First pick
Ward River Valley Park
Park or garden
59 ha10.7 km of path
2 h 20 minto walk all 10.7 km of path
Centralin the middle of Swords
Old Brackenstown Road
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: BaronNethercross · CC BY-SA 4.096%near a park
Outdoors in Swords · parks, paths & countryside
Swords borders Malahide Estuary SAC
1.1% of the land within 5 km is protected for nature, the nearest site being Malahide Estuary SAC. Wicklow Mountains National Park begins 23 km away. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 96% of residents.
Near a park
96%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
4.1 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
74 km
2.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
1.1%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Malahide Estuary SAC
Woodland
2.6%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Swords?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected land nearbyMalahide Estuary SAC reaches the edge of Swords.A park on every doorstep96% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.
Swords’ strongest suit is protected land close by, followed by parks close to every home.
Against other towns
How Swords 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 walk96%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
58out of 100
Public green space4.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
51out of 100
Footpaths2.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
55out of 100
Protected for nature1.1%of the land within 5 km
43out of 100
Woodland2.6%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
48out 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
Swords has the 20th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (18,626 to 44,135 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Esker (10.5 km per km²) to Portlaoise (0.6 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Swords2.6
Towns its size2.5
Co. Dublin towns5.4
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Swords4.1
Towns its size4.0
Co. Dublin towns7.6
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Swords96%
Towns its size95%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esker Dublin | 10.5 | 2.1% | 0.1% | – |
| 2 | Old Bawn Dublin | 8.5 | 3% | 1.8% | – |
| 3 | Dolphins Barn Dublin | 8.4 | 2.9% | 0% | – |
| 4 | Stoneybatter Dublin | 7.5 | 1.6% | 0% | – |
| 5 | Carpenterstown Dublin | 7.3 | 11% | 0% | – |
| 6 | Blanchardstown Dublin | 7 | 3.8% | 0% | – |
| 7 | Lucan Dublin | 6.8 | 7.3% | 0.2% | – |
| 8 | Mulhuddart Dublin | 6.6 | 4% | 0% | – |
| 9 | Ballymun Dublin | 6.5 | 2.6% | 0% | – |
| 10 | Clonsilla Dublin | 6.4 | 3% | 0.1% | – |
| 11 | Jobstown Dublin | 6.3 | 1.9% | 2.2% | – |
| 12 | Rathmines West Dublin | 6 | 1.7% | 0.1% | 5.8% |
| 13 | Crumlin Dublin | 5.4 | 0.8% | 0% | – |
| 14 | Clondalkin Dublin | 4.6 | 3.3% | 0% | – |
| 15 | Stepaside Dublin | 4.3 | 15% | 6.4% | 5.9% |
| 16 | Sandymount Dublin | 3.6 | 1.2% | 3.6% | 35% |
| 17 | Clontarf East Dublin | 3.1 | 3% | 6.1% | 38% |
| 18 | Kilkenny Kilkenny | 3.1 | 3.8% | 2.4% | – |
| 19 | Beaumont Dublin | 2.9 | 2% | 3.4% | 9.7% |
| 20 | Swords Dublin | 2.6 | 2.6% | 1.1% | – |
| 21 | Celbridge Kildare | 2.4 | 6.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 22 | Greystones-Delgany Wicklow | 2.2 | 11% | 5% | 35% |
| 23 | Bray Wicklow | 2.1 | 13% | 3.4% | 37% |
| 24 | Balbriggan Dublin | 2.1 | 1.6% | 0% | 37% |
| 25 | Naas Kildare | 1.9 | 1.4% | 0% | – |
| 26 | Navan Meath | 1.7 | 4.7% | 2.2% | – |
| 27 | Douglas Cork | 1.7 | 4.6% | 5% | – |
| 28 | Dundalk Louth | 1.4 | 1.7% | 3.6% | 23% |
| 29 | Ballincollig Cork | 1.3 | 8.4% | 0% | – |
| 30 | Athlone Westmeath | 1.3 | 6.1% | 14% | – |
| 31 | Sligo Sligo | 1.2 | 6.1% | 9.5% | 18% |
| 32 | Tralee Kerry | 1.1 | 2.4% | 21% | 6.4% |
| 33 | Wexford Wexford | 1.1 | 3.8% | 13% | 22% |
| 34 | Drogheda Louth | 1 | 1.8% | 3.8% | 5.5% |
| 35 | Carlow Carlow | 0.9 | 1.3% | 2% | – |
| 36 | Mullingar Westmeath | 0.8 | 8.9% | 3.3% | – |
| 37 | Ennis Clare | 0.7 | 9.6% | 7.8% | – |
| 38 | Letterkenny Donegal | 0.7 | 4.9% | 4.3% | 5.3% |
| 39 | Newbridge Kildare | 0.6 | 1.6% | 4.9% | – |
| 40 | Portlaoise Laois | 0.6 | 2.6% | 1.1% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Swords’ 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 Swords
The biggest is Ward River Valley Park, 59 ha (145 acres).
All 12 named parks and woods by size: 104 ha (257 acres) and 20 km of path
Parks & gardens 104 ha
The two biggest, Ward River Valley Park and Balheary Park, are 71% of the named green space and carry 14 km of path between them. 4 of the 12 are under 2 ha.
Balheary Park
Park or garden
15 ha3 km of path
40 minto walk all 3 km of path
1.6 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Emmaus Retreat and Conference Centre
Park or garden
8.1 ha
2.0 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Swords Town Park
Park or garden
4.4 ha1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
0.9 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Rathbeale Archaeological Park
Park or garden
4.1 ha1.4 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.4 km of path
1.6 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Broadmeadow Linear Park
Park or garden
4.4 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
1.8 km northfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Castle Park
Park or garden
3.6 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
0.8 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
The Green
Park or garden
2.4 ha0.6 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
0.9 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
All 12 named parks and green spaces
Ward River Valley ParkPark or garden · 59 ha · 10.7 km of path
DirectionsBalheary ParkPark or garden · 15 ha · 3 km of path
DirectionsEmmaus Retreat and Conference CentrePark or garden · 8.1 ha
DirectionsSwords Town ParkPark or garden · 4.4 ha · 1.6 km of path
DirectionsRathbeale Archaeological ParkPark or garden · 4.1 ha · 1.4 km of path
DirectionsBroadmeadow Linear ParkPark or garden · 4.4 ha · 1.2 km of path
DirectionsCastle ParkPark or garden · 3.6 ha · 1.2 km of path
DirectionsThe GreenPark or garden · 2.4 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsCedar GreenPark or garden · 2.0 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsAbbeylea GreenPark or garden · 0.6 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsGlasmore Parks GreenPark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsJugback GreenPark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsNamed 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
Almost everyone in Swords 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 (96%)Further (3.7%)
Swords96%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
About 2,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
The 5 protected sites within 5 km of Swords
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 Swords0.5%
Within 5 km1.1%
Co. Dublin towns0.2%
Typical Irish town1.8%
5 protected sites lie within 5 km of Swords. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 2.1% 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.
Malahide Estuary SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 7.9 km² · reaches Swords
NPWS pageMalahide Estuary SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 7.7 km² · reaches Swords
NPWS pageRogerstown Estuary SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 5.4 km² · 3.2 km from the edge
NPWS pageRogerstown Estuary SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 6.5 km² · 3.7 km from the edge
NPWS pageNorth-West Irish Sea cSPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 2,333 km² · 4.5 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 23 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
23 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
74 km of footpaths cross Swords
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
74 km
over 28.3 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
2.6%
about 0.7 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
SwordsCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths2.6
03.57 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
SwordsCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Woodland2.6%
0%50%100%
Swords has more footpath per km² than 55% of Irish towns and less woodland than 52% 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 Swords
74 km of footpaths are mapped in Swords and the kilometre around it, 2.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
No waymarked trail starts within 5 km of Swords; 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 Swords: 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) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 63 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 57 | 64 | 61 | 72 | 64 | 79 | 84 | 74 |
February 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 84 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. The climate in Swords →
Things to do
28 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
Playgrounds 28
Castle Playgroundin town
DirectionsSwords Manor Playgroundin town
DirectionsPlus 26 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 2
Plus 2 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Gardens & nature
A garden or nature site to visit near Swords
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
Saint Stephen's GreenGarden · 12 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Swords
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
Kinsealy-DrinanMalahideSantryDonabateDarndaleKilmoreSwords
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Swords. Malahide, Santry and Donabate have at least twice Swords’ 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 Swords
What is the biggest park in Swords?
Ward River Valley Park, 59 ha (145 acres). Balheary Park (15 ha) is second. 13 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Swords?
Yes: 1.1% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 5 sites. Malahide Estuary SAC reaches Swords.
How many people in Swords live near a park?
96% 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 Swords?
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 Swords near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 23 km south of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
Sources
Where Swords’ 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).