First pick
Terryland Forest Park
Park or garden
31 ha4.8 km of path
1 h 5 minto walk all 4.8 km of path
2.0 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Mike Searle · CC BY-SA 2.064%near a park
Outdoors in Castlegar · parks, paths & countryside
Parks and walks in Castlegar
There are 8.3 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Castlegar, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town. Burren National Park begins 21 km away. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 64% of residents.
Near a park
64%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
8.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
31 km
1.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
16%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Galway Bay Complex SAC
Woodland
1.4%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
The sea
16%
of the area within 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors neighbourhood is Castlegar?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Hills with a view5 mapped viewpoints, about 32× as many per resident as the typical Irish town.Parks can be a walk away36% of residents live more than 400 m from a park or playing field.
Castlegar’s strongest suit is its views. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Against other towns
How Castlegar 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 walk64%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
13out of 100
Public green space8.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
75out of 100
Footpaths1.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
48out of 100
Protected for nature16%of the land within 5 km
96out of 100
Woodland1.4%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
25out of 100
The sea16%of the area within 5 km
79out 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
Castlegar has the 18th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (3,744 to 5,000 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Chapelizod (7.8 km per km²) to Charleville (0 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Castlegar1.8
Towns its size1.6
Co. Galway towns2.1
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Castlegar8.3
Towns its size5.4
Co. Galway towns5.5
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Castlegar64%
Towns its size79%
Co. Galway towns80%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Castlegar stands out most for park space per resident: only 13 of the other 39 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 32 of the others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapelizod Dublin | 7.8 | 11% | 0% | – |
| 2 | Gurranebraher Cork | 7.4 | 1.6% | 0.5% | – |
| 3 | St Luke's Cork | 6 | 3.5% | 2.8% | – |
| 4 | Farranree Cork | 6 | 3% | 0.5% | – |
| 5 | Montenotte Cork | 5.5 | 5.6% | 3.5% | – |
| 6 | Newcastle Galway | 5.4 | 1.7% | 15% | 29% |
| 7 | Shanakiel Cork | 5.3 | 5.7% | 0.1% | – |
| 8 | Tramore Cork | 4.7 | 4.6% | 3.7% | – |
| 9 | Saggart Dublin | 4.6 | 2% | 0% | – |
| 10 | Woodquay and Nuns Island Galway | 4.5 | 0.7% | 14% | 32% |
| 11 | Dangan Galway | 4.3 | 3.9% | 18% | 21% |
| 12 | Mervue Galway | 4.3 | 3.6% | 11% | 25% |
| 13 | Bohernabreena Dublin | 4.3 | 2.9% | 5% | – |
| 14 | Tivoli Cork | 4 | 7% | 4.8% | – |
| 15 | Fair Hill Cork | 4 | 4.4% | 0.4% | – |
| 16 | Prospect and Newtown Pery Limerick | 3.6 | 1.5% | 9.9% | – |
| 17 | Poleberry Waterford | 2.4 | 0.6% | 7.2% | – |
| 18 | Castlegar Galway | 1.8 | 1.4% | 16% | 16% |
| 19 | Rathbane Limerick | 1.8 | 1.1% | 6% | – |
| 20 | Glanmire Cork | 1.7 | 13% | 6.6% | – |
| 21 | Kilcoole Wicklow | 1.5 | 4.3% | 5.8% | 37% |
| 22 | Glounthaune Cork | 1.2 | 8% | 6.1% | – |
| 23 | Athenry Galway | 1.2 | 1.2% | 0% | – |
| 24 | Lehenagh Cork | 1.2 | 2.5% | 0.3% | – |
| 25 | Newcastle Dublin | 1.1 | 0.9% | 0% | – |
| 26 | Grange Waterford | 1 | 0.8% | 5% | – |
| 27 | Castleblayney Monaghan | 1 | 3.8% | 0% | – |
| 28 | Kilcullen Kildare | 0.8 | 5.3% | 0% | – |
| 29 | Kill Kildare | 0.8 | 2.1% | 0% | – |
| 30 | Birr Offaly | 0.8 | 14% | 5.2% | – |
| 31 | Courtown Wexford | 0.6 | 8.6% | 0% | 37% |
| 32 | Claremorris Mayo | 0.4 | 7.1% | 0% | – |
| 33 | Macroom Cork | 0.4 | 4.9% | 3.9% | – |
| 34 | Duleek Meath | 0.4 | 0.1% | 1.3% | – |
| 35 | Cashel Tipperary | 0.4 | 1.8% | 1.4% | – |
| 36 | Listowel Kerry | 0.4 | 2.3% | 4.8% | – |
| 37 | Mitchelstown Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 0% | – |
| 38 | Mountmellick Laois | 0.3 | 0.5% | 3.4% | – |
| 39 | Carrick-On-Shannon Leitrim | 0.2 | 2% | 0% | – |
| 40 | Charleville Cork | 0 | 0.3% | 0.2% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Castlegar’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 Castlegar
The biggest is Terryland Forest Park, 31 ha (76 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
6 in 10 Castlegar 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 (64%)Further (36%)
Castlegar64%
Co. Galway towns80%
Typical Irish town92%
About 1,600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
Protected sites cover 16% of the land within 5 km of Castlegar
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 Castlegar0%
Within 5 km16%
Co. Galway towns14%
Typical Irish town1.8%
5 protected sites lie within 5 km of Castlegar. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 12% 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.
Galway Bay Complex SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 147 km² · 0.3 km from the edge
NPWS pageInner Galway Bay SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 135 km² · 0.3 km from the edge
NPWS pageLough Corrib SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 257 km² · 0.4 km from the edge
NPWS pageLough Corrib SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 176 km² · 2.2 km from the edge
NPWS pageMoycullen Bogs NHANatural Heritage Area · 36 km² · 3.4 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
Burren National Park is 21 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
Burren National Park
21 km south21 km²
National Park
Connemara National Park
58 km north-west21 km²
National Park
Wild Nephin National Park
81 km north171 km²
3 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Castlegar.
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
31 km of footpaths cross Castlegar
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
31 km
over 17.1 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
1.4%
about 0.2 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
CastlegarCo. Galway townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths1.8
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
CastlegarCo. Galway townsTypical Irish town
Woodland1.4%
0%50%100%
Castlegar has less footpath per km² than 52% of Irish towns and less woodland than 75% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Castlegar
31 km of footpaths are mapped in Castlegar and the kilometre around it, 1.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
One more waymarked walk on OpenStreetMap
Local
Slí na Sláinte0.8 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 Castlegar: 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) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 124 | 102 | 94 | 74 | 77 | 84 | 96 | 109 | 102 | 123 | 137 | 144 |
April is the driest month (74 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 144 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Castlegar →
The coast
Castlegar is near the sea
16% of the area within 5 km of Castlegar is sea. 3 bathing waters are within 5 km, each with its latest class.
Ballyloughane BeachGood (2025) · 2.1 km from town
beaches.ieGrattan Road BeachSufficient (2025) · 3.2 km from town
beaches.ieSalthill BeachExcellent (2025) · 4.7 km from town
beaches.ieOne of the 3 is rated excellent: Salthill Beach.
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
5 viewpoints and 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.
5Viewpoints31.7× the typical Irish town, per resident17Playgrounds3× the typical Irish town, per resident4Slipways
Per resident, viewpoints stand out most: Castlegar has 31.7× as many as the typical Irish town.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 5
Salmon Weir Bridge1.3 km from town
DirectionsPlus 4 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 17
Kennedy Park Playground1.1 km from town
DirectionsMary Byrne Playground1.9 km from town
DirectionsCladdagh Playground2.0 km from town
DirectionsPlus 14 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 4
Plus 4 slipways 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 Castlegar
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
Eyre SquareGarden · 1.1 km from town
Its pageCircle of Life National Organ Donor Commemorative GardenGarden · 4.1 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Castlegar
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
Ballinfoile and TerrylandMervueEyre SquareWoodquay and Nuns IslandMurroughDanganCastlegar
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlegar | 64% | 8.3 | 1.8 | 16% |
| Ballinfoile and Terryland 1.1 km | 68% | 7.4 | 1.7 | 22% |
| Mervue 1.7 km | 89% | 17.4 | 4.3 | 11% |
| Eyre Square 2.5 km | 100% | 13.0 | 3.4 | 14% |
| Woodquay and Nuns Island 2.5 km | 100% | 9.6 | 4.5 | 14% |
| Murrough 3.1 km | 100% | 13.2 | 2.3 | 10% |
| Dangan 3.1 km | 81% | 5.4 | 4.3 | 18% |
In Eyre Square, 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park, more than here. Mervue has at least twice Castlegar’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 Castlegar
What is the biggest park in Castlegar?
Terryland Forest Park, 31 ha (76 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the neighbourhood or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Castlegar?
Yes: 16% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 5 sites. The nearest is Galway Bay Complex SAC, 0.3 km from the edge of town.
Where can you swim near Castlegar?
The nearest bathing water is Ballyloughane Beach, 2.1 km from town: Good (2025). Check beaches.ie before swimming: a notice can close a beach for the day.
How many people in Castlegar live near a park?
64% 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 Castlegar?
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 Castlegar near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Burren National Park, 21 km south of the town’s edge; it covers about 21 km². 2 more are within 100 km.
What is there to do outdoors around Castlegar?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 5 viewpoints; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Castlegar’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).