First pick
Annagh Wood
Wood or forest
88 ha4.6 km of path
1 hto walk all 4.6 km of path
1.0 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
100%near a park
Outdoors in Rosscahill · parks, paths & countryside
Rosscahill borders Ross Lake and Woods SAC
14% of the land within 5 km is protected for nature, the nearest site being Ross Lake and Woods SAC. There are 0.6 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Rosscahill, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town. 2 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 0.3 for every square kilometre.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
0.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
2 km
0.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
14%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Ross Lake and Woods SAC
Woodland
6.7%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Rosscahill?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected land nearbyRoss Lake and Woods SAC reaches the edge of Rosscahill.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Less park per person0.6 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1.
Rosscahill’s strongest suit is protected land close by, followed by parks close to every home. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Against other towns
How Rosscahill 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 space0.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
1out of 100
Footpaths0.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
6out of 100
Protected for nature14%of the land within 5 km
95out of 100
Woodland6.7%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
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
Rosscahill has the 9th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (327 to 3,141 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
Rosscahill0.3
Towns its size0.7
Co. Galway towns2.1
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Rosscahill0.6
Towns its size3.8
Co. Galway towns5.5
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Rosscahill100%
Towns its size87%
Co. Galway towns80%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Rosscahill stands out most for homes near a park: none of the other 39 has more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 38 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 | Rosscahill Galway | 0.3 | 6.7% | 14% | – |
| 33 | Kanturk Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 5.1% | – |
| 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 Rosscahill’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 Rosscahill
The biggest is Annagh Wood, 88 ha (218 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 Rosscahill 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%)
Rosscahill100%
Co. Galway towns80%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
The 7 protected sites within 5 km of Rosscahill
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 Rosscahill0.3%
Within 5 km14%
Co. Galway towns14%
Typical Irish town1.8%
7 protected sites lie within 5 km of Rosscahill. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 8.9% 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.
Ross Lake and Woods SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 3.3 km² · reaches Rosscahill
NPWS pageGortnandarragh Limestone Pavement SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 3.5 km² · 0.7 km from the edge
NPWS pageLough Corrib SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 257 km² · 2.0 km from the edge
NPWS pageLough Corrib SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 176 km² · 2.6 km from the edge
NPWS pageOughterard District Bog NHANatural Heritage Area · 17 km² · 3.2 km from the edge
NPWS pageConnemara Bog Complex SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 515 km² · 4.4 km from the edge
NPWS pageMoycullen Bogs NHANatural Heritage Area · 36 km² · 4.7 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 36 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
36 km south-east21 km²
National Park
Connemara National Park
41 km west21 km²
National Park
Wild Nephin National Park
67 km north171 km²
3 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Rosscahill.
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
2 km of footpaths cross Rosscahill
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
2.2 km
over 7.4 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
6.7%
about 0.5 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
RosscahillCo. Galway townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths0.3
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
RosscahillCo. Galway townsTypical Irish town
Woodland6.7%
0%50%100%
Rosscahill has less footpath per km² than 94% 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 Rosscahill
2 km of footpaths are mapped in Rosscahill and the kilometre around it, 0.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
No waymarked trail starts within 5 km of Rosscahill; 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 Rosscahill: 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) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 156 | 127 | 113 | 86 | 87 | 91 | 101 | 116 | 114 | 143 | 162 | 173 |
April is the driest month (86 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 173 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Rosscahill →
Gardens & nature
A garden or nature site to visit near Rosscahill
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
Brigit's Garden (Gairdín Bhríde)Garden · 1.5 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Rosscahill
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
Maigh CuilinnOughterardHeadfordRahoonDanganKnocknacarraRosscahill
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosscahill | 100% | 0.6 | 0.3 | 14% |
| Maigh Cuilinn 6.9 km | 58% | 0.3 | 0.1 | 38% |
| Oughterard 7.0 km | 53% | 1.8 | 0.2 | 25% |
| Headford 13 km | 100% | 4.6 | 0.0 | 3.4% |
| Rahoon 15 km | 53% | 5.5 | 2.3 | 27% |
| Dangan 16 km | 81% | 5.4 | 4.3 | 18% |
| Knocknacarra 16 km | 68% | 2.6 | 1.6 | 32% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Rosscahill. Oughterard, Headford and Rahoon have at least twice Rosscahill’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 Rosscahill
Is there protected countryside near Rosscahill?
Yes: 14% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 7 sites. Ross Lake and Woods SAC reaches Rosscahill.
How many people in Rosscahill 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 Rosscahill?
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 Rosscahill near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Burren National Park, 36 km south-east of the town’s edge; it covers about 21 km². 2 more are within 100 km.
Sources
Where Rosscahill’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
- 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).