First pick
Ardgillan Castle and Demesne
Park or garden · 330 m outside town
79 ha14.5 km of path
3 h 15 minto walk all 14.5 km of path
3.4 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.095%near a park
Outdoors in Balbriggan · parks, paths & countryside
Balbriggan is on the coast
The sea makes up 37% of the area within 5 km. Parks and playing fields in Balbriggan add up to 4.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1. 95% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field.
Near a park
95%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
4.9 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
41 km
2.1 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Woodland
1.6%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
The sea
37%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Balbriggan?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast37% of the area within 5 km is sea.A park on every doorstep95% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Hills with a view3 mapped viewpoints, about 3× as many per resident as the typical Irish town.Protected land nearbyNorth-West Irish Sea cSPA reaches the edge of Balbriggan.
Balbriggan’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by parks close to every home.
Against other towns
How Balbriggan 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 walk95%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
55out of 100
Public green space4.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
58out of 100
Footpaths2.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
49out of 100
Protected for nature0%of the land within 5 km
11out of 100
Woodland1.6%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
28out of 100
The sea37%of the area within 5 km
94out 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
Balbriggan has the 17th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (18,369 to 27,923 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Esker (10.5 km per km²) to Portlaoise (0.6 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Balbriggan2.1
Towns its size2.7
Co. Dublin towns5.4
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Balbriggan4.9
Towns its size4.0
Co. Dublin towns7.6
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Balbriggan95%
Towns its size95%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Balbriggan stands out most for park space per resident: only 13 of the other 39 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 23 of the others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esker Dublin | 10.5 | 2.1% | 0.1% | – |
| 2 | Old Bawn Dublin | 8.5 | 3% | 1.8% | – |
| 3 | Dolphins Barn Dublin | 8.4 | 2.9% | 0% | – |
| 4 | Stoneybatter Dublin | 7.5 | 1.6% | 0% | – |
| 5 | The Liberties Dublin | 7.4 | 0.5% | 0% | – |
| 6 | Carpenterstown Dublin | 7.3 | 11% | 0% | – |
| 7 | Blanchardstown Dublin | 7 | 3.8% | 0% | – |
| 8 | Lucan Dublin | 6.8 | 7.3% | 0.2% | – |
| 9 | Mulhuddart Dublin | 6.6 | 4% | 0% | – |
| 10 | Ballymun Dublin | 6.5 | 2.6% | 0% | – |
| 11 | Clonsilla Dublin | 6.4 | 3% | 0.1% | – |
| 12 | Jobstown Dublin | 6.3 | 1.9% | 2.2% | – |
| 13 | Rathmines West Dublin | 6 | 1.7% | 0.1% | 5.8% |
| 14 | Crumlin Dublin | 5.4 | 0.8% | 0% | – |
| 15 | Clondalkin Dublin | 4.6 | 3.3% | 0% | – |
| 16 | Stepaside Dublin | 4.3 | 15% | 6.4% | 5.9% |
| 17 | Sandymount Dublin | 3.6 | 1.2% | 3.6% | 35% |
| 18 | Clontarf East Dublin | 3.1 | 3% | 6.1% | 38% |
| 19 | Kilkenny Kilkenny | 3.1 | 3.8% | 2.4% | – |
| 20 | Beaumont Dublin | 2.9 | 2% | 3.4% | 9.7% |
| 21 | Celbridge Kildare | 2.4 | 6.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 22 | Malahide Dublin | 2.4 | 3.4% | 2.1% | 32% |
| 23 | Greystones-Delgany Wicklow | 2.2 | 11% | 5% | 35% |
| 24 | Balbriggan Dublin | 2.1 | 1.6% | 0% | 37% |
| 25 | Naas Kildare | 1.9 | 1.4% | 0% | – |
| 26 | Douglas Cork | 1.7 | 4.6% | 5% | – |
| 27 | Knocknacarra Galway | 1.6 | 3.4% | 32% | 34% |
| 28 | Ballincollig Cork | 1.3 | 8.4% | 0% | – |
| 29 | Athlone Westmeath | 1.3 | 6.1% | 14% | – |
| 30 | Sligo Sligo | 1.2 | 6.1% | 9.5% | 18% |
| 31 | Tralee Kerry | 1.1 | 2.4% | 21% | 6.4% |
| 32 | Clonmel Tipperary | 1.1 | 14% | 3.9% | – |
| 33 | Wexford Wexford | 1.1 | 3.8% | 13% | 22% |
| 34 | Dooradoyle Limerick | 1 | 2.6% | 7.7% | – |
| 35 | Carlow Carlow | 0.9 | 1.3% | 2% | – |
| 36 | Mullingar Westmeath | 0.8 | 8.9% | 3.3% | – |
| 37 | Ennis Clare | 0.7 | 9.6% | 7.8% | – |
| 38 | Letterkenny Donegal | 0.7 | 4.9% | 4.3% | 5.3% |
| 39 | Newbridge Kildare | 0.6 | 1.6% | 4.9% | – |
| 40 | Portlaoise Laois | 0.6 | 2.6% | 1.1% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Balbriggan’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 Balbriggan
The biggest is Ardgillan Castle and Demesne, 79 ha (194 acres).
All 5 named parks and woods by size: 95 ha (235 acres) and 16 km of path
Parks & gardens 84 haWoods 11 ha
The two biggest, Ardgillan Castle and Demesne and New Plantation, are 92% of the named green space and carry 16 km of path between them.
New Plantation
Wood or forest · 330 m outside town
9.5 ha1.8 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.8 km of path
3.4 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Charlie Moore Memorial Park
Park or garden
1.5 ha
1.2 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Barn Wood
Wood or forest · 90 m outside town
2.0 ha
2.2 km south-eastfrom 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
Almost everyone in Balbriggan 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 (95%)Further (4.6%)
Balbriggan95%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
About 1,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
North-West Irish Sea cSPA reaches Balbriggan
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 Balbriggan0%
Within 5 km0%
Co. Dublin towns0.2%
Typical Irish town1.8%
4 protected sites lie within 5 km of Balbriggan. Ireland’s National Parks have a block of their own on this page; much of their land also lies inside these sites.
North-West Irish Sea cSPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 2,333 km² · reaches Balbriggan
NPWS pageRiver Nanny Estuary and Shore SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 2.3 km² · 3.6 km from the edge
NPWS pageSkerries Islands NHANatural Heritage Area · 2.2 km² · 4.6 km from the edge
NPWS pageSkerries Islands SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 2.2 km² · 4.6 km from the edge
NPWS pageProtected 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
Wicklow Mountains National Park is 40 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
Wicklow Mountains National Park
40 km south223 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
41 km of footpaths cross Balbriggan
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
41 km
over 19.4 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
1.6%
about 0.3 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
BalbrigganCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths2.1
03.57 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
BalbrigganCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Woodland1.6%
0%50%100%
Balbriggan has less footpath per km² than 51% of Irish towns and less woodland than 72% 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 Balbriggan
41 km of footpaths are mapped in Balbriggan and the kilometre around it, 2.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
No waymarked trail starts within 5 km of Balbriggan; 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 Balbriggan: 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) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 65 | 51 | 53 | 52 | 55 | 61 | 60 | 69 | 63 | 79 | 85 | 72 |
February is the driest month (51 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 85 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. The climate in Balbriggan →
The coast
The coast and bathing waters near Balbriggan
37% of the area within 5 km of Balbriggan is sea. 2 bathing waters are within 5 km, each with its latest class.
Balbriggan, Front Strand BeachSufficient (2025) · In town
beaches.ieSkerries, South BeachExcellent (2025) · 4.2 km from town
beaches.ieOne of the 2 is rated excellent: Skerries, South Beach.
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
3 viewpoints and 8 hills and peaks
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.
3Viewpoints3.4× the typical Irish town, per resident8Hills and peaks1Nature reserves2Picnic sites15Playgrounds0.5× the typical Irish town, per resident1Dog parks
Per resident, viewpoints stand out most: Balbriggan has 3.4× as many as the typical Irish town.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 3
Plus 3 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 8
Plus 8 hills and peaks without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Wavin Lakes14 ha · 1.8 km from town
DirectionsDog parks 1
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next door
Next to Balbriggan
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
BalrotheryStamullenSkerriesLuskLaytown-Bettystown-Mornington-DonacarneyRushBalbriggan
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balbriggan | 95% | 4.9 | 2.1 | 0% |
| Balrothery 2.7 km | 100% | 40.2 | 1.5 | 0% |
| Stamullen 5.4 km | 92% | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.5% |
| Skerries 6.1 km | 100% | 10.1 | 2.0 | 0% |
| Lusk 9.6 km | 100% | 2.9 | 1.1 | 1.3% |
| Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney 11 km | 51% | 0.8 | 1.2 | 4.4% |
| Rush 11 km | 90% | 1.4 | 1.1 | 3.7% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Balbriggan. Balrothery and Skerries have at least twice Balbriggan’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 Balbriggan
What is the biggest park in Balbriggan?
Ardgillan Castle and Demesne, 79 ha (194 acres), just outside the built-up area. Balbriggan Town Park (3.8 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Balbriggan?
4 protected sites lie within 5 km, though together they cover under 1% of the land.
Where can you swim near Balbriggan?
The nearest bathing water is Balbriggan, Front Strand Beach, In town: Sufficient (2025). Check beaches.ie before swimming: a notice can close a beach for the day.
How many people in Balbriggan live near a park?
95% 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 Balbriggan?
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 Balbriggan near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 40 km south of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
What is there to do outdoors around Balbriggan?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 3 viewpoints, 8 hills and peaks, 1 nature reserve and 2 picnic sites; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Balbriggan’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).