Photo: HunNomad · CC BY-SA 3.0Spanish Point is on the coast
The sea makes up 39% of the area within 5 km. 0 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 0.0 for every square kilometre. Burren National Park begins 29 km away.
What kind of outdoors town is Spanish Point?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Spanish Point’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by protected land close by. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
How Spanish Point compares with Irish towns
Each figure against Ireland’s 321 towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (city hubs left out): the marked bar is the town’s, the line the median. Ireland has no Outdoors Grade yet: the figures are described, each against other Irish towns, and none of them counts towards the overall grade.
Parks, paths and woods: OpenStreetMap; residents: CSO Census 2022 Small Areas; protected sites: NPWS; sea: CSO and ONS land outlines. A 0 means nothing is mapped.
Spanish Point has the 2nd fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (261 to 3,141 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Ballybrack (8.6 km per km²) to Sixmilebridge (0 km per km²).
Spanish Point falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 39 of the 39 others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballybrack Dublin | 8.6 | 8% | 0.2% | 36% |
| 2 | Sunday's Well Cork | 7.3 | 2.7% | 0.4% | – |
| 3 | Blackpool Cork | 6.6 | 3% | 1.4% | – |
| 4 | Carna Dublin | 5.4 | 1.7% | 0% | – |
| 5 | Taylor's Hill Galway | 5.1 | 1.2% | 15% | 37% |
| 6 | Togher Cork | 5 | 1.5% | 0.5% | – |
| 7 | Decies Dublin | 4.8 | 7.2% | 0% | – |
| 8 | Mayfield Cork | 4.7 | 5.3% | 3.3% | – |
| 9 | Kylemore Dublin | 4 | 3% | 0% | – |
| 10 | Edenmore Dublin | 2.8 | 3.6% | 5.9% | 24% |
| 11 | Ballynanty Limerick | 2.5 | 5.7% | 12% | – |
| 12 | Claddagh Galway | 2.4 | 0.2% | 17% | 46% |
| 13 | Murrough Galway | 2.3 | 5.1% | 10% | 26% |
| 14 | Grange Upper Waterford | 1.4 | 1.5% | 6.6% | – |
| 15 | Blarney Cork | 1.4 | 14% | 0% | – |
| 16 | Kilbarry Waterford | 1.3 | 1.6% | 5.1% | – |
| 17 | Bantry Cork | 1 | 4.4% | 0% | 18% |
| 18 | Ballina Tipperary | 0.9 | 1.8% | 4.7% | – |
| 19 | Moate Westmeath | 0.7 | 2.4% | 2.4% | – |
| 20 | Callan Kilkenny | 0.7 | 0.1% | 2.3% | – |
| 21 | Kingscourt Cavan | 0.7 | 12% | 0% | – |
| 22 | Kenmare Kerry | 0.6 | 7.2% | 6.5% | 6.4% |
| 23 | Athboy Meath | 0.6 | 1.1% | 1.5% | – |
| 24 | Bundoran Donegal | 0.5 | 2% | 5.1% | 35% |
| 25 | Muinebeag (Bagenalstown) Carlow | 0.5 | 3.9% | 2.9% | – |
| 26 | Skibbereen Cork | 0.5 | 1.7% | 1.6% | – |
| 27 | Kinnegad Westmeath | 0.3 | 4.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 28 | Donegal Donegal | 0.3 | 4% | 4.1% | 12% |
| 29 | Boyle Roscommon | 0.3 | 3.2% | 0% | – |
| 30 | Bailieborough Cavan | 0.3 | 10% | 0% | – |
| 31 | Castleisland Kerry | 0.3 | 1.7% | 12% | – |
| 32 | Kanturk Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 5.1% | – |
| 33 | Baltinglass Wicklow | 0.2 | 4.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 34 | Ballyhaunis Mayo | 0.2 | 2.8% | 3.4% | – |
| 35 | Kilrush Clare | 0.2 | 9.8% | 37% | – |
| 36 | Ballyjamesduff Cavan | 0.2 | 7.6% | 0% | – |
| 37 | Gort Galway | 0.2 | 4.3% | 24% | – |
| 38 | Carndonagh Donegal | 0.1 | 4.9% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| 39 | Spanish Point Clare | 0 | 0.3% | 0.5% | 39% |
| 40 | Sixmilebridge Clare | 0 | 0.7% | 2% | – |
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Spanish Point’s urban area.
Few Spanish Point residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (CSO Census 2022 Small Areas against OpenStreetMap).
About 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Mid-Clare Coast SPA reaches Spanish Point
Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas and Natural Heritage Areas designated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, within 5 km of the town’s edge.
2 protected sites lie within 5 km of Spanish Point. Ireland’s National Parks have a block of their own on this page; much of their land also lies inside these sites.
Protected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service designated site boundaries (CC BY 4.0), 2026; land within 5 km from CSO Small Areas and, over the border, ONS. Overlapping sites are counted once.
Burren National Park is 29 km away
Ireland’s National Parks within 100 km, and the nearest always, by direction and distance from the town’s edge; circle size shows each park’s area.
Burren National Park
Connemara National Park
Killarney National Park
3 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Spanish Point.
National Park boundaries: National Parks and Wildlife Service, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0, © Government of Ireland), 2022. Distances from the town’s outline (CSO Small Areas).
0 km of footpaths cross Spanish Point
Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, and mapped woods and forest, in the town and 1 km around it, each beside the county’s and Ireland’s typical town of 2,500+.
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Spanish Point has less footpath per km² than 100% of Irish towns and less woodland than 96% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
One waymarked trail starts near Spanish Point
0 km of footpaths are mapped in Spanish Point and the kilometre around it, 0.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
One cycling or paddling trail also starts within 5 km.
Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0), registered trails within 5 km; footpaths: OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Coillte’s own forest trails and recreation sites aren’t included: Coillte’s terms limit its data to research or private study. Its trails on the National Trails Register are listed.
The best walking months in Spanish Point: May to September
Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages for the town’s 1 km square and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 15 to 30 °C and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.1 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 129 | 105 | 89 | 70 | 71 | 79 | 96 | 107 | 106 | 124 | 143 | 144 |
April is the driest month (70 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.6 hours of daylight in December, and 144 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Spanish Point →
The coast and bathing waters near Spanish Point
39% of the area within 5 km of Spanish Point is sea. 3 bathing waters are within 5 km, each with its latest class.
3 of the 3 are rated excellent, Spanish Point among them.
Bathing water classes: EPA, latest season (CC BY 4.0). Sea: the area outside CSO and ONS land outlines. Check today’s water quality on beaches.ie
1 playground
Mapped on OpenStreetMap in the town and 2 km around it; each count per resident beside Irish towns’ typical town of 2,500+. Beaches are on the coast’s list, from the EPA.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 1
Plus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next to Spanish Point
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
| Town | Near a park | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Paths (km/km²) | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish Point | 0% | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0.5% |
| Lehinch 11 km | 34% | 1.5 | 0.2 | 3.3% |
| Ennistimon 14 km | 61% | 0.9 | 0.3 | 3.4% |
In Ennistimon, 61% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park, more than here.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Green space nearby. The share of residents (CSO Small Areas, by where people live) within 400 m of a park, garden, common or playing field mapped on OpenStreetMap. Mapping is uneven: a town whose parks nobody has mapped looks greyer than it is.
- Protected areas. Land in a Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area or Natural Heritage Area within 5 km, overlaps counted once. Protected for nature doesn’t always mean open to walkers.
- Footpaths and hiking routes. Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, in the town and 1 km around it, from OpenStreetMap. Trails are the registered ones within 5 km; a trail often follows mapped paths, so the two aren’t added.
- Woodland. Woods and forest as OpenStreetMap maps them, private and Coillte forests included: mapped cover, not access.
- No grade yet. Ireland’s grades don’t include the outdoors yet: these figures describe the town and stand beside the median Irish town.
Questions about the outdoors in Spanish Point
Is there protected countryside near Spanish Point?
2 protected sites lie within 5 km, though together they cover under 1% of the land.
What are the best walks near Spanish Point?
One waymarked trail starts within 5 km: the Whitestrand Headland Walk.
Where can you swim near Spanish Point?
The nearest bathing water is Spanish Point, 0.1 km from town: Excellent (2025). Check beaches.ie before swimming: a notice can close a beach for the day.
How many people in Spanish Point live near a park?
0% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a park or playing field; in the typical Irish town it is 92%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Spanish Point?
On the town’s 1991–2020 averages and its daylight: May to September, when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light for the place.
Is Spanish Point near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Burren National Park, 29 km north-east of the town’s edge; it covers about 21 km². 2 more are within 100 km.
Where Spanish Point’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks, woods and paths. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): parks, woods and footpaths, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Protected sites. National Parks and Wildlife Service: designated sites (SAC, SPA, NHA), 2026
- Trails. Sport Ireland: National Trails Register, 2026
- Residents. CSO: Census 2022 Small Areas (residents)
- National Parks. National Parks and Wildlife Service: National Park boundaries, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0), 2022
- Things to do. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): viewpoints, hills, waterfalls, nature reserves, picnic sites, playgrounds, campsites and waymarked walks, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Bathing water. EPA: bathing water quality, 2025 season
- Weather. Met Éireann: 1991–2020 averages (Copyright Met Éireann)
Protected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service (CC BY 4.0). Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0). Bathing water: EPA (CC BY 4.0). Parks, woods and paths: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Not on this page yet: Coillte’s forest trails (its terms) and bike routes.
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).