First pick
Tolka Valley Park
Park or garden · 60 m outside town
56 ha11.3 km of path
2 h 30 minto walk all 11.3 km of path
1.3 km south-westfrom the centre
Tolka Greenway
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Ollamhnua · CC BY-SA 4.0100%near a park
Outdoors in Ballygall · parks, paths & countryside
Ballygall has more footpath per square kilometre than nearly 9 in 10 Irish towns
Footpaths add up to 78 km in the neighbourhood and the kilometre around it, 6.3 for every square kilometre. 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Parks and playing fields in Ballygall add up to 9.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
9.9 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
78 km
6.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Woodland
1.4%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors neighbourhood is Ballygall?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A neighbourhood of footpaths6.3 km of path per km², more than 85% 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.Room to roam9.9 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 81% of Irish towns.Countryside close byWicklow Mountains National Park starts 15 km south.
Ballygall’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by parks close to every home.
Against other towns
How Ballygall 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 space9.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
81out of 100
Footpaths6.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
86out of 100
Protected for nature0%of the land within 5 km
11out of 100
Woodland1.4%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
24out 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
Ballygall has the 10th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (10,044 to 13,675 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Kilmainham (7.7 km per km²) to Enniscorthy (0.4 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Ballygall6.3
Towns its size3.9
Co. Dublin towns5.4
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Ballygall9.9
Towns its size3.1
Co. Dublin towns7.6
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Ballygall100%
Towns its size94%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Ballygall stands out most for park space per resident: only 6 of the other 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kilmainham Dublin | 7.7 | 7.3% | 0% | – |
| 2 | Phibsborough Dublin | 7.6 | 0.4% | 0% | – |
| 3 | Kilnamanagh Dublin | 7.4 | 3.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 4 | Fettercairn Dublin | 7 | 3.5% | 0.4% | – |
| 5 | Palmerston Dublin | 6.9 | 8.6% | 0% | – |
| 6 | Firhouse Dublin | 6.8 | 4.4% | 4.2% | – |
| 7 | Ronanstown Dublin | 6.6 | 0.7% | 0% | – |
| 8 | Parnell Square Dublin | 6.6 | 0.2% | 0.1% | 5.6% |
| 9 | Ballsbridge Dublin | 6.3 | 1.3% | 1.2% | 18% |
| 10 | Ballygall Dublin | 6.3 | 1.4% | 0% | – |
| 11 | Summerhill Dublin | 6 | 0.4% | 0.2% | 8.5% |
| 12 | Foxrock Dublin | 5.8 | 5.3% | 0.2% | 25% |
| 13 | Churchtown Dublin | 5.6 | 3.3% | 0.1% | – |
| 14 | Drumcondra Dublin | 5.6 | 1.6% | 0.8% | 6.9% |
| 15 | Finglas South Dublin | 5.6 | 1.7% | 0% | – |
| 16 | Whitehall Dublin | 5.6 | 2.6% | 0.3% | – |
| 17 | Sallynoggin Dublin | 5 | 2% | 0.3% | 47% |
| 18 | Terenure Dublin | 4.9 | 2.1% | 0% | – |
| 19 | Blackrock Dublin | 4.7 | 1.4% | 0.2% | 30% |
| 20 | Ongar Dublin | 4.2 | 2.7% | 0.2% | – |
| 21 | Shankill Dublin | 3.6 | 12% | 3.8% | 28% |
| 22 | Hollystown Dublin | 3.3 | 2% | 0% | – |
| 23 | Portmarnock Dublin | 2.7 | 0.8% | 7.9% | 44% |
| 24 | Skerries Dublin | 2 | 1.7% | 0% | 53% |
| 25 | Shannon Clare | 1.8 | 3.9% | 35% | – |
| 26 | Ratoath Meath | 1.3 | 0.4% | 0% | – |
| 27 | Kildare Kildare | 1.1 | 0.4% | 1.8% | – |
| 28 | Wicklow Wicklow | 1.1 | 0.9% | 4.3% | 38% |
| 29 | Rush Dublin | 1.1 | 0.4% | 3.7% | 51% |
| 30 | Castlebar Mayo | 1 | 3.1% | 2.3% | – |
| 31 | Athy Kildare | 0.9 | 0.3% | 1.6% | – |
| 32 | Ballina Mayo | 0.8 | 3.3% | 3.5% | – |
| 33 | Tramore Waterford | 0.8 | 0.9% | 3.9% | 34% |
| 34 | Dungarvan Waterford | 0.7 | 0.7% | 1.8% | 19% |
| 35 | Arklow Wicklow | 0.7 | 5.7% | 0.3% | 34% |
| 36 | Gorey Wexford | 0.7 | 3.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 37 | Cavan Cavan | 0.6 | 6.7% | 5.1% | – |
| 38 | Longford Longford | 0.6 | 2.7% | 5.6% | – |
| 39 | Mallow Cork | 0.6 | 5.1% | 3.2% | – |
| 40 | Enniscorthy Wexford | 0.4 | 6.9% | 2.1% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Ballygall’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 Ballygall
The biggest is Tolka Valley Park, 56 ha (138 acres).
All 6 named parks and woods by size: 104 ha (257 acres) and 24 km of path
Parks & gardens 104 ha
The two biggest, Tolka Valley Park and National Botanic Gardens, are 72% of the named green space and carry 19 km of path between them.
National Botanic Gardens
Park or garden · 250 m outside town
19 ha7.4 km of path
1 h 40 minto walk all 7.4 km of path
1.5 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Albert College Park
Park or garden
14 ha3.1 km of path
40 minto walk all 3.1 km of path
1.3 km eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Johnstown Park
Park or garden
12 ha1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
Centralin the middle of Ballygall
Directionsto a point inside
Liam Mellowes Park
Park or garden · 300 m outside town
3.3 ha1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
1.9 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Greenview Community Garden
Park or garden · 200 m outside town
0.4 ha
0.8 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 Ballygall 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%)
Ballygall100%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
South Dublin Bay and River Tolka Estuary SPA is the nearest protected area, 3.2 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 Ballygall0%
Within 5 km0%
Co. Dublin towns0.2%
Typical Irish town1.8%
One protected site lies within 5 km of Ballygall. Ireland’s National Parks have a block of their own on this page; much of their land also lies inside these sites.
South Dublin Bay and River Tolka Estuary SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 22 km² · 3.2 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 15 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
15 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
Footpaths and woods in and around Ballygall
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
78 km
over 12.4 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
1.4%
about 0.2 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
4
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
BallygallCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths6.3
048 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
BallygallCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Woodland1.4%
0%50%100%
Ballygall has more footpath per km² than 86% of Irish towns and less woodland than 76% 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 Ballygall
78 km of footpaths are mapped in Ballygall and the kilometre around it, 6.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
Long-distance wayGreenway
National Famine Way168.6 km
Royal Canal Way146.3 km
Royal Canal Greenway - Drumcondra - Ashtown - Castleknock8.9 km
Royal Canal Greenway Walking Trail121.4 km
One cycling or paddling trail also starts within 5 km.
One more waymarked walk on OpenStreetMap
National
The Royal Canal Way4.7 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 Ballygall: 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 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 63 | 53 | 53 | 54 | 57 | 65 | 62 | 72 | 64 | 78 | 85 | 74 |
February is the driest month (53 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 Ballygall →
Things to do
1 viewpoint and 44 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: Ballygall has 2.9× as many as the typical Irish town.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Former swimming area1.0 km from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 44
Hamilton Gardens Public Playground1.5 km from town
DirectionsPlus 43 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog 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.
Gardens & nature
6 gardens and nature sites to visit near Ballygall
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
National Botanic GardensGarden · 0.6 km from town
Its pageWar Memorial GardensGarden · 4.1 km from town
Its pageMerrion SquareGarden · 4.4 km from town
Its pageSaint Stephen's GreenGarden · 4.6 km from town
Its pageIveagh GardensGarden · 4.9 km from town
Its pageSaint Anne's ParkGarden · 5.7 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Ballygall
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
Finglas SouthBallymunFinglas NorthGlasnevinWhitehallCabra WestBallygall
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballygall | 100% | 9.9 | 6.3 | 0% |
| Finglas South 1.6 km | 100% | 7.3 | 5.6 | 0% |
| Ballymun 1.7 km | 97% | 4.2 | 6.5 | 0% |
| Finglas North 1.8 km | 98% | 4.4 | 4.2 | 0% |
| Glasnevin 1.9 km | 100% | 12.0 | 6.6 | 0% |
| Whitehall 2.2 km | 98% | 7.2 | 5.6 | 0.3% |
| Cabra West 2.3 km | 98% | 80.8 | 7.8 | 0% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Ballygall. Cabra West has at least twice Ballygall’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 Ballygall
What is the biggest park in Ballygall?
Tolka Valley Park, 40 ha (98 acres), just outside the built-up area. National Botanic Gardens (19 ha) is second. 6 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the neighbourhood or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Ballygall?
One protected site lies within 5 km, though it covers under 1% of the land. The nearest is South Dublin Bay and River Tolka Estuary SPA, 3.2 km from the edge of town.
What are the best walks near Ballygall?
4 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the National Famine Way, Royal Canal Way and Royal Canal Greenway - Drumcondra - Ashtown - Castleknock.
How many people in Ballygall 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 Ballygall?
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 Ballygall near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 15 km south of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
What is there to do outdoors around Ballygall?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 1 viewpoint; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Ballygall’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).