First pick
The Lawns
Park or garden
16 ha1.9 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.9 km of path
Centralin the middle of Carna
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Tdr112 · CC BY-SA 4.0100%near a park
Outdoors in Carna · parks, paths & countryside
Carna has more park space per resident than 9 in 10 Irish towns
Parks and playing fields in Carna add up to 17.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 100% of residents. 4 waymarked trails start within 5 km of Carna, among them the Grand Canal Way and National Famine Way.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
17.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
38 km
5.4 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Woodland
1.7%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors neighbourhood is Carna?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam17.3 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 92% of Irish towns.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.A neighbourhood of footpaths5.4 km of path per km², more than 78% of Irish towns. The typical town has 2.1.Countryside close byWicklow Mountains National Park starts 10 km south.
Carna’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by parks close to every home.
Against other towns
How Carna 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 space17.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
93out of 100
Footpaths5.4 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
78out of 100
Protected for nature0%of the land within 5 km
11out of 100
Woodland1.7%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
32out 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
Carna has the 4th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (2,566 to 3,263 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
Carna5.4
Towns its size0.7
Co. Dublin towns5.4
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Carna17.3
Towns its size3.6
Co. Dublin towns7.6
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Carna100%
Towns its size85%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Carna 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 | 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 | Edenmore Dublin | 2.8 | 3.6% | 5.9% | 24% |
| 10 | Ballynanty Limerick | 2.5 | 5.7% | 12% | – |
| 11 | Claddagh Galway | 2.4 | 0.2% | 17% | 46% |
| 12 | Murrough Galway | 2.3 | 5.1% | 10% | 26% |
| 13 | Blarney Cork | 1.4 | 14% | 0% | – |
| 14 | Kilbarry Waterford | 1.3 | 1.6% | 5.1% | – |
| 15 | Crosshaven Cork | 1.2 | 8.9% | 0.4% | 44% |
| 16 | Virginia Cavan | 1.1 | 18% | 0.2% | – |
| 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 | Rathangan Kildare | 0.5 | 4.5% | 0% | – |
| 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 | Kanturk Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 5.1% | – |
| 33 | Ballinrobe Mayo | 0.3 | 0.5% | 11% | – |
| 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 Carna’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 Carna
The biggest is The Lawns, 16 ha (38 acres).
All 4 named parks and woods by size: 39 ha (97 acres) and 8 km of path
Parks & gardens 39 ha
The two biggest, The Lawns and California Hills Park, are 68% of the named green space and carry 4 km of path between them.
California Hills Park
Park or garden · 370 m outside town
11 ha2.4 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.4 km of path
1.2 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Cherry Orchard Park
Park or garden · 280 m outside town
6.6 ha2.1 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.1 km of path
0.9 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Drumfinn Gaels Park
Park or garden · 250 m outside town
6.0 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
0.7 km northfrom 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 Carna 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%)
Carna100%
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 Carna
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 Carna.
National Parks
Wicklow Mountains National Park is 10 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
10 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
38 km of footpaths cross Carna
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
38 km
over 7 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
1.7%
about 0.1 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
4
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
CarnaCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths5.4
03.57 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
CarnaCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Woodland1.7%
0%50%100%
Carna has more footpath per km² than 78% of Irish towns and less woodland than 68% 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 Carna
38 km of footpaths are mapped in Carna and the kilometre around it, 5.4 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 Carna: 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 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 63 | 54 | 52 | 53 | 55 | 63 | 59 | 67 | 62 | 77 | 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 Carna →
Things to do
17 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: Carna has 4.5× as many as the typical Irish town.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 17
The Lair0.2 km from town
DirectionsMarkievicz Playground0.9 km from town
DirectionsInflata Zone1.2 km from town
DirectionsPlus 14 playgrounds 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 Carna
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
War Memorial GardensGarden · 2.6 km from town
Its pageSaint Stephen's GreenGarden · 6.4 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Carna
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
Cherry OrchardBallyfermotKylemoreDeciesPalmerstonChapelizodCarna
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carna | 100% | 17.3 | 5.4 | 0% |
| Cherry Orchard 0.5 km | 96% | 9.4 | 4.6 | 0% |
| Ballyfermot 0.6 km | 100% | 208.4 | 6.8 | 0% |
| Kylemore 0.9 km | 75% | 11.0 | 4.0 | 0% |
| Decies 1.4 km | 100% | 3.3 | 4.8 | 0% |
| Palmerston 1.6 km | 94% | 78.1 | 6.9 | 0% |
| Chapelizod 1.7 km | 100% | 170.9 | 7.8 | 0% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Carna. Ballyfermot, Palmerston and Chapelizod have at least twice Carna’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 Carna
What is the biggest park in Carna?
The Lawns, 16 ha (38 acres). California Hills Park (11 ha) is second. 4 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the neighbourhood or within 400 m of it.
What are the best walks near Carna?
4 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the Grand Canal Way, National Famine Way and Royal Canal Way.
How many people in Carna 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 Carna?
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 Carna near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 10 km south of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
Sources
Where Carna’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).