Two kinds of walking sit on this list. Three long waymarked routes account for most of the mileage: the Kerry Way, a circular 214–232 km from Killarney and the longest National Waymarked Trail in the country; the Dingle Way, which begins and ends in Tralee rather than Dingle over eight or nine days; and the Beara Way, a 206 km loop out of Glengarriff. The Kerry Camino covers the first 57 km of the Dingle Way in three days, with a stamped passport and a certificate at St James in Dingle.
The rest is day walking, and much of it sits in one small area around Beaufort and Killarney. The Coomloughra Horseshoe is a 12–13 km unwaymarked loop over Carrauntoohil, Beenkeragh and Caher, with the exposed Beenkeragh Ridge as its crux; the Devil’s Ladder climbs the same mountain from Cronin’s Yard on loose, eroded rock. Neither is a casual afternoon, and dogs aren’t allowed on the Reeks.
Easier ground lies west and north. Cosán na Naomh runs 17.7 km from Ventry Strand past the Gallarus Oratory, the South Kerry Greenway follows old railway bed for 6.2 km out of Glenbeigh, and Fenit Island is reached across a sandbar that floods at high tide, so check the tide before you set off.
A roughly nine-day, 206 km waymarked loop from Glengarriff past stone circles and copper-mine ruins, with luggage transfer making it manageable in stages.
A small village on the River Laune under the Reeks, and the practical base for Carrauntoohil, the Gap of Dunloe and Tomies Wood.
A 12–13 km unwaymarked loop over Ireland's three highest summits, with the knife-edge Beenkeragh Ridge deciding whether six to eight hours of scrambling suits you.
The gentlest of Ireland's pilgrim paths, 17.7 km from Ventry Strand to the foot of Mount Brandon past the Gallarus Oratory and Kilmalkedar.
The shortest line up Carrauntoohil from Cronin's Yard through the Hag's Glen, steep and badly eroded, and often better descended by the Zig-Zags.
22 of 22 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Beara Peninsula, cork
A strenuous, roughly nine-day loop around the Beara Peninsula from Glengarriff, past stone circles, copper-mine ruins and brightly painted villages. The official length is 206 km (128 miles); Sport Ireland lists 241.8 km once the Bere and Dursey Island spurs are counted. Reliable waymarking and luggage-transfer services make it manageable in stages.
Beaufort, kerry
Beaufort is a small Kerry village on the River Laune, under the MacGillycuddy's Reeks. It was the open-air studio for the Kalem film crew from 1910, and today it works mainly as a base for the Gap of Dunloe, Tomies Wood and the climb up Carrauntoohil.
Beaufort, kerry
The Coomloughra Horseshoe is a 12–13 km loop in MacGillycuddy's Reeks that takes in Ireland's three highest summits – Carrauntoohil, Beenkeragh and Caher. The crux is the knife-edge Beenkeragh Ridge, an exposed scramble that decides whether this route is for you. Expect six to eight hours, around 1,300 m of climbing, and no waymarks the whole way.
Dingle Peninsula, kerry
Cosán na Naomh is the gentlest of Ireland’s pilgrim paths: 17.7km from Ventry Strand to the foot of Mount Brandon, climbing just one hill. It threads past the Gallarus Oratory, the monastic ruins at Kilmalkedar and a string of early Christian sites, with the Atlantic on one side and the Brandon range on the other.
Killarney, kerry
The Devil’s Ladder is the shortest line to the summit of Carrauntoohil, Ireland's highest mountain, climbing from Cronin's Yard through the Hag's Glen. It is a steep, badly eroded scramble of loose rock, prone to rockfall and often better descended by the Zig-Zags. Free to walk, but parking at Cronin's Yard is paid, dogs aren't allowed, and the weather turns in minutes.
Dingle Peninsula, kerry
A waymarked walking circuit of the Dingle Peninsula that starts and ends in Tralee, not Dingle, as most people expect. Over roughly 8–9 days it takes in golden strands, early Christian ruins and the shoulder of Mount Brandon, with a bed and a pub in a village most nights.
Tralee Bay, kerry
Fenit Island is reached on foot across a tombolo, a sandbar that floods at high tide, at the head of Tralee Bay. The crossing is the draw; on the island, the one surviving ruin is a 17th-century FitzMaurice castle, and the place is remembered as the birthplace of St Brendan the Navigator.
Tralee – Dingle, kerry
The Kerry Camino is a 57km, three-day pilgrim route along the Dingle Way from Tralee to Dingle, modelled on the Camino de Santiago. Collect stamps in a free passport at 18 stations along the way; eight or more earns a certificate at the finish, St James Church of Ireland in Dingle.
kerry
Seán Ó Súilleabháin championed the idea of the Kerry Way in 1982, stitching together forgotten roads into Ireland's longest National Waymarked Trail. The circular route from Killarney runs somewhere between 214 and 232 km depending on who measures it, tracing the Killarney Lakes, MacGillycuddy's Reeks and a string of coastal villages as a foot-travelled alternative to the Ring of Kerry.
Knightstown, kerry
Knightstown is the largest village on Valentia Island, a planned Victorian grid laid out in the 1830s at the island's eastern tip. For a century it was the European end of the first transatlantic telegraph cable; today it is a harbour base for sea sports, coastal walks and the sub-tropical gardens at Glanleam.
Killarney, kerry
Carrauntoohil (1,038m), Beenkeragh and Caher, Ireland's only three summits over 1,000m, stand within a day's walk of each other in this 19km Kerry range. It's free and busy, over 140,000 walkers a year, but it's privately farmed land with a blunt no-dogs policy, and the Devil's Ladder up Carrauntoohil is an eroded scree scramble that needs care.
kerry
The North Kerry Way runs 48 km from Tralee to Ballyheigue, starting on the towpath of the old ship canal and ending with a climb over Kerry Head. It crosses Banna Strand, where Roger Casement landed from a German submarine in 1916, and most walkers split it across two days. It sees a fraction of the traffic of the Dingle or Kerry Ways.
Killarney, kerry
Two rounded summits east of Killarney, each crowned with a cairn built around 2500 BC and placed slightly off the true crest so the hills read as breasts from the valley below. Between them runs Na Fiacla, a line of stones once walked as a processional route. At their foot sits Cahercrovdarrig, a ring-fort and holy well where people have gathered at Beltane for close to four thousand years.
Glenbeigh, kerry
The South Kerry Greenway runs on the bed of the former Killorglin–Valentia railway, once the most westerly line in Europe, above the cliffs and coves of the Iveragh Peninsula. The Glenbeigh side is now open for 6.2 km to Kilkeehagh, with a separate 3.1 km stretch at Kells; the full 32 km run to Reenard is still years off.
Killarney, kerry
Torc Mountain is one of Ireland's most walkable summits – stone steps give way to a boardwalk of old railway sleepers that carries you over the bog to a 535 m top. The reward is a 360-degree view across the Lakes of Killarney to the MacGillycuddy's Reeks. The short loop from the Upper Torc car park is 7.2 km and takes about two and a half hours.
kerry
Glenbeigh, kerry
West Limerick and North Kerry, limerick
kerry
Caragh Lake, kerry
Castleview, kerry
Kenmare, kerry
← All things to do in County Kerry
Book tours & tickets
We may earn a commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you.
Book tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips with GetYourGuide. Free cancellation on most experiences.
See tours & tickets in County Kerry →