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Galway 2009-09-12 05Photo: paddy (Patrick-Emil Zörner) · CC BY-SA 3.0
81%near a park
Outdoors in Dangan · parks, paths & countryside

Lough Corrib SAC reaches the edge of Dangan

18% of the land within 5 km is protected for nature, the nearest site being Lough Corrib SAC. The sea makes up 21% of the area within 5 km. 45 km of footpaths run through the neighbourhood and the kilometre around it, 4.3 for every square kilometre.

Near a park
81%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
5.4 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
45 km
4.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
18%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Lough Corrib SAC
Woodland
3.9%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
The sea
21%
of the area within 5 km
Character

What kind of outdoors neighbourhood is Dangan?

Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.

Dangan’s strongest suit is protected land close by, followed by its views.

Against other towns

How Dangan 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 walk81%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
typical 92%0100
34out of 100
Public green space5.4 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
typical 4.1 ha010+
62out of 100
Footpaths4.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
typical 2.1 km010+
69out of 100
Protected for nature18%of the land within 5 km
none100
97out of 100
Woodland3.9%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
typical 2.7%040
67out of 100
The sea21%of the area within 5 km
none80
83out 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

Dangan has the 13th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size

The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (4,032 to 5,319 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.

Dangan 4.3
ChapelizodCarrick-On-Shannon
04.59 km per km²

From Chapelizod (7.8 km per km²) to Carrick-On-Shannon (0.2 km per km²).

Footpath, km per km²
Dangan4.3
Towns its size1.8
Co. Galway towns2.1
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Dangan5.4
Towns its size6.1
Co. Galway towns5.5
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Dangan81%
Towns its size80%
Co. Galway towns80%
Typical Irish town92%

Against towns its size, Dangan stands out most for path per km²: only 12 of the other 39 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 20 of the others do better.

Every town in the comparison
TownPaths (km/km²)WoodlandProtectedThe sea
1Chapelizod Dublin7.811%0%–
2St Stephen's Green Dublin7.40.9%0.3%11%
3Gurranebraher Cork7.41.6%0.5%–
4St Luke's Cork63.5%2.8%–
5Ballyboden Dublin5.94.3%0.5%–
6Montenotte Cork5.55.6%3.5%–
7Newcastle Galway5.41.7%15%29%
8Tramore Cork4.74.6%3.7%–
9Knockrea Cork4.73.1%3.7%–
10Saggart Dublin4.62%0%–
11Woodquay and Nuns Island Galway4.50.7%14%32%
12Inchicore Dublin4.53.9%0%–
13Dangan Galway4.33.9%18%21%
14Mervue Galway4.33.6%11%25%
15Bohernabreena Dublin4.32.9%5%–
16Tivoli Cork47%4.8%–
17Fair Hill Cork44.4%0.4%–
18Prospect and Newtown Pery Limerick3.61.5%9.9%–
19Poleberry Waterford2.40.6%7.2%–
20Castlegar Galway1.81.4%16%16%
21Rathbane Limerick1.81.1%6%–
22Glanmire Cork1.713%6.6%–
23Kilcoole Wicklow1.54.3%5.8%37%
24Glounthaune Cork1.28%6.1%–
25Athenry Galway1.21.2%0%–
26Lehenagh Cork1.22.5%0.3%–
27Newcastle Dublin1.10.9%0%–
28Ballybeg Waterford11.2%4.1%–
29Grange Waterford10.8%5%–
30Birr Offaly0.814%5.2%–
31Monasterevin Kildare0.616%2%–
32Courtown Wexford0.68.6%0%37%
33Macroom Cork0.44.9%3.9%–
34Duleek Meath0.40.1%1.3%–
35Cashel Tipperary0.41.8%1.4%–
36Listowel Kerry0.42.3%4.8%–
37Mountmellick Laois0.30.5%3.4%–
38Tullow Carlow0.30.4%1.7%–
39Clonakilty Cork0.31.8%3.3%7.1%
40Carrick-On-Shannon Leitrim0.22%0%–
The map

Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside

Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Dangan’s neighbourhood.

123
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 Dangan

The biggest is Westside Park, 7.2 ha (18 acres).

First pick

Westside Park

Park or garden
7.2 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
1.0 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside

Corrib Park

Park or garden · 120 m outside town
4.4 ha1.7 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.7 km of path
0.7 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside

Laurel Park

Park or garden
3.2 ha
Centralin the middle of Dangan
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

8 in 10 Dangan 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 (81%)Further (19%)
Dangan81%
Co. Galway towns80%
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

The 5 protected sites within 5 km of Dangan

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 Dangan11%
Within 5 km18%
Co. Galway towns14%
Typical Irish town1.8%

5 protected sites lie within 5 km of Dangan. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 9.1% 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.

Lough Corrib SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 257 km² · reaches Dangan
NPWS page
Lough Corrib SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 176 km² · 0.6 km from the edge
NPWS page
Moycullen Bogs NHANatural Heritage Area · 36 km² · 0.9 km from the edge
NPWS page
Inner Galway Bay SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 135 km² · 1.7 km from the edge
NPWS page
Galway Bay Complex SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 147 km² · 1.7 km from the edge
NPWS page

Protected 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.

25 km50 km75 km100 kmNBurren21 km southBurren National Park: 21 km south of Dangan’s edge · 21 km²Connemara55 km north-westConnemara National Park: 55 km north-west of Dangan’s edge · 21 km²Wild Nephin81 km northWild Nephin National Park: 81 km north of Dangan’s edge · 171 km²Dangan
National ParkThe 5 km around the town
National Park

Burren National Park

21 km south21 km²
National Park

Connemara National Park

55 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 Dangan.

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

45 km of footpaths cross Dangan

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
45 km
over 10.6 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
3.9%
about 0.4 km² of mapped woods

Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap

DanganCo. Galway townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths4.3
02.55 km per km²

Share of the land · mapped woods and forest

DanganCo. Galway townsTypical Irish town
Woodland3.9%
0%50%100%

Dangan has more footpath per km² than 69% of Irish towns and more woodland than 67% 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 Dangan

45 km of footpaths are mapped in Dangan and the kilometre around it, 4.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).

One more waymarked walk on OpenStreetMap

Local
Slí na Sláinte2.0 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 Dangan: 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)8.09.711.713.915.817.016.514.812.610.48.57.5
High (°C)991113161819191714119
Rain (mm)13010899767987100115106128143150

April is the driest month (76 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 150 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Dangan →

The coast

Dangan is near the sea

21% of the area within 5 km of Dangan is sea. 4 bathing waters are within 5 km, each with its latest class.

Grattan Road BeachSufficient (2025) · 2.2 km from town
beaches.ie
Salthill BeachExcellent (2025) · 2.5 km from town
beaches.ie
Ballyloughane BeachGood (2025) · 3.6 km from town
beaches.ie
Silverstrand BeachExcellent (2025) · 4.1 km from town
beaches.ie

2 of the 4 are rated excellent, Salthill 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

5 viewpoints and 23 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, viewpoints stand out most: Dangan has 29.6× as many as the typical Irish town.

Every named place, with directions

Viewpoints 5

Salmon Weir Bridge1.2 km from town
Directions

Plus 4 viewpoints without a name on the map.

Picnic sites 1

Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.

Playgrounds 23

Cul Gharrai Play Area0.5 km from town
Directions
Mary Byrne Playground1.4 km from town
Directions
Kennedy Park Playground1.6 km from town
Directions
Claude Toft Park Playground1.8 km from town
Directions

Plus 19 playgrounds without a name on the map.

Slipways 3

Plus 3 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 Dangan

Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.

Eyre SquareGarden · 1.6 km from town
Its page
Circle of Life National Organ Donor Commemorative GardenGarden · 2.0 km from town
Its page

Places to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.

Next door

Next to Dangan

The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.

NewcastleRahoonTaylor's HillWoodquay and Nuns IslandBallinfoile and TerrylandCladdaghDangan
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
TownNear a parkGreen space, ha per 1,000Paths (km/km²)Protected within 5 km
Dangan81%5.44.318%
Newcastle 0.7 km100%14.45.415%
Rahoon 0.8 km53%5.52.327%
Taylor's Hill 1.4 km100%9.15.115%
Woodquay and Nuns Island 1.8 km100%9.64.514%
Ballinfoile and Terryland 2.1 km68%7.41.722%
Claddagh 2.3 km100%7.22.417%

In Newcastle, 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park, more than here. Newcastle has at least twice Dangan’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 Dangan

What is the biggest park in Dangan?

Westside Park, 7.2 ha (18 acres), just outside the built-up area. Corrib Park (4.4 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the neighbourhood or within 400 m of it.

Is there protected countryside near Dangan?

Yes: 18% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 5 sites. Lough Corrib SAC reaches Dangan.

Where can you swim near Dangan?

The nearest bathing water is Grattan Road Beach, 2.2 km from town: Sufficient (2025). Check beaches.ie before swimming: a notice can close a beach for the day.

How many people in Dangan live near a park?

81% 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 Dangan?

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 Dangan 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 Dangan?

Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 5 viewpoints and 1 picnic site; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.

Sources

Where Dangan’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).