Overview
Ticknock is where Dublin goes when it wants a mountain without leaving the city: 20 minutes from the M50 to a car park at 270 m, a tarmac road you can push a buggy up, and the whole of Dublin Bay laid out below. That easy access is also the catch – the car park fills by mid-morning at weekends, so come early or come on a weekday. Managed by Coillte on the northern foothills of the Dublin Mountains, the forest runs from gentle strolls to a national-standard bike centre; the tarmac road climbs to Three Rock Mountain (444 m), and footpaths carry on to the Fairy Castle cairn on Two Rock Mountain (536 m), with clear views over Dublin City, Dublin Bay, Bray Head and the Wicklow Mountains.
History and the landscape
The townland of Ticknock (Irish: Tigh an Chnoic, ‘house of the hill’) covers about 2.6 km² on the edge of the uplands, and the Fairy Castle cairn on Two Rock is thought to cover a Neolithic passage tomb. Housing has crept up towards the forest from the M50 side, but the wood itself is protected; in 2020 Coillte began replacing sections of commercial conifer with native oak, ash and birch, which is slowly giving the forest a more varied, seasonal character. Ticknock is on the Dublin Mountains Way and a traditional starting point for sections of the Wicklow Way.
Walking the trails
- Fairy Castle Loop: the one to do – about 5.5 km on green waymarkers, an hour and a half to an hour and three-quarters at a moderate pace. It follows the Dublin Mountains Way, skirts the Three Rock summit and climbs to the Fairy Castle cairn before dropping back past an old rifle range. If you only do one walk here, do this.
- Kilmashogue route: for longer and quieter, start from Kilmashogue Forest instead and add roughly an hour, with a steady early climb and wider ridge views.
- Accessibility: the tarmac road to Three Rock is easily walkable for families and those with lower mobility; beyond it the ground turns rocky and the summit is exposed, so weather can change quickly.
Mountain biking and orienteering
Ticknock is a designated National Mountain Bike Centre, with about 15 km of purpose-built singletrack and forest road, waymarked clockwise with green arrows through tight turns, fast descents and rocky technical sections. Bikes can be hired and guided rides booked through Biking.ie near the trailhead.
Storms and maintenance close sections from time to time, so check the Dublin Mountains Partnership or Biking.ie before riding. There are also two permanent orienteering courses – a 1.1 km short and a 2.6 km medium – with maps and answer sheets to download from the Coillte website.
Art, sound and culture
The DLR Nature and Place programme has commissioned temporary outdoor installations from artists including Martin Healy, Méadhbh O’Connor and Robert Coleman. There is also an audio-walk podcast, ‘Ticknock: What’s Going On?’, by Listen and Breathe, made to play as you climb from the upper car park to Fairy Castle, blending ambient sound with spoken poetry.
Getting there and parking
- By car: from the city centre follow the R113 past Marlay Park, turn at the Taylor’s Grange junction and on to the forest entrance. The main car park – somewhere between 100 and 145 spaces, depending on who is counting – runs on a one-way system and fills fast on weekends and clear days, so arrive early. The approach road is narrow and slippery after rain, and Kilmashogue Forest car park is the fallback.
- By public transport: Dublin Bus 44 or 47 to Stepaside, then a walk uphill; the 145 stops near the Blue Light pub, cutting the road-walking. The Luas Green Line to Glencairn also leaves an uphill walk to the trails.
- By bike: the forest is well connected to the city’s cycle network; check the Dublin Mountains interactive map for bike-friendly routes to the car park.
Practical information
- Opening hours: car park gates open at 06:00 and close at 22:00; the forest is accessible in daylight, but gates may close early in severe weather or for maintenance.
- Facilities: no permanent toilets or bins on site – follow Leave No Trace and carry out all waste. Trails Café at the car park serves barista coffee, baked goods and toasted sandwiches, with picnic benches and bike racks.
- Safety: the car park may close under Met Éireann snow, ice or Red Wind warnings, and you should not enter the forest at all during a Red Wind warning. Trails get muddy after heavy rain.
- Dogs: leashed dogs welcome on all trails; keep them under control and clean up after them.
- Navigation: maps to download on the Coillte site, offline routes on the HiiKER app, and OSI Discovery Series Sheet 50 for map readers.
Nearby attractions
- Marlay Park: a short drive away, with formal gardens, woodland and a playground.
- Glencullen: home to Johnnie Fox’s Pub, Ireland’s highest public house, and the start of several mountain routes.
- Tibradden and the Hell Fire Club: more Dublin Mountains walking within easy reach.
- Blue Light Pub: a traditional stop at the foot of the mountains for a post-walk pint.
Come on a weekday morning for parking and quiet, and if the wind is up, check the warnings before you set out: the summit is fully exposed, and the forest shuts entirely on a Red Wind warning.