First pick
Paddock Wood
Wood or forest · 320 m outside town
2.2 ha
1.5 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Stardomax · CC BY-SA 4.0100%near a park
Outdoors in Whitegate · parks, paths & countryside
Whitegate is on the coast
The sea makes up 38% of the area within 5 km. There are 1.3 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Whitegate, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town. 4 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 0.4 for every square kilometre.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
1.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
4 km
0.4 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
2.4%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Cork Harbour SPA
Woodland
2.4%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
The sea
38%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Whitegate?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast38% 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.Protected land nearbyCork Harbour SPA reaches the edge of Whitegate.Less park per person1.3 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1.
Whitegate’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 Whitegate 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 space1.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
9out of 100
Footpaths0.4 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
13out of 100
Protected for nature2.4%of the land within 5 km
55out of 100
Woodland2.4%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
44out of 100
The sea38%of the area within 5 km
95out 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
Whitegate has the 14th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (1,248 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).
Footpath, km per km²
Whitegate0.4
Towns its size0.7
Co. Cork towns1.8
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Whitegate1.3
Towns its size3.8
Co. Cork towns4.3
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Whitegate100%
Towns its size87%
Co. Cork towns90%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Whitegate stands out most for homes near a park: none of the other 39 has more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 36 of the 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 | Whitegate Cork | 0.4 | 2.4% | 2.4% | 38% |
| 28 | Kinnegad Westmeath | 0.3 | 4.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 29 | Donegal Donegal | 0.3 | 4% | 4.1% | 12% |
| 30 | Boyle Roscommon | 0.3 | 3.2% | 0% | – |
| 31 | Bailieborough Cavan | 0.3 | 10% | 0% | – |
| 32 | Castleisland Kerry | 0.3 | 1.7% | 12% | – |
| 33 | Kanturk Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 5.1% | – |
| 34 | Baltinglass Wicklow | 0.2 | 4.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 35 | Ballyhaunis Mayo | 0.2 | 2.8% | 3.4% | – |
| 36 | Kilrush Clare | 0.2 | 9.8% | 37% | – |
| 37 | Ballyjamesduff Cavan | 0.2 | 7.6% | 0% | – |
| 38 | Gort Galway | 0.2 | 4.3% | 24% | – |
| 39 | Carndonagh Donegal | 0.1 | 4.9% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| 40 | Sixmilebridge Clare | 0 | 0.7% | 2% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Whitegate’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 Whitegate
The biggest is Paddock Wood, 2.2 ha (6 acres).
Long Orchard
Wood or forest · 200 m outside town
2.2 ha
1.5 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
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 Whitegate 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%)
Whitegate100%
Co. Cork towns90%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
Protected sites cover 2.4% of the land within 5 km of Whitegate
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 Whitegate0%
Within 5 km2.4%
Co. Cork towns1.5%
Typical Irish town1.8%
2 protected sites lie within 5 km of Whitegate. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 3.1% of the land within 5 km as well; many have been proposed since 1995 and aren’t counted here. 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 87 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
87 km 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
4 km of footpaths cross Whitegate
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
4.1 km
over 9.3 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
2.4%
about 0.2 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
WhitegateCo. Cork townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths0.4
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
WhitegateCo. Cork townsTypical Irish town
Woodland2.4%
0%50%100%
Whitegate has less footpath per km² than 87% of Irish towns and less woodland than 56% 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 Whitegate
4 km of footpaths are mapped in Whitegate and the kilometre around it, 0.4 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
No waymarked trail starts within 5 km of Whitegate; 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 Whitegate: 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 | 16.7 | 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) | 103 | 80 | 77 | 70 | 68 | 71 | 75 | 85 | 79 | 111 | 108 | 113 |
May is the driest month (68 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.8 hours of daylight in December, and 113 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Whitegate →
The coast
The coast and bathing waters near Whitegate
38% of the area within 5 km of Whitegate 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 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
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next door
Next to Whitegate
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
Aghada-RostellanCrosshavenCobhCloynePassage West-MonkstownCarrigtwohillWhitegate
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitegate | 100% | 1.3 | 0.4 | 2.4% |
| Aghada-Rostellan 1.3 km | 58% | 66.3 | 0.4 | 6.2% |
| Crosshaven 5.6 km | 74% | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.4% |
| Cobh 6.1 km | 83% | 0.8 | 0.8 | 13% |
| Cloyne 7.8 km | 73% | 1.8 | 0.3 | 2.6% |
| Passage West-Monkstown 9.0 km | 70% | 1.4 | 1.2 | 10% |
| Carrigtwohill 9.6 km | 60% | 2.7 | 1.8 | 12% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Whitegate. Aghada-Rostellan and Carrigtwohill have at least twice Whitegate’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 Whitegate
Is there protected countryside near Whitegate?
Yes: 2.4% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 2 sites. Cork Harbour SPA reaches Whitegate.
How many people in Whitegate 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 Whitegate?
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 Whitegate near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Killarney National Park, 87 km west of the town’s edge; it covers about 104 km².
What is there to do outdoors around Whitegate?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 1 picnic site; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Whitegate’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).