First pick
Newbridge House and Demesne
Park or garden
140 ha11.6 km of path
2 h 35 minto walk all 11.6 km of path
1.4 km westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Andrew Mcmillan · CC BY 3.090%near a park
Outdoors in Donabate · parks, paths & countryside
Donabate has more park space per resident than 9 in 10 Irish towns
Parks and playing fields in Donabate add up to 15.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1. The sea makes up 32% of the area within 5 km. Wicklow Mountains National Park begins 29 km away.
Near a park
90%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
15.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
33 km
2.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
2.8%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Rogerstown Estuary SAC
Woodland
6.8%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
The sea
32%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Donabate?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam15.2 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 90% of Irish towns.On the coast32% of the area within 5 km is sea.
Donabate’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by the sea.
Against other towns
How Donabate 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 walk90%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
46out of 100
Public green space15.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
91out of 100
Footpaths2.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
56out of 100
Protected for nature2.8%of the land within 5 km
56out of 100
Woodland6.8%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
83out of 100
The sea32%of the area within 5 km
90out 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
Donabate has the 18th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (8,505 to 11,130 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Cabra West (7.8 km per km²) to Tuam (0.4 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Donabate2.8
Towns its size2.0
Co. Dublin towns5.4
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Donabate15.2
Towns its size4.4
Co. Dublin towns7.6
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Donabate90%
Towns its size93%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Donabate stands out most for park space per resident: only 4 of the other 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cabra West Dublin | 7.8 | 4.5% | 0% | – |
| 2 | Kilmainham Dublin | 7.7 | 7.3% | 0% | – |
| 3 | Sandyford Dublin | 7.5 | 4.8% | 0.3% | 6.2% |
| 4 | Palmerston Dublin | 6.9 | 8.6% | 0% | – |
| 5 | Ronanstown Dublin | 6.6 | 0.7% | 0% | – |
| 6 | Parnell Square Dublin | 6.6 | 0.2% | 0.1% | 5.6% |
| 7 | Glasnevin Dublin | 6.6 | 1.2% | 0% | – |
| 8 | Killiney Dublin | 6 | 7.7% | 0.5% | 45% |
| 9 | Churchtown Dublin | 5.6 | 3.3% | 0.1% | – |
| 10 | Booterstown Dublin | 5.4 | 2.2% | 0.2% | 29% |
| 11 | Terenure Dublin | 4.9 | 2.1% | 0% | – |
| 12 | Monkstown Dublin | 4.2 | 0.8% | 0.3% | 38% |
| 13 | Finglas North Dublin | 4.2 | 1.2% | 0% | – |
| 14 | Shankill Dublin | 3.6 | 12% | 3.8% | 28% |
| 15 | Donaghmede Dublin | 3.5 | 2.7% | 6.2% | 31% |
| 16 | Kilmore Dublin | 3.1 | 2.2% | 3.5% | 9.5% |
| 17 | Raheny Dublin | 3.1 | 2.8% | 11% | 46% |
| 18 | Donabate Dublin | 2.8 | 6.8% | 2.8% | 32% |
| 19 | Portmarnock Dublin | 2.7 | 0.8% | 7.9% | 44% |
| 20 | Hollyhill and Ballincolly Cork | 2.1 | 7.2% | 0.5% | – |
| 21 | Skerries Dublin | 2 | 1.7% | 0% | 53% |
| 22 | Shannon Clare | 1.8 | 3.9% | 35% | – |
| 23 | Kilcock Kildare | 1.7 | 2.8% | 0% | – |
| 24 | Ballyvolane Cork | 1.6 | 6.7% | 2.8% | – |
| 25 | Trim Meath | 1.3 | 0.9% | 1.5% | – |
| 26 | Waterford City Centre Waterford | 1.3 | 1.5% | 6% | – |
| 27 | Ratoath Meath | 1.3 | 0.4% | 0% | – |
| 28 | Lusk Dublin | 1.1 | 0.6% | 1.3% | 6.4% |
| 29 | Kildare Kildare | 1.1 | 0.4% | 1.8% | – |
| 30 | Rush Dublin | 1.1 | 0.4% | 3.7% | 51% |
| 31 | Youghal Cork | 0.9 | 0.6% | 13% | 29% |
| 32 | Athy Kildare | 0.9 | 0.3% | 1.6% | – |
| 33 | New Ross Wexford | 0.9 | 7.3% | 5.4% | – |
| 34 | Ballina Mayo | 0.8 | 3.3% | 3.5% | – |
| 35 | Portarlington Laois | 0.8 | 2.5% | 1.6% | – |
| 36 | Dungarvan Waterford | 0.7 | 0.7% | 1.8% | 19% |
| 37 | Grantstown and Ballinakill Waterford | 0.6 | 4.5% | 10% | – |
| 38 | Longford Longford | 0.6 | 2.7% | 5.6% | – |
| 39 | Nenagh Tipperary | 0.4 | 1.8% | 0% | – |
| 40 | Tuam Galway | 0.4 | 1.4% | 2.7% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Donabate’s urban area.
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 Donabate
The biggest is Newbridge House and Demesne, 140 ha (347 acres).
Reilly's Hill
Wood or forest · 210 m outside town
15 ha0.4 km of path
1.5 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
9 in 10 Donabate residents live 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 (90%)Further (9.6%)
Donabate90%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
About 900 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
2.8% of the land around Donabate is protected for nature
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 Donabate0%
Within 5 km2.8%
Co. Dublin towns0.2%
Typical Irish town1.8%
6 protected sites lie within 5 km of Donabate. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 3.9% of the land within 5 km as well; many have been proposed since 1995 and aren’t counted here. Ireland’s National Parks have a block of their own on this page; much of their land also lies inside these sites.
Rogerstown Estuary SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 5.4 km² · 0.2 km from the edge
NPWS pageRogerstown Estuary SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 6.5 km² · 0.3 km from the edge
NPWS pageMalahide Estuary SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 7.9 km² · 0.4 km from the edge
NPWS pageMalahide Estuary SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 7.7 km² · 0.4 km from the edge
NPWS pageNorth-West Irish Sea cSPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 2,333 km² · 1.7 km from the edge
NPWS pageRockabill to Dalkey Island SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 273 km² · 4.1 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 29 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
29 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
33 km of footpaths cross Donabate
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
33 km
over 12 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
6.8%
about 0.8 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
DonabateCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths2.8
03.57 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
DonabateCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Woodland6.8%
0%50%100%
Donabate has more footpath per km² than 56% of Irish towns and more woodland than 83% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
Footpaths in and around Donabate
33 km of footpaths are mapped in Donabate and the kilometre around it, 2.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
No waymarked trail starts within 5 km of Donabate; its footpaths are counted above.
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 Donabate: May to July and 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 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 58 | 48 | 49 | 49 | 53 | 59 | 58 | 68 | 61 | 75 | 80 | 68 |
February is the driest month (48 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 80 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. The climate in Donabate →
The coast
Donabate is a coastal town
32% of the area within 5 km of Donabate is sea. 4 bathing waters are within 5 km, each with its latest class.
Portrane, the Brook BeachGood (2025) · 1.7 km from town
beaches.ieDonabate, Balcarrick BeachExcellent (2025) · 1.9 km from town
beaches.ieRush, South BeachGood (2025) · 3.4 km from town
beaches.ieRush, North BeachExcellent (2025) · 4.9 km from town
beaches.ie2 of the 4 are rated excellent, Donabate, Balcarrick Beach among them.
Bathing water classes: EPA, latest season (CC BY 4.0). Sea: the area outside CSO and ONS land outlines. Check today’s water quality on beaches.ie
Things to do
6 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.
Every named place, with directions
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 6
Newbridge House Playground0.6 km from town
DirectionsPlus 5 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.
Next door
Next to Donabate
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
PortraneLuskMalahideRushKinsealy-DrinanSwordsDonabate
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
In Lusk, 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park, more than here.
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 Donabate
What is the biggest park in Donabate?
Newbridge House and Demesne, 140 ha (347 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Donabate?
Yes: 2.8% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 6 sites. The nearest is Rogerstown Estuary SAC, 0.2 km from the edge of town.
Where can you swim near Donabate?
The nearest bathing water is Portrane, the Brook Beach, 1.7 km from town: Good (2025). Check beaches.ie before swimming: a notice can close a beach for the day.
How many people in Donabate live near a park?
90% 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 Donabate?
On the town’s 1991–2020 averages and its daylight: May to July and September, when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light for the place.
Is Donabate near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 29 km south-west of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
What is there to do outdoors around Donabate?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 1 picnic site; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Donabate’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
- Bathing water. EPA: bathing water quality, 2025 season
- 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).