First pick
Dodder Valley Park
Park or garden · 290 m outside town
22 ha5.2 km of path
1 h 10 minto walk all 5.2 km of path
1.2 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Mic from Reading - Berkshire, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0100%near a park
Outdoors in Ballyboden · parks, paths & countryside
Ballyboden has more footpath per square kilometre than 8 in 10 Irish towns
Footpaths add up to 53 km in the neighbourhood and the kilometre around it, 5.9 for every square kilometre. Wicklow Mountains National Park begins 4.0 km away. 8 waymarked trails start within 5 km of Ballyboden, among them the Wicklow Way and Massey's Estate - Nature trail.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
7.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
53 km
5.9 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
0.5%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Glenasmole Valley SAC
Woodland
4.3%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors neighbourhood is Ballyboden?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A neighbourhood of footpaths5.9 km of path per km², more than 82% of Irish towns. The typical town has 2.1.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Hills with a view4 mapped viewpoints, about 21× as many per resident as the typical Irish town.Countryside close byWicklow Mountains National Park starts 4.0 km south-west.
Ballyboden’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by parks close to every home.
Against other towns
How Ballyboden 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 space7.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
71out of 100
Footpaths5.9 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
82out of 100
Protected for nature0.5%of the land within 5 km
38out of 100
Woodland4.3%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
70out 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
Ballyboden has the 4th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (4,743 to 5,792 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Chapelizod (7.8 km per km²) to Carrick-On-Shannon (0.2 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Ballyboden5.9
Towns its size1.7
Co. Dublin towns5.4
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Ballyboden7.6
Towns its size4.2
Co. Dublin towns7.6
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Ballyboden100%
Towns its size83%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Ballyboden stands out most for path per km²: only 3 of the other 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapelizod Dublin | 7.8 | 11% | 0% | – |
| 2 | St Stephen's Green Dublin | 7.4 | 0.9% | 0.3% | 11% |
| 3 | Portobello Dublin | 7.2 | 1.2% | 0.1% | 8.8% |
| 4 | Ballyboden Dublin | 5.9 | 4.3% | 0.5% | – |
| 5 | Edmondstown Dublin | 5.1 | 7.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 6 | Ballinlough Cork | 4.9 | 3.2% | 3.8% | – |
| 7 | Rathgar Dublin | 4.8 | 3.5% | 0.1% | – |
| 8 | Knocknaheeny Cork | 4.7 | 2.4% | 0.2% | – |
| 9 | Tramore Cork | 4.7 | 4.6% | 3.7% | – |
| 10 | Knockrea Cork | 4.7 | 3.1% | 3.7% | – |
| 11 | Woodquay and Nuns Island Galway | 4.5 | 0.7% | 14% | 32% |
| 12 | Inchicore Dublin | 4.5 | 3.9% | 0% | – |
| 13 | Fair Hill Cork | 4 | 4.4% | 0.4% | – |
| 14 | Garryowen Limerick | 3.4 | 0.5% | 9.6% | – |
| 15 | Salthill Galway | 3.3 | 1% | 15% | 46% |
| 16 | Harmonstown Dublin | 3.2 | 3.8% | 5.3% | 23% |
| 17 | Galvone Limerick | 2.9 | 0.7% | 8.3% | – |
| 18 | Sutton Dublin | 2.5 | 0.7% | 12% | 48% |
| 19 | Poleberry Waterford | 2.4 | 0.6% | 7.2% | – |
| 20 | Carrigtwohill Cork | 1.8 | 5.1% | 12% | – |
| 21 | Rathcoole Dublin | 1.6 | 2.4% | 0% | – |
| 22 | Blessington Wicklow | 1.4 | 10% | 1.9% | – |
| 23 | Glounthaune Cork | 1.2 | 8% | 6.1% | – |
| 24 | Inishkenny Cork | 1.1 | 4.2% | 0.2% | – |
| 25 | Ballybeg Waterford | 1 | 1.2% | 4.1% | – |
| 26 | Ardee Louth | 0.9 | 0.7% | 0.8% | – |
| 27 | Ferrybank Kilkenny | 0.8 | 4.1% | 6.6% | – |
| 28 | Monasterevin Kildare | 0.6 | 16% | 2% | – |
| 29 | Carrick-on-Suir Tipperary | 0.5 | 9.9% | 4% | – |
| 30 | Duleek Meath | 0.4 | 0.1% | 1.3% | – |
| 31 | Cashel Tipperary | 0.4 | 1.8% | 1.4% | – |
| 32 | Ballybofey-Stranorlar Donegal | 0.4 | 7.7% | 2.3% | – |
| 33 | Listowel Kerry | 0.4 | 2.3% | 4.8% | – |
| 34 | Carrickmacross Monaghan | 0.3 | 5.5% | 0% | – |
| 35 | Tipperary Tipperary | 0.3 | 0.7% | 0.8% | – |
| 36 | Mountmellick Laois | 0.3 | 0.5% | 3.4% | – |
| 37 | Tullow Carlow | 0.3 | 0.4% | 1.7% | – |
| 38 | Roscrea Tipperary | 0.3 | 3.4% | 7.9% | – |
| 39 | Clonakilty Cork | 0.3 | 1.8% | 3.3% | 7.1% |
| 40 | Carrick-On-Shannon Leitrim | 0.2 | 2% | 0% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Ballyboden’s neighbourhood.
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 Ballyboden
The biggest is Dodder Valley Park, 22 ha (54 acres).
Whitecliff
Park or garden · 300 m outside town
1.3 ha
1.3 km 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
Everyone in Ballyboden 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%)
Ballyboden100%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
Glenasmole Valley SAC is the nearest protected area, 4.1 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 Ballyboden0%
Within 5 km0.5%
Co. Dublin towns0.2%
Typical Irish town1.8%
3 protected sites lie within 5 km of Ballyboden. 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
Wicklow Mountains National Park is 4.0 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
4.0 km south-west223 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
Footpaths and woods in and around Ballyboden
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
53 km
over 9 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
4.3%
about 0.4 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
8
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
BallybodenCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths5.9
03.57 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
BallybodenCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Woodland4.3%
0%50%100%
Ballyboden has more footpath per km² than 82% of Irish towns and more woodland than 70% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
8 waymarked trails start near Ballyboden
53 km of footpaths are mapped in Ballyboden and the kilometre around it, 5.9 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
Long-distance wayWalking trail
Wicklow Way128.1 km
Massey's Estate - Nature trail2.5 km
Dublin Mountains Way41.2 km
Tibradden - Mountain Access route Tibradden/Kelly's Glen1.6 km
Tibradden Mountain Trail2.7 km
Tibradden - Mountain Access route Tibradden/Pine Forest1.3 km
Cruagh - Sli na Slainte3.7 km
Cruagh - Mountain Access route2.3 km
One cycling or paddling trail also starts within 5 km.
5 more waymarked walks on OpenStreetMap
NationalLocal
European long distance path E8 - part Ireland4.2 km
Tymon Park Purple Slí1.7 km
Tymon Park Red Slí1.7 km
Fitwalk Circuit0.6 km
Tymon Park Yellow Slí0.4 km
Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0), registered trails within 5 km; footpaths: OpenStreetMap (ODbL). More waymarked walks: OpenStreetMap route relations (ODbL) within 2 km, those already on the register left out. 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 Ballyboden: 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 | 15.8 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 77 | 65 | 61 | 60 | 62 | 67 | 59 | 67 | 68 | 87 | 99 | 87 |
July is the driest month (59 mm) and the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 99 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. The climate in Ballyboden →
Things to do
4 viewpoints and 2 waterfalls
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.
4Viewpoints20.9× the typical Irish town, per resident2Waterfalls31Playgrounds4.5× the typical Irish town, per resident
Per resident, viewpoints stand out most: Ballyboden has 20.9× as many as the typical Irish town.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 4
Plus 4 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Waterfalls 2
Plus 2 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 31
Children's Playground1.3 km from town
DirectionsWoodland Activity Area1.3 km from town
DirectionsMarley Playground1.8 km from town
DirectionsBalrothery Play Area1.8 km from town
DirectionsPlus 27 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Gardens & nature
3 gardens and nature sites to visit near Ballyboden
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
Saint Enda's ParkGarden · 0.8 km from town
Its pageAirfield EstateGarden · 3.8 km from town
Its pageSaint Stephen's GreenGarden · 6.1 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Ballyboden
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
KnocklyonEdmondstownRathfarnhamFirhouseTempleogueChurchtownBallyboden
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballyboden | 100% | 7.6 | 5.9 | 0.5% |
| Knocklyon 1.0 km | 91% | 17.2 | 5.8 | 3.2% |
| Edmondstown 1.1 km | 91% | 21.3 | 5.1 | 4.5% |
| Rathfarnham 1.5 km | 98% | 12.0 | 5.5 | 0.1% |
| Firhouse 2.2 km | 94% | 20.0 | 6.8 | 4.2% |
| Templeogue 2.4 km | 100% | 16.9 | 5.2 | 0.1% |
| Churchtown 3.2 km | 76% | 9.2 | 5.6 | 0.1% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Ballyboden. Knocklyon, Edmondstown and Firhouse have at least twice Ballyboden’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 Ballyboden
What is the biggest park in Ballyboden?
Dodder Valley Park, 22 ha (54 acres), just outside the built-up area. Whitecliff (1.3 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the neighbourhood or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Ballyboden?
3 protected sites lie within 5 km, though together they cover under 1% of the land. The nearest is Glenasmole Valley SAC, 4.1 km from the edge of town.
What are the best walks near Ballyboden?
8 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the Wicklow Way, Massey's Estate - Nature trail and Dublin Mountains Way.
How many people in Ballyboden 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 Ballyboden?
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 Ballyboden near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 4.0 km south-west of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
What is there to do outdoors around Ballyboden?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 4 viewpoints and 2 waterfalls; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Ballyboden’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).