First pick
Phoenix Park
Park or garden · 370 m outside town
704 ha93.1 km of path
20 h 40 minto walk all 93.1 km of path
2.5 km north-eastfrom the centre
Khyber RoadTinkler's PathKaziranga Forest Trail+2 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: SeoR · CC BY-SA 4.0100%near a park
Outdoors in Ballyfermot · parks, paths & countryside
Ballyfermot has more park space per resident than 9 in 10 Irish towns
There are 208.4 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Ballyfermot, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town. Footpaths add up to 58 km in the neighbourhood and the kilometre around it, 6.8 for every square kilometre. Wicklow Mountains National Park begins 11 km away.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
208.4 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
58 km
6.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Woodland
8.7%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors neighbourhood is Ballyfermot?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam208.4 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 99% of Irish towns.A neighbourhood of footpaths6.8 km of path per km², more than 90% 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.Countryside close byWicklow Mountains National Park starts 11 km south.
Ballyfermot’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by dense footpaths.
Against other towns
How Ballyfermot 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 space208.4 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
100out of 100
Footpaths6.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
91out of 100
Protected for nature0%of the land within 5 km
11out of 100
Woodland8.7%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
92out 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
Ballyfermot has the 2nd most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (3,124 to 4,278 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Shandon (7.3 km per km²) to Charleville (0 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Ballyfermot6.8
Towns its size1.2
Co. Dublin towns5.4
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Ballyfermot208.4
Towns its size4.5
Co. Dublin towns7.6
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Ballyfermot100%
Towns its size85%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Ballyfermot stands out most for park space per resident: none of the other 39 has more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shandon Cork | 7.3 | 1.9% | 0.9% | – |
| 2 | Ballyfermot Dublin | 6.8 | 8.7% | 0% | – |
| 3 | Cork City Centre Cork | 6.7 | 1.5% | 1.8% | – |
| 4 | Blackpool Cork | 6.6 | 3% | 1.4% | – |
| 5 | St Luke's Cork | 6 | 3.5% | 2.8% | – |
| 6 | Farranree Cork | 6 | 3% | 0.5% | – |
| 7 | Montenotte Cork | 5.5 | 5.6% | 3.5% | – |
| 8 | Newcastle Galway | 5.4 | 1.7% | 15% | 29% |
| 9 | Shanakiel Cork | 5.3 | 5.7% | 0.1% | – |
| 10 | Taylor's Hill Galway | 5.1 | 1.2% | 15% | 37% |
| 11 | Mervue Galway | 4.3 | 3.6% | 11% | 25% |
| 12 | Prospect and Newtown Pery Limerick | 3.6 | 1.5% | 9.9% | – |
| 13 | Limerick City Centre Limerick | 3.5 | 1% | 11% | – |
| 14 | Rahoon Galway | 2.3 | 2.3% | 27% | 20% |
| 15 | Annacotty Limerick | 2 | 2% | 6.2% | – |
| 16 | Rathbane Limerick | 1.8 | 1.1% | 6% | – |
| 17 | Ballinacurra Limerick | 1.8 | 1.4% | 11% | – |
| 18 | Westbury Clare | 1.7 | 3.3% | 9.6% | – |
| 19 | Crosshaven Cork | 1.2 | 8.9% | 0.4% | 44% |
| 20 | Rathnew Wicklow | 1.2 | 1.3% | 3.9% | 17% |
| 21 | Cleaboy Waterford | 1.2 | 0% | 5.8% | – |
| 22 | Lehenagh Cork | 1.2 | 2.5% | 0.3% | – |
| 23 | Virginia Cavan | 1.1 | 18% | 0.2% | – |
| 24 | Enfield Meath | 1.1 | 3.9% | 0% | – |
| 25 | Grange Waterford | 1 | 0.8% | 5% | – |
| 26 | Cahir Tipperary | 1 | 7.5% | 3.4% | – |
| 27 | Castleblayney Monaghan | 1 | 3.8% | 0% | – |
| 28 | Riverstown Cork | 0.8 | 14% | 2.9% | – |
| 29 | Kilcullen Kildare | 0.8 | 5.3% | 0% | – |
| 30 | Kill Kildare | 0.8 | 2.1% | 0% | – |
| 31 | Tower Cork | 0.7 | 13% | 0% | – |
| 32 | Newtownmountkennedy Wicklow | 0.6 | 12% | 4.9% | 6.2% |
| 33 | Rathangan Kildare | 0.5 | 4.5% | 0% | – |
| 34 | Claremorris Mayo | 0.4 | 7.1% | 0% | – |
| 35 | Macroom Cork | 0.4 | 4.9% | 3.9% | – |
| 36 | Mitchelstown Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 0% | – |
| 37 | Stamullen Meath | 0.3 | 1.7% | 0.5% | 12% |
| 38 | Ballinrobe Mayo | 0.3 | 0.5% | 11% | – |
| 39 | Clara Offaly | 0.2 | 6.1% | 6.4% | – |
| 40 | Charleville Cork | 0 | 0.3% | 0.2% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Ballyfermot’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 Ballyfermot
The biggest is Phoenix Park, 704 ha (1,739 acres).
All 5 named parks and woods by size: 748 ha (1,847 acres) and 101 km of path
Parks & gardens 748 ha
The two biggest, Phoenix Park and The Lawns, are 96% of the named green space and carry 95 km of path between them.
The Lawns
Park or garden · 120 m outside town
16 ha1.9 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.9 km of path
0.7 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
California Hills Park
Park or garden
11 ha2.4 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.4 km of path
Centralin the middle of Ballyfermot
Directionsto a point inside
Glenaulin Park
Park or garden
11 ha1.9 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.9 km of path
Centralin the middle of Ballyfermot
Directionsto a point inside
Drumfinn Gaels Park
Park or garden
6.0 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Ballyfermot
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 Ballyfermot 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%)
Ballyfermot100%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
No protected site lies within 5 km of Ballyfermot
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.
No site protected for nature lies within 5 km of Ballyfermot.
National Parks
Wicklow Mountains National Park is 11 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
11 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
58 km of footpaths cross Ballyfermot
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
58 km
over 8.4 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
8.7%
about 0.7 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
4
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
BallyfermotCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths6.8
048 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
BallyfermotCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Woodland8.7%
0%50%100%
Ballyfermot has more footpath per km² than 91% of Irish towns and more woodland than 92% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
4 waymarked trails start near Ballyfermot
58 km of footpaths are mapped in Ballyfermot and the kilometre around it, 6.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
Long-distance wayGreenway
Grand Canal Way117.1 km
National Famine Way168.6 km
Royal Canal Way146.3 km
Royal Canal Greenway - Drumcondra - Ashtown - Castleknock8.9 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ballyfermot: 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 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 63 | 54 | 52 | 53 | 56 | 64 | 61 | 69 | 63 | 78 | 85 | 75 |
March is the driest month (52 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 Ballyfermot →
Things to do
15 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.
Per resident, playgrounds stand out most: Ballyfermot has 3.2× as many as the typical Irish town.
Every named place, with directions
Picnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 15
The Lair0.4 km from town
DirectionsMarkievicz Playground0.5 km from town
DirectionsInflata Zone1.7 km from town
DirectionsPlus 12 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Gardens & nature
2 gardens and nature sites to visit near Ballyfermot
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
War Memorial GardensGarden · 2.1 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 Ballyfermot
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
CarnaKylemoreCherry OrchardChapelizodDeciesPalmerstonBallyfermot
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballyfermot | 100% | 208.4 | 6.8 | 0% |
| Carna 0.6 km | 100% | 17.3 | 5.4 | 0% |
| Kylemore 0.8 km | 75% | 11.0 | 4.0 | 0% |
| Cherry Orchard 1.1 km | 96% | 9.4 | 4.6 | 0% |
| Chapelizod 1.2 km | 100% | 170.9 | 7.8 | 0% |
| Decies 1.3 km | 100% | 3.3 | 4.8 | 0% |
| Palmerston 1.5 km | 94% | 78.1 | 6.9 | 0% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Ballyfermot.
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 Ballyfermot
What is the biggest park in Ballyfermot?
Phoenix Park, 704 ha (1,739 acres), just outside the built-up area. The Lawns (16 ha) is second. 5 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the neighbourhood or within 400 m of it.
What are the best walks near Ballyfermot?
4 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the Grand Canal Way, National Famine Way and Royal Canal Way.
How many people in Ballyfermot 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 Ballyfermot?
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 Ballyfermot near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 11 km south of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
What is there to do outdoors around Ballyfermot?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 2 picnic sites; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Ballyfermot’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).