First pick
The Town Park
Park or garden
0.2 ha0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Kinsale
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0100%near a park
Outdoors in Kinsale · parks, paths & countryside
Kinsale is on the coast
The sea makes up 21% of the area within 5 km. Parks and playing fields in Kinsale add up to 0.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1. 16 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 0.9 for every square kilometre.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
0.9 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
16 km
0.9 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Woodland
1.3%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
The sea
21%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Kinsale?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast21% of the area within 5 km is sea.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Less park per person0.9 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1.
Kinsale’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by parks close to every home. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Against other towns
How Kinsale 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.
A park within a walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
83out of 100
Public green space0.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
3out of 100
Footpaths0.9 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
26out of 100
Protected for nature0%of the land within 5 km
11out of 100
Woodland1.3%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
23out of 100
The sea21%of the area within 5 km
83out of 100
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.
Towns its size
Kinsale has the 11th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (5,387 to 6,644 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Portobello (7.2 km per km²) to Roscommon (0.2 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Kinsale0.9
Towns its size1.7
Co. Cork towns1.8
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Kinsale0.9
Towns its size4.0
Co. Cork towns4.3
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Kinsale100%
Towns its size93%
Co. Cork towns90%
Typical Irish town92%
Kinsale falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 38 of the 39 others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portobello Dublin | 7.2 | 1.2% | 0.1% | 8.8% |
| 2 | Gillabbey Cork | 7.1 | 2.6% | 0.5% | – |
| 3 | Glasheen Cork | 6.4 | 2.3% | 0.5% | – |
| 4 | Castleknock Dublin | 6.2 | 9.1% | 0% | – |
| 5 | The Glen Cork | 5.7 | 4% | 1.8% | – |
| 6 | Edmondstown Dublin | 5.1 | 7.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 7 | Ballinlough Cork | 4.9 | 3.2% | 3.8% | – |
| 8 | Rathgar Dublin | 4.8 | 3.5% | 0.1% | – |
| 9 | Knocknaheeny Cork | 4.7 | 2.4% | 0.2% | – |
| 10 | Ayrfield Dublin | 3.8 | 1.8% | 5.3% | 19% |
| 11 | Garryowen Limerick | 3.4 | 0.5% | 9.6% | – |
| 12 | Salthill Galway | 3.3 | 1% | 15% | 46% |
| 13 | Marino Dublin | 3.3 | 2% | 2.8% | 10% |
| 14 | Harmonstown Dublin | 3.2 | 3.8% | 5.3% | 23% |
| 15 | Galvone Limerick | 2.9 | 0.7% | 8.3% | – |
| 16 | Dock Limerick | 2.5 | 1.3% | 12% | – |
| 17 | Sutton Dublin | 2.5 | 0.7% | 12% | 48% |
| 18 | Lisduggan Waterford | 1.8 | 0% | 5.8% | – |
| 19 | Carrigtwohill Cork | 1.8 | 5.1% | 12% | – |
| 20 | Ballinfoile and Terryland Galway | 1.7 | 2.1% | 22% | 13% |
| 21 | Rathcoole Dublin | 1.6 | 2.4% | 0% | – |
| 22 | Sallins Kildare | 1.6 | 0.8% | 0% | – |
| 23 | Dunshaughlin Meath | 1.5 | 0.4% | 0% | – |
| 24 | Blessington Wicklow | 1.4 | 10% | 1.9% | – |
| 25 | Kells Meath | 1.3 | 6.3% | 1.1% | – |
| 26 | Passage West-Monkstown Cork | 1.2 | 3.5% | 10% | 12% |
| 27 | Inishkenny Cork | 1.1 | 4.2% | 0.2% | – |
| 28 | Ballytruckle Waterford | 1 | 1.2% | 5.1% | – |
| 29 | Ardee Louth | 0.9 | 0.7% | 0.8% | – |
| 30 | Kinsale Cork | 0.9 | 1.3% | 0% | 21% |
| 31 | Ferrybank Kilkenny | 0.8 | 4.1% | 6.6% | – |
| 32 | Carrick-on-Suir Tipperary | 0.5 | 9.9% | 4% | – |
| 33 | Ballybofey-Stranorlar Donegal | 0.4 | 7.7% | 2.3% | – |
| 34 | Loughrea Galway | 0.4 | 1.7% | 4.7% | – |
| 35 | Carrickmacross Monaghan | 0.3 | 5.5% | 0% | – |
| 36 | Tipperary Tipperary | 0.3 | 0.7% | 0.8% | – |
| 37 | Roscrea Tipperary | 0.3 | 3.4% | 7.9% | – |
| 38 | Oranmore Galway | 0.3 | 2% | 5.2% | 13% |
| 39 | Ballinasloe Galway | 0.3 | 3.7% | 9.6% | – |
| 40 | Roscommon Roscommon | 0.2 | 2.3% | 3.9% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Kinsale’s urban area.
Green: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces and woods, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · NPWS · Sport Ireland · CSO
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Kinsale
The biggest is The Town Park, 0.2 ha (1 acres).
Named parks, gardens, commons and woods in the town or within 400 m of it, from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); pieces of one name that touch are one place. Sizes are the whole site; directions go to a point inside.
Close to home
Everyone in Kinsale lives 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).
Within 400 m (100%)Further (0%)
Kinsale100%
Co. Cork towns90%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
Sovereign Islands NHA is the nearest protected area, 3.5 km away
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.
Inside Kinsale0%
Within 5 km0%
Co. Cork towns1.5%
Typical Irish town1.8%
2 protected sites lie within 5 km of Kinsale. 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.
National Parks
Killarney National Park is 71 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.
National ParkThe 5 km around the town
National Park
Killarney National Park
71 km north-west104 km²
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).
Footpaths and woods
16 km of footpaths cross Kinsale
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+.
Footpaths
16 km
over 17.8 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
1.3%
about 0.2 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
KinsaleCo. Cork townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths0.9
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
KinsaleCo. Cork townsTypical Irish town
Woodland1.3%
0%50%100%
Kinsale has less footpath per km² than 74% of Irish towns and less woodland than 77% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
Footpaths in and around Kinsale
16 km of footpaths are mapped in Kinsale and the kilometre around it, 0.9 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
No waymarked trail starts within 5 km of Kinsale; its footpaths are counted above.
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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Kinsale: 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) | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.6 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 122 | 91 | 87 | 77 | 73 | 79 | 83 | 91 | 88 | 122 | 121 | 133 |
May is the driest month (73 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.8 hours of daylight in December, and 133 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Kinsale →
The coast
The coast and bathing waters near Kinsale
21% of the area within 5 km of Kinsale is sea.
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
Things to do
2 viewpoints and 2 playgrounds
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
Viewpoints 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 2
Kinsale Children Playgroundin town
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Motofeirme1.3 km from town
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next door
Next to Kinsale
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
InishannonCarrigalineBandonLehenaghFrankfield and GrangeInishkennyKinsale
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
| Town | Near a park | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Paths (km/km²) | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinsale | 100% | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0% |
| Inishannon 12 km | 100% | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0% |
| Carrigaline 15 km | 73% | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.2% |
| Bandon 15 km | 91% | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0% |
| Lehenagh 18 km | 60% | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.3% |
| Frankfield and Grange 18 km | 61% | 12.8 | 2.1 | 2.1% |
| Inishkenny 18 km | 69% | 4.1 | 1.1 | 0.2% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Kinsale. Inishannon, Bandon and Lehenagh have at least twice Kinsale’s green space per resident.
How to read these numbers
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 Kinsale
What is the biggest park in Kinsale?
Dan Cummins Park, 0.2 ha (1 acres), just outside the built-up area. The Town Park (0.2 ha) is second. 4 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Kinsale?
2 protected sites lie within 5 km, though together they cover under 1% of the land. The nearest is Sovereign Islands NHA, 3.5 km from the edge of town.
How many people in Kinsale live near a park?
100% 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 Kinsale?
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 Kinsale near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Killarney National Park, 71 km north-west of the town’s edge; it covers about 104 km².
What is there to do outdoors around Kinsale?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 2 viewpoints and 1 picnic site; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Kinsale’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
- 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).