier ground, and peregrine falcons hunt overhead. Along the shoreline you’ll see herons, sandpipers and ducks. The protected status of this ground rests on exactly that: ground-nesting birds and blanket bog do badly with foot traffic, which is much of the reason the land is closed to the public.
Where to go instead
- Glendalough – the monastic valley to the south, with lakes, waymarked trails and a visitor centre, all open to the public.
- Lough Tay – the classic view of this landscape, from public viewpoints on the R759.
- Lough Bray – twin corrie lakes below Kippure, with a short walk in from the Military Road.
- Lough Ouler – a heart-shaped corrie lake reached from the Glenmacnass car park.