Killarney National Park and the Muckross gardens share the same stretch of lakeshore and account for most of the walking on this page: 102 km² of oak and yew woodland, the Lakes of Killarney, a native red deer herd, and a Victorian garden laid out around an 1840s mansion where the rhododendrons and azaleas peak in May and June. The Muckross grounds are free; you pay only to go inside the house or the farms.
Two of the gardens are here because of the Gulf Stream. Glanleam sits in a sheltered pocket of Valentia Island outside Knightstown, where the Knight of Kerry planted tree ferns and Chilean myrtle in the 1830s; it opens April to October for €6. Kells Bay, in a valley off the Ring of Kerry, grows one of the northern hemisphere’s largest tree-fern forests, with a rope bridge and a Thai restaurant in the grounds.
The rest is spread wide and most of it needs a car. Three entries are Blasket islands off the Dingle Peninsula, and only Great Blasket can be walked. Bonane’s archaeology loop is 10km west of Kenmare, Caragh Lake Forest climbs steeply 13km southwest of Killorglin, and the Mullaghareirks straddle the Cork and Limerick borders. Tralee Town Park is the one you can reach on foot from a town centre.
A 102 km² UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of ancient oak and yew woodland, glacial lakes and Ireland's only native red deer herd.
A sheltered pocket of Valentia Island where the Knight of Kerry planted tree ferns and Chilean myrtle in the 1830s, open April to October.
Two kilometres off the Dingle Peninsula, a deserted village of grass tracks, sheer cliffs and white sand, with grey seals and basking sharks offshore.
The westernmost Blasket, carrying Europe's most westerly lighthouse since 1870; nobody lands, so a weather-dependent boat tour is the only way to see it.
The far-western Blasket, last lived on by the Ó Dálaigh family and later Charles Haughey's private retreat, reached only by chartered boat on calm days.
11 of 11 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Killarney, kerry
Wander through centuries-old oak and yew forests, paddle across the glacial Lakes of Killarney, and spot Ireland's only native red deer herd. This 102 km² UNESCO Biosphere Reserve blends wild mountain scenery with well-preserved Victorian gardens and Bronze Age ruins.
Knightstown, kerry
Built as a linen mill in 1775, Glanleam House sits in a pocket of Valentia Island sheltered enough to grow tree ferns and Chilean myrtle outdoors. The Knight of Kerry planted the gardens in the 1830s; today they open to visitors from April to October for €6, with the house running as a B&B and three self-catering cottages.
Great Blasket Island, kerry
Great Blasket Island (An Blascaod Mór) sits just two kilometres off the Dingle Peninsula, guarding the Atlantic horizon with sheer cliffs and white-sand beaches. Once home to Ireland’s most celebrated Irish-speaking storytellers, the deserted village now invites visitors to walk historic grass tracks, spot basking sharks and grey seals, and experience off-grid island life in restored cottages.
Tearaght Island, kerry
Inishtearaght is the westernmost of the Blasket Islands, a steep rock off the Dingle Peninsula crowned by the most westerly lighthouse in Europe, lit since 1870. No one lands here, and it is now part of Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ireland's first marine national park, so the way to see it is a weather-dependent boat tour from Kerry, past one of Ireland's largest grey seal colonies. The island also holds the rusting remains of Europe's steepest, shortest funicular railway.
Inishvickillane, kerry
Inishvickillane is the far-western Blasket where Charles Haughey kept a private summer retreat and released a herd of red deer in 1980. The Ó Dálaigh family were its last residents, leaving about 70 years ago. There is no ferry – you reach it by chartered boat from Dún Chaoin, and only on a calm day.
Muckross, kerry
The gardens at Muckross are free; you only pay to go inside the house or the farms. Laid out around an 1840s mansion and dressed up for Queen Victoria's visit in 1861, they run from a rock garden built straight onto limestone to a walled arboretum of Southern-Hemisphere trees, with the rhododendrons and azaleas at their best in May and June.
Tralee, kerry
Locals call it 'The Green'. Built on the Denny family's old castle demesne and opened to the public in 1922, this 35-acre park holds an award-winning Rose Garden whose wall carries the name of every Rose of Tralee since 1959, a mythology-themed Garden of the Senses, and Ireland's National Folk Theatre, Siamsa Tíre.
Bonane, kerry
Killorglin, kerry
Kells, kerry
Newmarket, cork
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