Most of these walks sit in the southern half of the county, either on the River Barrow or on the ground rising east of it towards the Blackstairs. Clashganny Forest, Borris Viaduct and St Moling’s Millrace at St Mullins are within a short drive of one another along that stretch, and all three connect in some way to the Barrow Way towpath that runs beside them.
Oak Park is the outlier, and the one closest to a town: four kilometres of flat, firm woodland trail just north of Carlow, free, open in daylight hours, with a coffee van most weekends. Borris Viaduct is shorter still, a 500 metre walkway carried 50 metres above the Mountain River on sixteen limestone arches, with the Blackstairs and Mount Leinster in view. For a climb, Kilbrannish Hill has three waymarked loops from a free car park in the Coillte forest above Bunclody.
The two long routes shape everything else here. The Barrow Way covers 116.9 km of level, waymarked towpath from Robertstown down to St Mullins, and most people take it a section at a time between the river villages. The South Leinster Way starts at the church in Kildavin and runs 104 km to Carrick-on-Suir, graded moderate, with a section between Carrick-on-Suir and Piltown closed in 2026 after a bridge collapse. St Moling’s Millrace involves a barefoot wade upstream, so it suits warmer, settled weather.
A flat, well waymarked towpath running 116.9 km from Robertstown to St Mullins, past locks and stone bridges, and easily walked in short sections.
Two free waymarked loops beside the Barrow, one along the towpath past a restored Victorian lock, the other through woodland to a mass rock.
The official start of the South Leinster Way, a village where the Slaney meets the Blackstairs, with a holy well and winter goosanders on the river.
Four kilometres of flat, firm woodland trail just north of Carlow town, free and open in daylight, with a granite arch and a ruined mansion wing.
The 192 km river whose engineered navigation of locks and weirs carries the Barrow Way towpath past lock keepers' cottages and a run of river towns.
8 of 9 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Kildare, kildare
The Barrow Way is an easy 116.9 km towpath that runs south from Robertstown in County Kildare to St Mullins in Carlow, following the canal line and then the River Barrow through Kildare, Laois, Carlow and Kilkenny. The walking is flat and well waymarked, past canal locks, stone bridges and villages like Borris and Graiguenamanagh, and most people do it in sections rather than the full four days.
Clashganny, carlow
Clashganny Forest has two waymarked loops beside the River Barrow – a short riverside towpath past a restored Victorian lock, and a longer woodland circuit to a viewpoint and a Penal-era mass rock. Both link to the Barrow Way, and parking and entry are free.
Kildavin, carlow
Kildavin marks the official start of the South Leinster Way, which sets off from the Church of Ireland church on a 103km route to Carrick-on-Suir. The village sits where the Slaney meets the Blackstairs, with a 5th-century holy well, rare inland ‘high-beach’ sand, and winter goosanders on the river.
Oak Park estate, carlow
Oak Park's woodland trails run flat and firm for four kilometres just north of Carlow, free and open in daylight hours. The estate grew the oak that framed Carlow Cathedral's roof; a granite triumphal arch and the surviving wing of its fire-gutted mansion still stand. A coffee van parks up most weekends.
Laois, laois
The River Barrow runs 192 km from the Slieve Bloom Mountains to Waterford Harbour, past a 111 km engineered navigation of locks and weirs. Its towpath is the Barrow Way, a level 116 km walking trail linking lock keepers' cottages and river towns from Lowtown in Kildare to St Mullins in Carlow.
Southeast Ireland, carlow
The South Leinster Way runs 104 km from Kildavin in Carlow to Carrick-on-Suir in Tipperary, over the heathery shoulder of Mount Leinster and along the flat River Barrow towpath. It is graded moderate and usually walked in five days, though more than half of it follows quiet roads. Note: a section between Carrick-on-Suir and Piltown is closed in 2026 after a bridge collapse.
Borris, carlow
Kilbrannish Hill, carlow
St Mullins, carlow
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