First pick
Markievicz Park
Park or garden
5.0 ha1.5 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.5 km of path
Centralin the middle of Decies
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: JPMcCann80 · CC0100%near a park
Outdoors in Decies · parks, paths & countryside
4 waymarked trails start within 5 km of Decies
Wicklow Mountains National Park begins 10 km away. 28 km of footpaths run through the neighbourhood and the kilometre around it, 4.8 for every square kilometre. There are 3.3 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Decies, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
3.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
28 km
4.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Woodland
7.2%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors neighbourhood is Decies?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Countryside close byWicklow Mountains National Park starts 10 km south.
Decies’ strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by Wicklow Mountains National Park close by.
Against other towns
How Decies 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 space3.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
43out of 100
Footpaths4.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
73out of 100
Protected for nature0%of the land within 5 km
11out of 100
Woodland7.2%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
86out 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
Decies has the 7th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (2,510 to 3,148 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
Decies4.8
Towns its size0.7
Co. Dublin towns5.4
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Decies3.3
Towns its size3.8
Co. Dublin towns7.6
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Decies100%
Towns its size83%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Decies stands out most for path per km²: only 6 of the other 39 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 21 of the others do better.
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 | Kylemore Dublin | 4 | 3% | 0% | – |
| 10 | Edenmore Dublin | 2.8 | 3.6% | 5.9% | 24% |
| 11 | Ballynanty Limerick | 2.5 | 5.7% | 12% | – |
| 12 | Claddagh Galway | 2.4 | 0.2% | 17% | 46% |
| 13 | Murrough Galway | 2.3 | 5.1% | 10% | 26% |
| 14 | Grange Upper Waterford | 1.4 | 1.5% | 6.6% | – |
| 15 | Blarney Cork | 1.4 | 14% | 0% | – |
| 16 | Kilbarry Waterford | 1.3 | 1.6% | 5.1% | – |
| 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 | Kinnegad Westmeath | 0.3 | 4.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 28 | Donegal Donegal | 0.3 | 4% | 4.1% | 12% |
| 29 | Boyle Roscommon | 0.3 | 3.2% | 0% | – |
| 30 | Bailieborough Cavan | 0.3 | 10% | 0% | – |
| 31 | Castleisland Kerry | 0.3 | 1.7% | 12% | – |
| 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 Decies’ 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 Decies
The biggest is Markievicz Park, 5.0 ha (12 acres).
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 Decies 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%)
Decies100%
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 Decies
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 Decies.
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
28 km of footpaths cross Decies
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
28 km
over 5.8 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
7.2%
about 0.4 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
4
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
DeciesCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths4.8
03.57 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
DeciesCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Woodland7.2%
0%50%100%
Decies has more footpath per km² than 73% of Irish towns and more woodland than 86% 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 Decies
28 km of footpaths are mapped in Decies and the kilometre around it, 4.8 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 Decies: 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 | 52 | 55 | 63 | 59 | 67 | 62 | 77 | 85 | 74 |
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 Decies →
Things to do
1 viewpoint and 24 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: Decies has 6.8× as many as the typical Irish town.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Toni's1.5 km from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 24
Markievicz Playgroundin town
DirectionsThe Lair0.2 km from town
Directionssoft area1.6 km from town
Directionsgames room1.6 km from town
Directionskindergarden playground1.6 km from town
DirectionsInflata Zone1.9 km from town
DirectionsPlus 18 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 Decies
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
War Memorial GardensGarden · 1.4 km from town
Its pageSaint Stephen's GreenGarden · 5.3 km from town
Its pageNational Botanic GardensGarden · 5.5 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Decies
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
KylemoreChapelizodInchicoreBallyfermotCarnaKilmainhamDecies
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decies | 100% | 3.3 | 4.8 | 0% |
| Kylemore 0.5 km | 75% | 11.0 | 4.0 | 0% |
| Chapelizod 0.9 km | 100% | 170.9 | 7.8 | 0% |
| Inchicore 1.1 km | 75% | 7.8 | 4.5 | 0% |
| Ballyfermot 1.3 km | 100% | 208.4 | 6.8 | 0% |
| Carna 1.4 km | 100% | 17.3 | 5.4 | 0% |
| Kilmainham 1.7 km | 100% | 76.5 | 7.7 | 0% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Decies. Kylemore, Chapelizod and Inchicore have at least twice Decies’ 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 Decies
What is the biggest park in Decies?
Markievicz Park, 5.0 ha (12 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the neighbourhood or within 400 m of it.
What are the best walks near Decies?
4 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the Grand Canal Way, National Famine Way and Royal Canal Way.
How many people in Decies 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 Decies?
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 Decies 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.
What is there to do outdoors around Decies?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 1 viewpoint and 1 picnic site; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Decies’ 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).