Overview
The reason to park at Crone Woods is Ride Rock – a cliff-edge perch about two kilometres up the Maulin Loop that looks straight across the ravine at Powerscourt Waterfall, with the Great Sugarloaf beyond and Dublin Bay on a clear day. The woods themselves, in the north-eastern Wicklow Mountains and managed by the state forester Coillte, are a working mix of conifer plantation and pockets of native oak, ash and birch. They’re a 15-minute drive from Enniskerry and a trailhead for the Wicklow Way, the Republic’s oldest long-distance path. The trails are clearly signed, which makes this a reliable starting point for hillwalkers and active families alike – though “family” here means the lower forest tracks, not the exposed ridge.
A landscape layered in history
The steep, craggy ground at Crone was set aside as a royal hunting park as far back as the 13th century, long before the plantations went in – the cover and broken terrain were good for driving game. That same shelter served a very different purpose in the 1798 Rebellion, when insurgents used the woods as a hideout. The British response was to cut the Military Road through the northern Wicklows and plant a barracks at the head of the valley. Old tracks and dry-stone walls still surface along the modern routes.
The Maulin Loop and Ride Rock
The main event is the Maulin Loop, a 6.6 km circuit climbing about 350 m, usually around two and a half hours. It’s waymarked with red discs and footprint symbols and can be walked either way, but go clockwise: it puts the steepest climbing first and delivers the big payoff inside the first couple of kilometres.
The path starts on a sheltered forest track that stiffens into a zig-zag climb along the woodland edge, with benches spaced along it as the canopy thins. Then it opens onto Ride Rock, the cliff-side viewpoint over the Glencree valley, with Powerscourt Waterfall across the ravine, the Great Sugarloaf beyond and Dublin Bay in the distance on a clear day. Past the viewpoint the loop runs a narrow ridge path through dwarf pine, gorse and heather, then drops on rocky, winding ground that wants careful feet when it’s wet, before returning through the plantation to the car park.
Reaching the summit of Maulin
If you want more than the loop, the Wicklow Way carries on from Ride Rock toward the summit of Maulin (570 m). At the T-junction just past the viewpoint, follow the yellow walking-man signs uphill for another kilometre or so, up a heather slope to a stone cairn and a full turn of the Wicklow range. Be honest with yourself about whether it’s worth it: the descent is steep and exposed, and the view from the top isn’t a huge step up on what Ride Rock already gives you. Boots and a pole help on the way down.
Experienced walkers can link the area into the wider Circuit of Glensoulan, a 16 km loop taking in Maulin, Tonduff, War Hill and Djouce – a demanding full day, and a favourite of local hillwalking clubs.
Practical information and safety
The woods are free to walk; the car park may charge, and it runs on seasonal hours (see above). The access road is narrow and single-track, shared with cyclists, walkers and the odd cow, so drive slowly and yield. It fills fast on summer weekends and bank holidays – get there early or park up frustrated.
- Grade: strenuous, with sustained climbs, rocky sections and narrow ridge paths.
- Dogs: welcome on a lead.
- Facilities: car park, picnic benches and a route-map board at the entrance. Bring water; there’s none on the hill.
- Navigation: downloadable maps from Coillte and Sport Ireland.
- Public transport: limited – this is really a place you reach by car.
- Weather: it changes fast up here. Waterproofs and layers, whatever the forecast promised.
Extending your day in Wicklow
The trailhead sits well for a wider day out. Fifteen minutes away, Enniskerry has cafés, bakeries and pubs along the river. South of there, the Powerscourt Estate has its gardens and distillery, and the scenic 21 Bends road drops down to the seaside at Bray. For more woodland, Avondale Forest Park is about 45 minutes south near Rathdrum, and the Blessington Lakes, roughly 45 minutes west, make a calmer waterside afternoon. Walkers on the Wicklow Way can bed down at Knockree Hostel, an 18th-century farmhouse on the trail with views over the Glencree valley.
Go clockwise, go early for a space, and don’t feel you have to bag the summit – Ride Rock, two kilometres in, is the view most people came for.